Wisconsin Fire Journal, January/February 2004
Three Ways to Get Local Funding for Thermal Imager
By Rebecca Scholer

Thermal imagers fundamentally change the way firefighters do their work. Used effectively, this technology can save lives, preserve property and help keep firefighters safe on the job.

If thermal imagers are so valuable, why don’t more departments have them? In a mass-market thermal imaging survey conducted by Eastern Kentucky University in 2001, researchers learned that an estimated 24 percent of US fire departments are currently equipped with thermal imagers. Of those not equipped with thermal imagers, 94 percent indicated that lack of funding was the primary reason.

This article intends to help Wisconsin Fire Departments overcome the funding barrier by presenting three general strategies for raising funds for thermal imagers: 1) justifying the purchase as a budget item; 2) conducting a community fundraising campaign, and 3) writing a grant. These methods can be used in isolation or in combination to raise the needed funds.

Getting Thermal Imagers into the Budget
Especially in the recent economy, the municipal budgetary process is painful for fire department leaders. Expensive items such as thermal imagers can become victims of cost-saving measures. In presentations to funding bodies, departments must accomplish three objectives.

Step 1: Demonstrate
Department leaders must first develop a program that demonstrates for the council (and the media) what firefighters really battle on the job. A simulation can vividly demonstrate the true challenges of firefighting. First, ask council members to navigate in non-toxic smoke through a simulated structure fire without a TI and find a “victim.” Then ask them to perform the same drill with a TI. Use a stopwatch to time each drill. Show them how much time they saved searching with the TI, and emphasize the value of that time to their children or grandchildren if they were trapped in a house fire.

Step 2: Illustrate
Demonstrate the life-saving potential that has been realized around the world. Department leaders can take specific examples from real stories, such as the Menominee Fire Department’s rescue of an elderly woman in 2001. Leaders can cite statistics from several studies illustrating how thermal imagers are used to reduce search times by up to 75 percent. These stories and facts can be related back to the search times in your simulation with council members. (Find resources like this at www.thermalimager.com.)

Step 3: Quantify
The department must make a business case for buying TIs. To demonstrate the expenditure is valuable and justifiable, the chief must convince the council that the benefits of the expenditure outweigh the proposed cost. One approach is to perform a cost/benefits analysis (CBA), which compares the amount of money the organization wants to spend with the perceived benefits of the expenditure. Three steps of a CBA include: 1) determining the total cost of the project, 2) determining the total benefits (expressed in dollars) of the project and 3) comparing the cost to the benefits to determine the present value or payback time. With some diligent research, any fire department should be able to perform its own CBA. Creative and resourceful departments may strive to include estimates on:

Community Fundraising for TIs in Four Steps
When it isn’t possible to get TI funding from the department budget, community fundraising is an excellent way to raise the money. Through hands-on research with the inSIGHT program, Bullard managers have learned that the leadership abilities and the enthusiasm of the campaign leader are the most significant determinants of the outcome of a campaign – more than size of community, size of department or whether the organization is volunteer, paid or combination. Your fundraiser begins with finding the right person to lead your local campaign.

Step 1: Form A Team
The campaign leader must establish a team and assign responsibilities based on the individual skills and talents of team members. Hold everyone accountable, and your project will be done professionally and on time. Consider including the following positions on your team: Chairperson, Co-Chairperson, Media Relations Coordinator, Event Planner, Promotion Coordinator, and Fund Manager.

Step 2: Plan Your Campaign
Be sure to spend the time up-front to plan an approach that motivates your target(s). Hold regular meetings to establish goals and make assignments, and work as a team to carry out your plan. At the first meeting, several critical planning steps should be covered. This is the time when you should set your dollar goals and timeline, decide your fundraising approach, name your campaign, set regular meeting times (at a time that works for all team members), and assign responsibilities to team members.

Step 3: Conduct an Effective Demo
Realize that the average person has no idea of what it is like to fight a structure fire. Most people envision firefighters running into a structure, seeing lots of fire and minimal smoke. A critical part of your campaign is educating the public on the realities of firefighting. Host a campaign kickoff demonstration that enables community leaders, media members and potential donors to see for themselves how thermal imagers can positively impact the important work your firefighters perform.

If possible, stage the demonstration using non-toxic smoke and volunteer victims. Start by simulating a victim search without a thermal imager, and follow this initial “blind” search with a victim search that employs a thermal imager. Use a stopwatch to time each search. Have an emcee announce search times to bystanders. Department leaders who prefer to simplify the demonstration can use a dark room instead of a smoke-filled room. The most important outcome is to give participants the feeling of being blind, then having their sight restored with a thermal imager.

Step 4: Get the Local Media Involved!
Regardless of how you’ve decided to raise funds to buy thermal imaging equipment for your department, attempt to gain publicity for the fundraiser and the organizations involved. Strong involvement from the media can make an enormous difference in the success of your campaign. Send a personalized letter and/or a press release to members of the local media two to three weeks in advance of your fundraiser kickoff, and follow up with a phone call on the day before the event. Plan a visual demonstration of the technology at your kickoff to help media members demonstrate thermal imaging to their audience. (See Step 3.) Keep the media informed of campaign progress by sending releases when appropriate. Finally, after the campaign concludes, invite reporters to cover delivery and implementation of the department’s new equipment.

Grant Writing for Thermal Imagers
Fire departments that have successful grant writers can testify to the value these individuals bring to the department’s efforts to get the resources they need to operate effectively. Carol Eickelberg-Poor of Monroeville, Indiana, is a successful FEMA grant writer for Monroeville Volunteer Fire Department (population 1,200). As a PhD student in Leadership at Andrews University, she studies organizational funding, and she has learned a great deal through personal experience about writing successful grants. Following are Carol’s tips on securing grant funding.

Step 1: Select a Grant Writer
If your department does not have a grant writer, take a look at the resources within your department first. Consider your volunteer firefighters and auxiliary members. What types of educations and professional backgrounds do they have? Perhaps someone affiliated with your department is the perfect candidate and is willing to learn the ropes. For a person who has no experience with grant writing, Carol suggests that a good first step is to write a test grant. The writer can find an available grant online, write a practice application, and then ask a local grant-writing expert or professor to critique the work.

Step 2: Select a Granting Organization
When approaching a granting organization, know the organization’s mission, do your homework and make your appeal based on funding priorities of the organization. Be creative about how thermal imaging could have an impact in your community. For example, consider appealing to a health foundation by explaining the life-saving benefits of thermal imaging. Or appeal to an environmental group by explaining how thermal imagers help firefighters in hazardous materials incidents. For a list of granting organizations in Wisconsin, contact the Wisconsin Giving Project toll-free at 877-783-6786.

Step 3: Write the Grant
In order to receive a grant, your organization will need to show how you can serve your community more effectively if the grant were funded. If your purpose is to buy a thermal imager, connect that piece of equipment to as many aspects of community service as possible. When justifying thermal imaging, tie in life saves, property preservation and firefighter safety. Explain why your department is unable to budget for the expenditure and why you are in need of assistance from the granting organization.

Your grant will be most successful if you are able to back up your argument by using meaningful statistics. The more you know about local, county and state fiscal issues that constrain the department, the more solid your grant will be.
If you are dealing with a granting organization whose leaders are unfamiliar with the fire service, it can be helpful to get formal endorsements from outside groups that can vouch for the value of thermal imaging. Include materials with your grant application that provide a simple explanation of how thermal imagers work and how they fit into the work of firefighting. Don’t assume decision-makers understand your job or your language.

Step 4: Manage the People Side
If your target funding organization is nearby, meet with the foundation director in person to establish a relationship and to request assistance as needed. If possible, give decision-makers a hands-on demonstration of how thermal imagers work. When you receive your grant, remember to show proper recognition to your sources and the people who helped you along the way, including the person who wrote the grant. If you compare the minimal effort involved in thank you note follow-ups with the good will it instills in your grant support personnel, it is a small price to pay, especially when grant money is received.

A Final Note…
As you initiate your fundraising activities, remember not to limit yourselves to one funding source or to one funding approach. Build a team of dedicated people who are focused on the goal, and pay careful attention to planning and preparation before approaching the city council, potential donors and funding organizations. Show decision-makers how TIs work to save lives, preserve property and keep firefighters safe on the job, and your job will be significantly easier. With a determined, organized, and passionate team, it’s within your reach to get equipped with thermal imagers.

Fundraising Resources
Bullard, the leader in thermal imaging technology for the fire service, offers free fundraising instruction and support that will help departments execute effective TI fundraising campaigns. The inSIGHT‰ program gives firefighters tips on managing the four fundamentals of fundraising and helps firefighters reach potential donors effectively, through group presentations, media relations, and direct mail. For information on the resources available through the program, visit the fundraising section of www.thermalimager.com or call Bullard at 800-827-0423.

 

Last Updated On: 2/01/05