The NBAA has developed an online registry for companies willing to donate their aircraft and flight crews to disaster relief efforts like the Haitian airlift and for individuals who wish to volunteer their services. The business aviation advocacy group is partnered with Corporate Aviation Responding to Emergencies (C.A.R.E.), which coordinates airborne relief missions, connecting operators with representatives in disaster areas or non-government organizations (NGOs) active there.

We asked principals in the aviation advocacy associations featured in this report for advice on how to launch and maintain participation in a new group venture. Here’s what a selection of them said:

Jim Bennett, Starbucks aviation manager in Seattle and president of the Pacific Northwest Business Aviation Association, offers some organizational guidelines: Define your target constituency. In the case of the PNBAA, we focused primarily on corporate flight operations and those who support the business: service providers, insurers, law firms, FBOs, FAR Part 135 operators, charter/management companies, repair stations and OEMs. Our members are from Washington, Oregon and British Columbia.