SHIELD 616, INC. provides all-day rifle rated protective armor to first responders nationwide who sacrificially serve. We strive to bridge the gap between them and their communities through support and prayer.

Our organization strives to provide all-day rifle rated protective equipment to agencies and departments in need, so that ALL officers have a better chance of coming home safely. The types of danger and volume of threats faced by first responders have changed over the years. It is more dangerous to be a first responder than it ever has been before. For example, fire fighters are often first on the scene of non-fire related calls like domestic violence calls. They are often in the middle of a "hot zone" that has not been cleared and are in danger themselves. First responders of all kinds are often fired upon before a SWAT type team can arrive and help support them.

Source: Nonprofit submitted responses

Goal One: We need to grow and expand, so that we can provide this needed protective gear. By increasing our donations in 2022, we will reach our goal to provide more sets of gear in 2022 than we did in 2021.

Goal Type: Grow, expand, scale or increase access to the existing programs and services.

Goal Two: Our goal is to continue to support the new programs we created during the pandemic that provide additional community support for departments in need. We are expanding the way we bridge the gap.

Goal Type: New program(s) based on observed changes in needs among our constituencies/communities served.

Goal Three: We invested in a better financial, fundraising and constituent software. This gave us better control of our finances, donor relationships and made it easier to audit our books and be transparent.

Goal Type: Invest in the capacity of our organization (financial, management, technical, etc.).

Describe an investment in leadership

Our organization participated in a 3 day Strat Op session that helped us in a variety of areas. Our team can better understand the leadership style of our President and Founder. We also understand our strengths and weaknesses as a nonprofit and as co-workers. By identifying these things, we have been able to grow and learn as a team. Our President and Founder encourages growth, development and leadership in our specific departments and has become a better leader and communicator based on our experience.

This organization mobilizes for mission in the following ways:

• Strategic Partnerships

• Raising Awareness

• Community Building

What are this organization’s external mobilizaton efforts?

Our organization works hard to engage our donors and supporters of our mission. We invite them to participate in any public activities we can. This gives donors the opportunity to meet the first responders who are directly impacted by the donations. It also allows the first responders and their families the opportunity to thank the donors in person. We want donors to see how we are spending their valuable contributions. We also use this opportunity, to help show the first responders how loved and appreciated they are by the general public. Often times all they see on a daily basis is the bad parts of society, which can be very depressing. We use our social media platform and marketing efforts to remind the communities we are in that their officers deserve the very best all-day rifle rated protective gear, even if their department can't afford it. At the end of the day, they ALL deserve to come home safely to their loved ones.

During the pandemic, we focused on ways that we could continue to function as a well-oiled team while working with one less staff person. At the beginning of 2020, a team member left to pursue other opportunities. That left us one person short. We have not replaced that person, and instead spread the duties amongst the remaining 4 team members. This taught us flexibility and allowed us to survive during challenging financial times and not lay anyone off. By applying for and receiving the PPE loans, we were able to apply that funding toward our salaries and help cover the shortfall in funding. In addition, we used our new software to be more efficient with our financial record keeping, donor management, and armor procurement. By not having an office and having our team work remotely we have been able to save a substantial amount in operating costs. We work to be very frugal financially so that we can survive challenging times and circumstances. We continue to be inventive with new and existing fundraising opportunities. For example, in 2021 we started several important new fundraisers that we are carrying into 2022. We now have a template for a successful golf tournament and motorcycle run that we will be able to duplicate in other cities. All of these positive changes are a result of our adaptability to change. We try to always have an open mind and a great plan for success.