How to fuel growth without losing trust
| Principle | Meaning in Practice |
|---|---|
| Transparency First | Every dollar or in-kind gift logged in the Trust Engine and visible publicly. |
| Restricted Use by Design | Donations are tagged to a purpose – care packages, training, storage, logistics – so they can’t drift into admin overhead. |
| Distributed Support | Rely on many modest donors, partners, and discounts instead of a few large checks that create dependency. |
| Local Loops Feed the Whole | Each chapter keeps 80 % of funds in-region, remitting 20 % to national infrastructure for compliance, tech, and auditing. |
| Impact Over Income | The success metric is verified help delivered, not total cash raised. |
| Category | Example Sources | Accountability Method |
|---|---|---|
| In-Kind Goods & Discounts | Grocery chains, retail partners, manufacturers | Logged as Impact Score entries showing discount % |
| Micro-Donations | Public donors via Stripe, PayPal Giving Fund | Auto receipt + Trust Portal ledger entry |
| Corporate Partnerships | Whole Foods, H-E-B, Home Depot Foundation | MOUs with valued goods and annual impact report |
| Grants & CSR Programs | FEMA Community Resilience grants, United Way | Board approval + project-specific ledger tag |
| Events & Fundraisers | Unity BBQ, Cookies with Santa, Gala | Zero-cost entry model; optional pledges tied to families served |
| Merch & Brand Revenue | “Once Core, Always Core” apparel, sponsor co-branding | Net profit = impact pool for care packages |
| Technology Licensing (Phase 3) | White-label Trust Engine API for other nonprofits | 10 % royalty to national sustainability fund |
| Reserve Type | Target Level | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Reserve | 3 months of core expenses | Bridge cash flow or disaster response |
| Impact Reserve | 10 % of donations | Emergency fund for families in crisis |
| Innovation Fund | 5 % of national income | Tech development & training grants |