Kaufman County CERT, Inc.

That is a very good question, which should be asked of any organization that you wish to donate to.  A lot of people don't want to make a financial donation unless they know how those funds will be used.  The short answer is, for whateve the organization deems necessary, but the long anser might help out a little better.

As a non-profit organization, we need money to help us with various needs.  These needs range from daily operation to training, supplies to food.  We have tried to list most of the uses for funds that we receive here, but this list is not all-inclusive and can not be as disaster change the needs all the time.

• Phoneline:
  We wish to obtain a seperate phoneline just for the CERT program.  A small portion of funds would be used to cover the expense of our monthly bill.  This will allow us to ensure that CERT calls are received by the right dispatcher on-duty.
• Insurance:
  We wish to obtain and provide insurance converage to our team members that will provide more protection than you would have with the federal and state volunteer protection act.  Plus insurance will be needed to cover any vehicles or equipment the team have.
• Office Space:
  We are looing to purchase or build an office location, so a small portion of funds will be placed into a building fund, which will be a seperae savings account that only building fund money is placed into.
• CERT Kits:
  We would like to be able to supply our members with their very own custom CERT kits that would contain all the supplies that they need while out on a CERT operation, include the newly desgined CERT T-Shirts.
• Supplies and Equipment:
  During operations, training and during normal activities, we will be in the need of replacing supplies and equipment that get damages, lost or are otherwise unuseable.  We will also need to purchase fuel, oil and other needs for any vehicles that the organization might have in place.  Funds for the items will be maintained and used on an on-going basis.
• Community Awareness:
  We also needs funds to help promote and present the CERT program and the Citizen Corps to the general public in an effort to increase membership and show others how the can help by becoming a member.