American Red Cross

The organization: The American Red Cross (ARC) is a volunteer-led, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education inside the United States. Since its founding in 1881 by visionary leader Clara Barton, the American Red Cross has been the nation’s premier emergency response organization. As part of a worldwide movement that offers neutral humanitarian care to the victims of war, the American Red Cross distinguishes itself by also aiding victims of devastating natural disasters. Over the years, the organization has expanded its services, always with the aim of preventing and relieving suffering.

The relationship: In October of 2010, Cisco awarded a seed grant to InSTEDD for the development of technology designed to improve the resilience of community-level disaster response. This grant was for the development of a program to support shared safety, selfreliance and situational awareness during a public crisis in the Bay Area. InSTEDD designed, developed, and pilot tested a tool, called Watchfire, to help the American Red Cross improve their communitylevel disaster response in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Website: http://www.redcross.org/

Category: Non Governmental Organizations and Social Enterprises