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Executive Summary
Ready Together Disaster Network is a nonprofit that helps people in our county and the river towns prepare for, get through and recover from disasters like floods, storms, fires and extreme heat. We provide preparedness classes, trained volunteer teams and emergency supplies stored in the community, working with the local emergency management office and with other relief groups.
Disasters hit everyone, but they hit people with the least money and the fewest resources the hardest. Official responders do essential work, but they cannot reach every household right away. Trained local volunteers, prepared supplies and a plan make the first hours and days safer, and make recovery faster. Our program prepares neighbors before a disaster and helps them recover after one.
In Year 1 we plan to serve about 600 households and 80 trained volunteers. Our Year 1 budget is about $107,000, growing to about $195,000 by Year 5 as we add our first program and volunteer coordinator in Year 2 and a second in Year 4. Each year's budget is planned to balance, with a small amount set aside in savings.
We are asking the Brightpath Foundation for $40,000, as part of the $82,000 in grants and contracts we need for Year 1. The other $25,000 in Year 1 comes from emergency and ongoing donor support, which we plan to grow to about $100,000 a year by Year 5. Grant money pays for volunteer training and equipment, emergency supplies and the staff who coordinate them. After a disaster, donations help pay for recovery help.
We will measure how many volunteers we train, how many households attend preparedness sessions, how many emergency supplies we have ready, how quickly we can respond when asked, and how many households we help to recover after a disaster. We will report results to our funders every six months.
Company Description
Ready Together Disaster Network is a nonprofit organization in Arizona. A 501(c)(3) public charity
Our mission. To help our neighbors prepare for, get through and recover from disasters.
How we started and what we have done. We began in 2022 when neighbors who had lived through a flood started training volunteers and keeping emergency supplies at a church. Since then we have trained about 60 volunteers and helped about 80 households.
What we do:
- Teach households how to prepare: a plan, a go-bag, supplies for a week and what to do if power or water goes out.
- Train and organize volunteers to help neighbors during and after a disaster, always under the direction of local emergency officials.
- Keep emergency supplies, like water, food, tarps and hygiene kits, stored and ready to distribute.
- Help households recover afterward, with cleanup help, applications for aid and referrals.
- Work with the local emergency management office and other relief groups, so efforts do not overlap.
Where we work. Classes at churches and libraries on weekends, and supplies stored in two neighborhoods.
Our partners. The county emergency management office, the fire department, the local VOAD and two churches that store supplies.
Our approach. We prepare before disaster strikes and we coordinate with official responders. We do not self-deploy into danger. We help where we are asked, we train for the work we do and we keep volunteers safe.
How we are run. A volunteer Board of Directors (a small group of community members who oversee the organization) meets regularly, approves the budget, reviews the finances and oversees the Executive Director.
Problem & Opportunity
Why this program is needed.
our county and the river towns faces real disaster risks, from storms and flooding to fire and extreme heat. When a disaster strikes, many households have no plan, no supplies and no way to get help. Older adults, people with disabilities, people without a car and people with low incomes are most at risk, and recovery takes the longest for them.
Facts about our community. According to FEMA's flood maps, many homes in our county are in a high-risk flood zone.
Gaps in the help that exists now:
1. Preparation. Most households do not have a plan or a week of supplies.
2. Speed. Official responders cannot reach everyone at once, especially in the first 72 hours.
3. Recovery. Many households do not know how to apply for aid or find cleanup help.
4. Coordination. Many groups want to help, but without coordination, help can be duplicated or miss people.
5. Equity. People with the least resources often get help last.
What we have seen ourselves. After the last flood, many households had no plan, and some older neighbors were stranded for two days.
Who we serve first. Households that are most at risk in a disaster, including older adults, people with disabilities and families with low incomes, in older adults, people with disabilities and families without a car in the river neighborhoods.
Products & Services
How the program works.
1. Preparedness education. We hold short sessions at churches, schools and community centers on making a plan and a kit, with printed guides in the languages people speak.
2. Trained volunteer teams. Volunteers complete training in basic emergency response, safety and how emergency management works. Response team training and equipment cost about $20,000 in Year 1.
3. Supplies ready. About $18,000 in Year 1 pays for emergency supplies stored where they can be reached quickly, such as water, tarps and hygiene kits.
4. Coordination. We keep in regular contact with the local emergency management office and take part in local planning and drills.
5. Recovery help. After a disaster, we help households with cleanup, paperwork and referrals, in cooperation with other relief groups.
How we will measure results. We record volunteers trained, households reached with preparedness education and supplies ready. After a disaster, we record how many households we helped and what help we gave. We take part in debriefs and write down what we learned. Our goals for Year 1: train 80 volunteers; reach 600 households with preparedness education; keep emergency supplies ready for 500 households; and help 100 households recover after any disaster.
Market Analysis
Where we work and who we serve.
We serve households in our county and the river towns, especially older adults, people with disabilities and families without a car in the river neighborhoods.
How we know people need this. After the last flood, 40 households asked us for help and we had to turn away 20, and the county asked us to train more volunteers.
How many we will reach. In Year 1, about 600 households and 80 trained volunteers. The area's flood and fire risk maps, past disaster declarations and the number of residents who are older, have a disability or have no vehicle are common ways to size the need, and the guide for this plan shows where to find them. As we add coordinators and volunteers, we expect to reach more households each year.
How households reach us. The emergency management office, fire departments, churches and neighborhood associations.
Competitive Landscape
Other help, and how we work with it.
- The local emergency management office leads planning and response. We work under its direction and support it. We have a signed agreement with the county emergency management office.
- The Red Cross and similar national groups run shelters and provide relief. We partner with them and focus on our own neighborhoods.
- Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) coordinate groups that help before and after disasters. We join our local VOAD.
- Fire departments and local responders do emergency work. We do not replace them, and we do not take on jobs for which we are not trained.
- Faith communities and neighborhood groups often respond first. We train and support them.
What makes us different: trained local volunteers, supplies stored in the neighborhoods that need them and close coordination with official responders
Marketing & Sales Strategy
How we reach people and build support.
Reaching people:
- Referrals from the emergency management office, fire departments, churches, schools and neighborhood associations.
- Preparedness talks at community events, libraries and senior centers.
- Printed guides, social media and text alerts in the languages people speak.
- Word of mouth from households we have helped.
Funding. Disaster funding often comes in two ways: grants for preparedness, and a surge of donations after a disaster. We plan for both, and we keep a reserve so we can act quickly. After a disaster, we explain clearly how donations are used.
Volunteers. Retired responders, church groups, nurses, college students and local employers.
Raising money beyond grants. Emergency and ongoing donor support are planned at about $25,000 in Year 1, growing to about $100,000 by Year 5, through a yearly giving campaign, business and community partners, a community event and online giving. Raising more of our own money means we depend less on any one grant or contract.
Operations Plan
How the program runs. How a response works:
1. An alert from the emergency management office, or a request for help from them. 2. 3. Trained volunteers and supplies are sent where they are asked to go. 4. We help, record what we do and keep volunteers safe. 5. After the response, we hold a debrief and help with recovery. A preparedness session. A volunteer explains the main local risks, helps each household fill out a simple plan and gives out a checklist and a small supply item. Safety and rules. Volunteers never enter unsafe areas, never take on work they are not trained for and always follow the direction of official responders. We carry insurance, use waivers and keep records of every volunteer's training. We store supplies safely and rotate them so they do not expire. Privacy. Information about households we help is kept private. We share it only with permission or when the law requires it, and funders get totals, never names. Equipment. In Year 1 we buy about $10,000 in equipment (radios, safety gear, shelving and storage for supplies, laptops and a trailer or storage unit), then about $2,500 to $3,500 a year to replace worn items. Staff. In Year 1, the Executive Director and trained volunteers run the program. We hire one program and volunteer coordinator in Year 2, and a second in Year 4. Staff and volunteers receive training in basic emergency response and in how to work with official responders. Office work. Bookkeeping, insurance and reporting cost about $11,000 in Year 1.
Management & Organization
Who leads the organization.
Michael Diaz, Executive Director and Response Coordinator.
The Executive Director leads the organization, raises money and manages grants and contracts, builds partnerships, oversees the finances and reports to the Board. As Response Coordinator, this person works with the local emergency management office, keeps our volunteers trained and makes sure we never go into an emergency without approval and a plan. Planned salary: $56,000 a year.
Program and volunteer coordinators. Recruit and train volunteers, run preparedness sessions, manage supplies and keep records. We hire the first in Year 2, growing to two by Year 5, at a planned salary of $38,000 each. Qualifications we look for: experience in volunteer management or emergency services, strong organizational skills and a calm, clear way of speaking.
Volunteers. Volunteers are the core of our response. They are screened, trained and assigned to roles that match their skills.
Board of Directors. A five-member board including Daniel Hassan, who brings nonprofit finance experience.
Money management. Grant and contract money is tracked separately so we can show each funder exactly how their money was spent. An outside accountant reviews our books every year.
Milestones Narrative
Our goals and how we will measure them.
Year 1:
- Join our local VOAD and sign a coordination agreement with the emergency management office.
- Recruit and train our first volunteer response team.
- Reach about 600 households and 80 trained volunteers.
- Reach our Year 1 goals for volunteers trained, households prepared and supplies ready.
- Stay within a balanced budget of about $107,000.
Year 2: one program and volunteer coordinator; budget of about $148,000.
Year 3: one program and volunteer coordinator; budget of about $151,000.
Year 4: two program and volunteer coordinators; budget of about $193,000.
Year 5: two program and volunteer coordinators; budget of about $195,000.
Over the five years: grow to two program and volunteer coordinators, expand our supply caches to more neighborhoods, and add recovery services. Training and equipment costs and supply costs each grow about 5% a year.
How we will check our results. We record volunteers trained, households reached, supplies ready and, after a disaster, households helped. We review each response in a debrief. Staff and the Board review results and share them with funders.
Funding Request
What we are asking for, and how the money will be used. Our request: $40,000 from the Brightpath Foundation for volunteer training and equipment, emergency supplies and the costs of reporting results, for January through December 2027. Year 1 budget: about $107,000, planned to balance. Year 1 money coming in: - Grants and government contracts: $82,000 (this request plus other grants we are applying for). - Emergency and ongoing donor support: $25,000. Year 1 costs: - Executive Director and Response Coordinator: $56,000. - Response team training and equipment (training, radios, safety gear, tools): $20,000. - Emergency supply caches (water, food, tarps and hygiene kits stored for quick use): $18,000. - Office costs (bookkeeping, insurance, reporting): $11,000. - That is about $105,000 in costs. The remaining $2,000 or so goes into savings. Equipment we buy once at the start (about $10,000) is paid from startup money, not from the yearly budget. The next five years. Our budget grows from about $107,000 in Year 1 to about $195,000 in Year 5 as we add program and volunteer coordinators and keep more supplies ready. Grants and contracts are planned at $82,000 in Year 1, $108,000 in Year 2, $93,000 in Year 3, $115,000 in Year 4 and $95,000 in Year 5. Emergency and ongoing donor support grow from $25,000 to $100,000, so grants become a smaller part of our budget over time. Savings. We start with about $20,000 of our own plus $70,000 in startup support, and we add to savings each year. Important for grants and donations. Preparedness grants are usually paid in installments or after a report. Donations may surge after a disaster and then fade, so we plan for slower years and keep a reserve. Government disaster funds usually go to governments, not to small nonprofits, so we plan on grants and donations. Help we receive that is not cash. Donated storage space, volunteer hours, donated supplies and partner training are a real part of what we do and are not counted in the budget above. Free storage space at a church (about $3,000 a year), about 1,200 volunteer hours a year and donated water and supplies If we are just starting. A new organization can begin before it has its own 501(c)(3) status. One way is a fiscal sponsor: an established nonprofit that agrees to receive grants for you and pass them to your program, usually for a fee (commonly around 5% to 10% of the grant, sometimes more; ask before you agree). Many funders accept this. Another way is to start smaller: join your local VOAD or emergency management volunteer program, start with preparedness education and a small group of trained volunteers, and track results carefully. Strong results from a small start make larger grants and contracts easier to win.
Appendix Notes
Documents to attach with this proposal:
- Your IRS 501(c)(3) letter, or your fiscal sponsor agreement.
- Your most recent financial statements and your current budget.
- A list of your Board members and what they do.
- Letters of support from the emergency management office, fire department or other partners.
- Your volunteer training plan, safety rules and insurance.
- Your coordination agreement with the emergency management office.
- Your numbers from the past year, if you have them.
- Resumes for your Executive Director and key staff. If you don't have any of this yet, no worries - let's continue.
The assumptions behind our numbers (change them in the Financials section to match your own):
- Staff pay: Executive Director and Response Coordinator $56,000; each program and volunteer coordinator $38,000, starting in Year 2 (one) and growing to two in Year 4.
- Response team training and equipment about $20,000 in Year 1, rising about 5% a year; emergency supply caches about $18,000, rising about 5% a year
- Office costs about $11,000 in Year 1, rising about 4% a year.
- Grants and contracts set so each year's budget balances with a small amount saved.
- Every dollar amount is an estimate. Replace them with your organization's real budget.