Fill the boot.

Do our fundraising efforts affect the way the public we serve views us? Of course they do. Every interaction every one of us, individually and collectively, has with the public gives our citizens a new perspective on us. Every time we arrive promptly and professionally to the scene of a call, we give an impression of ourselves. Unfortunately, every time we do something which demeans us in the public eye, we also give an impression...sometimes an underserved impression.

As a volunteer firefighter myself, I've never minded putting a little money in a fire boot when passing through a town where members of the fire department are walking in traffic gathering donations for a new apparatus, or a new firehouse (hopefully they’re wearing high-visibility safety vests!). But let me ask you this, if it were a homeless person walking between cars at a stop light asking for a hand-out, how would you react? Would you roll-up your window, would you wonder why that individual doesn't do something to earn their money? I have, and I do.

I know equipment and apparatus cost a lot of money. I also know that grants are getting tight again, and sometimes a windfall in one area means hardship in another. Like when your department gets a new piece of apparatus, but the firehouse is too small to house it.

Maybe asking for handouts is not the best solution!

Why can't a volunteer fire department be somewhat self-sufficient? Most departments receive some funding through property taxes, subscriber fees, membership dues or some other funding stream; perhaps a pay-per-call arrangement with your county, or some other means. This is almost never enough to keep your department adequately equipped, trained and ready to serve.

An idea I think has merit is for a volunteer department to operate a not-for-profit business and use its profits as a source of funding for department needs, both capital purchases such as a new firehouse, and for routine maintenance costs. There are any number of business models which lend themselves to being owned and operated by a volunteer fire company. And none of them are a bar!

The business I am partial to is a coffee house. Imagine a clean and attractive coffee house serving lattes in the same building as your fire engines; giving our citizens unprecedented visibility on how we conduct our business, and letting them see how their funding is used! A large picture window into the apparatus bay would let people watch crew drills, Preventive Maintenance Checks and Services on training night, and give the parents of your Juniors/Explorers a place to hang-out while our future is learning their trade, while keeping the public safely partitioned from the dangers of the equipment bay.

Other ideas might include pizza parlors, gyms, even shaved ice, snow cone or ice cream stands. Whatever your product or service, you accomplish two things by earning you additional funding instead of begging. First, you create a consistant income stream for your department to fund equipment purhcases, upkeep and supplies. After all, as long as you provide a good product, most folks would rather buy a “Firehouse Pizza,” or a “Firehouse Coffee” than a chain-brand pizza or coffee, which only helps that company get richer. Second, you create an access point for citizens to interact with the fire department in a non-emergency environment. Why wait until October to promote fire safety, why not have fire safety messages printed on pizza boxes and coffee cup sleeves? Third, you create employment opportunities for your volunteers, their families, local citizens and even your Junior Firefighters or Explorers. Finally, once your department has achieved its monetary goals, you create a way to give money to other volunteer departments or the local burn center. As a not-for-profit business you’ll always be working to help your community and won’t have the tax burden of a for-profit business.

So keep your boots in your bunker pants and start thinking outside of the box when it comes to finding money to improve your volunteer fire department. Earning the money you need is as American as the Volunteer Fire Department, and nobody likes giving money to a beggar.