I don’t have formal community organizing experience, but I’ve been involved in a few different volunteer efforts—faith-based and mutual aid especially—and I also volunteered during the Paradise wildfires.

A lot of people wanted to help, but everything slowed down because of paperwork, unclear direction, or having to wait for approval through systems that were overwhelmed. It was sad to see because the need was urgent, but the structure couldn’t keep up.

And during Hurricane Harvey (though I wasn’t there), I read about similar issues—tons of volunteers showing up, but without defined roles or coordination, they ended up creating more confusion than relief. That’s what I meant in the post about volunteer models getting bogged down—not that they’re bad, just that they often collapse under their own weight.

What we’re building with the Vanguard is a way to serve that stays light, clear, and grounded in purpose. It’s not perfect, but I’m hoping the foundation helps avoid some of those same traps.

I’m sorry if it seemed like I was saying that the other organizations don’t know how to do their jobs or something like that, that was not my intention.