Vashon COVID Relief Fund FAQ

Q: I’ve already given to the Food Bank, IFCH, Senior Center and others. Why should I give to this fund as well?
A: You did the right thing. All of Vashon’s social service organizations have done tremendous work, and they are fundamental to the emergency response. But what they’ve done has taken everything they’ve got. This relief fund helps recharge our social service partner groups to help them meet the most urgent community needs. In the long term, it will take a massive investment effort to turn this terrible moment in history into an opportunity.

Q: How will you spend my money?
A: The VashonBePrepared Board has set four priorities for the relief fund:

  • Health, including our COVID-19 testing program.
  • Food for the many residents struggling to feed their families.
  • Shelter for those experiencing homelessness or unable to pay rent.
  • Economic recovery and reopening assistance for our local businesses and nonprofits.

Q: Who decides where the need is greatest?
A: The VashonBePrepared Board has asked the Emergency Operations Center to continue doing its job of allocating resources where they are most needed during the emergency response, based on the four priority spending areas. The EOC leadership has continual contact with the island’s social support groups about the work they are doing, the needs that must be met, and what it will cost to meet those needs.

Q: How will we know how our money was spent?
A: VashonBePrepared regularly publishes what it spends and what it achieves for our community in each of the four priority areas: health, food, shelter, economic recovery. This information can be found in the widely distributed EOC Situation Reports.

Q: How will the Relief Fund work? Will you make grants?
A: We are taking a different approach to support and recovery. Instead of bulk grants, we are buying itemized services. We ask island social service partners to set a price for what they do and invoice us for the work. This helps your donation go further in two ways:

  • The itemized approach has significantly improved our ability to obtain FEMA and other federal, county and state disaster reimbursements that make the Vashon COVID Relief Fund go farther. This has significantly increased the value of community donated dollars, and made it possible for us to support much more work in the four priority areas.
  • We report to the community in a very transparent manner how the money was used, by quantifying the services received — number of meals delivered to homes, number of people helped with rent subsidies, number of attendees at business survival and COVID safety workshops, and so on.

Q: Who’s organizing this Relief Fund?
A: VashonBePrepared has organized and will continue to maintain the fund. For almost 20 years, we have been organizing and encouraging islanders to be ready for disasters. Our federally registered nonprofit works as a community coalition of many island organizations and individuals. We also support Vashon Island Fire & Rescue by operating the island’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC).

Q: Who is VashonBePrepared? What is an Emergency Operations Center?
A: VashonBePrepared is a federally recognized nonprofit community coalition of island organizations and individuals. Our motto is Neighbors Helping Neighbors, and for almost 20 years we have been encouraging Vashon residents and businesses on preparedness and resilience. The Emergency Operations Center Team (EOC Team) is part of VashonBePrepared, and it organizes the island’s response to emergencies such as earthquakes or bad weather. The EOC operates according to the federal standard Incident Command System, under the direction of Vashon Island Fire & Rescue. Our EOC Team was activated on March 12th for the COVID-19 emergency response.

Q: Who serves on the Board of VashonBePrepared?
A: The Board includes a broad spectrum of representatives from the Vashon community. Directors include representatives from Vashon Island Fire & Rescue, Vashon Island School District, Vashon Food Bank, Voice of Vashon, Vashon Chamber of Commerce, the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Team, Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), Neighborhood Emergency Response Organizations (NERO), Ham Radio, Medical Reserve Corps (MRC), and up to five at-large citizens. You can get more information on the Board, including the names of current Board directors, by going to the Board page on our website.

Q: How/where can I give?

A: Thank you for considering a donation! Go to VashonBePrepared.org/Donate to give online. If you wish to save us up to 3% of your donation in processing fees, you can make a deposit to our accounts at Puget Sound Cooperative Credit Union or US Bank. Or you can mail a check to:

VashonBePrepared
P.O. Box 2840
Vashon, WA 98070

Neighbors Helping Neighbors. That's What We Do On Vashon.

VashonBePrepared is a registered 501 (c) 3 corporation. The Federal Employer Identification Number is #06-1808389  Because VashonBePrepared is a 501(c)3 charity, your gift may qualify as a charitable deduction for federal income tax purposes.

 How to donate:

A) Use the Donate button on our website or B) Mail your check to VashonBePrepared (address below, and this saves us the fees from Paypal and credit card processing).

VashonBePrepared
P.O. Box 2840
Vashon, WA 98070

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