We got an email recently from a Person asking why they should help us because we are just a for-profit entity wanting to turn a quick-buck on the backs of someone else’s suffering. Here is our response, in case others have the same question.
Dear Person: I understand your dilemma, I have heard it from others, please allow me to explain. The way our company is set up is a public/private partnership. What that means is that 20% of all earnings go back to the Rogue Valley Council of Governments (RVCOG) so they can use it to help Vulnerable Populations and those with Access and Functional Needs.
The rest of the money is used to buy more Kits for distribution. In a perfect world, RVCOG would help us contact emergency mangers and government agencies, and also help us get grants to cover the cost of the Kits. If they did that then we could simply just give the Kits away. But alas & alack, that kind of opportunity and help is very rare and difficult to come by.
The reason why we’re partnered with RVCOG is that their charter allows them (unlike other government agencies) to couple with a private enterprise – we have a very important role in this relationship, we do all the work that RVCOG can’t, or is unwilling or unable to perform…like printing, marketing, teaching, traveling, attending seminars, conferences, maintaining a website, all social media, and sending out emails to emergency managers across the U.S. etc.
Our staff does this for the “greater good,” using the money not earmarked for printing, just to cover current costs, like mailing, gasoline and some lunches. We are betting on the future. We are hoping that someday the Go Stay Kit will reach “critical mass” or “top of mind awareness” and everyone will have a copy in their “GO-BAG” along with their other essential lifesaving necessities, so that in the event of a natural or manmade disaster they can be resilient and survive.
I hope I have not belabored this issue to much, but I wanted to give you a clear understanding of how the Go Stay Kit is set up, and what our motives and eventual goals are. Please feel free to pass this information along to other stakeholders who might be able to help us with our very challenging task.
If you need to verify that what I’m telling you is the truth, please call the Rogue Valley Council of Governments in Central Point, Oregon. Thanks.
