Community and business support are integral to the BlueBridge model, enabling officers to have the resources needed for impactful interactions. These are the primary source of revenue for local programs and have continued to be largely successful, with over $50,000 raised in small-dollar donations.

While the year started out slow for operational funds, BlueBridge was boosted through a budget proviso grant of just under $500,000 from the Washington state legislature, thanks to a bipartisan coalition of BlueBridge-supporting representatives, led by Representative Cyndy Jacobsen (Puyallup - WA25). These funds enabled us to increase our staff, including the addition of a portfolio manager to serve as the primary contact with partnering agencies, as well as a role designed for revenue generation for ongoing program sustainability. The funds also provided us with the hard costs involved with onboarding new agencies, including matching seed funds.

We were also able to work with the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) on a specialized program for low-income roadway users that would provide them aid in lieu of a citation in certain circumstances. For example, if an impoverished parent failed to have a proper car seat for their child, instead of writing a citation, which would only add to the parent’s financial distress, the officer could use a BlueBridge debit card to purchase a proper car seat for the child. WSDOT would then reimburse the officer’s department’s BlueBridge account.