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ARRL and the American Red Cross have had cooperative agreements since 1940. There have been a few changes over the years in the statement.  For example, the renewed statement of March 2010 was updated editorially in November 2010 to change the ARRL Relationship Manager and Operational Contact information (Attachment A) and deleted several extraneous words from page 5. This MOU was renewed in April 2021. One change in the renewed MOU is to Attachment C, the local MOU template. The signatory to the local MOU for the ARRL has been changed to the Section Manager or Section Emergency Coordinator, and a local point of contact field (similar to the relationship manager in the national MOU) has been added.

Chartered by Congress in 1905, the Red Cross provides relief to victims displaced by disaster, from the onset of disaster conditions to the recovery phase. Their national headquarters is located in Washington, but most of the action occurs at the state and local chapter levels, where the rubber meets the road. Local ARES Emergency Coordinators work closely with their counterparts in the chapter offices. Look at just about any summary of a disaster event, and you'll find reports of amateurs out on missions with Red Cross personnel, and providing communications for shelter managers.

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See Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

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Members of ARRL and the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) share common goals of serving the public through efficient and effective use of radio communications. To this end, members of both organizations engage in regular training to prepare for emergency and disaster communications. Members of both organizations provide important communications capability to the Homeland Security programs of the United States.

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While REACT has been associated primarily with Citizens Band in the past, the organization has widened its focus to embrace amateur and other services. ARRL and REACT share common goals in terms of emergency communication. The primary mission of REACT is "to provide public safety communications to individuals, organizations, and government agencies to save lives, prevent injuries, and give assistance wherever and whenever needed."

The memorandum of understanding calls on the two organizations to "cooperate and utilize their resources from time to time to optimum mutual benefit to both parties." Among specific principles, the agreement will involve cooperation during emergencies and disaster relief and the elimination of "duplicative or technically inferior service" during such responses. "The parties will generally encourage ongoing liaison with each other and urge members of both organizations to develop increasingly effective communications and cooperation," the agreement states.

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The Salvation Army, which for decades has provided services to victims of disasters. Its national headquarters is located in Alexandria, Virginia, and is organized in four territories across the U.S., each having its own headquarters and corporate structure. Nine to 11 administrative centers report to each territorial office. 

The Salvation Army is particularly active in the recovery stage of disasters, and has communications needs, often filled by ARRL volunteers. ARRL staff meets with Salvation Army representatives each year at the annual NVOAD meeting in Washington. NVOAD is the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, of which ARRL is a member-organization. The ARRL and the Salvation Army revised its MOU in 2018.

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Amateur Radio is almost synonymous with the Skywarn program, the "eyes and ears" of the National Weather Service during severe weather emergencies. Hams comprise the majority of Skywarn volunteers, who report "ground truths" to local NWS offices, supplementing their sophisticated weather monitoring equipment. ARRL has had an agreement with the National Weather Service, effecting this support, since 1986.

The agency consists of a national headquarters in Washington, DC, with regional offices throughout the country, and has undergone considerable reorganization in the last few years. The Skywarn program is one of the finest examples of hams providing public service.

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ARRL is committed to helping develop future careers in RF Engineering and related technological fields. Our alliance with the Society of Broadcast Engineers will help many hams gain the informational resources necessary to make sound career choices, as well as strengthen the exchange of technological innovation between hams and engineering professionals.

The ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio, and the USPS, United States Power Squadrons, a national boating and educational organization dedicated to making boating safer and more enjoyable, formalized a Memorandum of Understanding on June 4, 2005 linking the two services in their efforts to better serve the public.

"The organizations have each served the people for almost a century and combining their efforts will allow them to better serve our country", said Darrel Allison, National Chairman of USPS's Marketing/Public Relations Committee.

Dave Sumner, CEO of the ARRL added, "ARRL and USPS have long and distinguished histories dating back to 1914, but both organizations have their focus on the future. It is a pleasure to be working together."

USPS has 50,000 + members organized into 450 squadrons across the country and in the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Japan. These boating families contribute to their communities by promoting safe boating through education. Local squadrons offer public boating safety courses on a regular basis. Organized in 1914 as a non-profit boating organization, USPS is a world leader in speaking out for and promoting the needs of all recreational boaters.

The cooperative agreement between the American Radio Relay League, Inc. and the Quarter Century Wireless Association, Inc. was signed in May of 2009.  This document updates and reaffirms the original cooperative agreement between the two organizations that was signed in March of 1984. 
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