By Nicole Wallace

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the American Red Cross was widely criticized for its slow response getting aid to areas with large numbers of African-Americans and other minority-group members, as well as its strained relations with local charities and faith groups that offered to help feed and shelter survivors.

Expanding the organization’s network of partners to include charities that don’t normally focus on disasters but can help after a large-scale catastrophe has been a big part of its push to improve emergency relief, says Joe Becker, the organization’s senior vice president of disaster services.

He says that while building relationships with local groups was not a new concept for the Red Cross, after Katrina “we had to shift it from a good idea that we did from time to time to how we do business in disasters.”