Project Zero
Project Zero was our first fundraising campaign to catapult The Ready Room Project into the world. We’re on a mission to support and uplift military families, but we can’t do it alone.
We invited you to join us as a Founding Donor. Read on for the details.
Thanks to our Founding Donors, we more than quadrupled our goal for Project Zero.
Goal: $25,000
Raised: $107,540
This work doesn’t happen without you. Thank you!
We’re all in.
And we’d love for you to join us.
What is Project Zero?
Project Zero was our inaugural fundraising campaign to kickstart The Ready Room Project.
We’ve been operating on a lean budget, doing much of the legwork ourselves, but there are inevitable costs associated with both overhead and programming.
Project Zero aimed to:
Begin funding our first set of philanthropic projects targeting families stationed in Lemoore, California, which will start rolling out as soon as we have enough donations to get going.
Fund some of our overhead and start-up costs so we can commit as many dollars as possible directly to programming over the course of our first year (see breakdown of our estimated first year expenses in the drop down menu).
Goal: $25,000
-
Below is an overview of our estimated expenses for the first year.
Our goal is to commit a minimum of 80% of funds raised over the first year directly to programming (i.e. no more than 20% to salaries and overhead).
Website hosting, maintenance, and development - $1,350
Email marketing platform - $360
Donor management and accounting software - $1,200
Marketing materials - $2,000
Trade show participation - $510
Contractor fees - $1,800
Capital needed for fundraising materials - $2,300
Project execution - $1,500
Design software - $150
Total: $11,170
-
$4,000 donation goal
Our first set of projects will target the kids on board Naval Air Station Lemoore, a remote base in Central California where our co-founders and their families spent a combined 24+ years.
Our local partners - spouses, Chaplains, and on-base school officials - are filling us in on specific needs to ensure your donations matter and will get in the hands of our most vulnerable military kids.
Our first project will provide insulated lunch boxes to keep food safe in the 100+ degree heat. And we’re looking to provide bikes, scooters, skateboards, helmets, and other needed items that promote kids’ health and well-being and ease financial stress on active duty families.
We are committed to full transparency and working with folks on the ground to make sure we’re distributing your donations wisely.
Full details to come as soon as we have them!
-
$16,000 donation goal
In the spring, we’ll be partnering with various athletic and academic summer camps to provide scholarships (including travel) for active duty military kids.
Details to come spring 2023.
We’ve gotten as far as we can on our own, and while we know this is a big number, we’re excited to partner with you to launch The Ready Room Project.
Click below for a more detailed breakdown of our first year expenses and philanthropic goals.
We’re up and running.
We couldn’t do this alone, and we wouldn’t want to. While Project Zero has closed, we invite you to join us and donate today!
This is how it starts.
Eight years ago, we crammed into a run down lake house with a bunch of Navy friends and their kids. It became our tradition to sign up for races and meet to compete, and this one was a Half Ironman. The house wasn’t ideal, but it’s what we could afford to do for a summer vacation.
The conversation turned to the Navy, family, and the unique challenges many in our community experience.
We talked about organizing our training efforts and doing some fundraising. We talked about doing something for military families. We talked about forming a non-profit.
We talked about the name “The Ready Room Project.”
Now is the time.
Eight years ago, we didn’t have the bandwidth to put this together. We were neck-deep in active duty military life: deployments, detachments, moves, babies.
But this year, we found the room to make it happen.
Since April, we’ve:
Incorporated in the state of Texas.
Divided our team into operational roles (Catherine and Jeff) and oversight (our Board of Directors - currently Nick, Courtney, and Mackenzie).
Written Articles of Incorporation and bylaws to govern our organization.
Completed and filed our 1023 application to the IRS seeking 501(c)3 federal tax exempt status.
Set up our corporate infrastructure including banking, branding, governance, this website, email marketing, social media, a donation platform, etc.
Started recruiting a seasoned Board of Advisors with a breadth of experience - from corporate finance to non-profits, journalism, and leadership.
Made financial projections and set philanthropic targets for our first year. We have a goal to see this through to 100 projects and beyond.