Build Bridges of Trust Between Your Department and the Community
Valor Connect helps community members create nonprofit police foundations that provide resources, boost morale, and strengthen relationships with their local law enforcement agencies.
Your Officers Serve Bravely. Your Community Can Do More to Support Them.
Every day, officers step into danger, face unpredictable situations, and meet people at their worst. Yet their sacrifices often go unnoticed.
Budgets are cut. Resources are strained. Mental health struggles rise. The loudest voices in society are often critical, leaving many officers feeling isolated and unsupported.
At the same time, community members want to help but feel powerless. They do not know how to provide meaningful support without crossing legal or ethical boundaries.
Meet Valor Connect: Experience, Integrity, and a Mission to Serve Those Who Serve
Founded by Lori Haraldsen, Valor Connect was built to help communities create ethical and effective foundations that strengthen bonds with law enforcement.
Lori has served as a Board Member, Vice President, and President of a respected police foundation in the Pacific Northwest, and has five years of hands-on experience helping communities and agencies collaborate.
Her mission is simple:
“I believe every community that cares about its officers deserves a clear and ethical way to support them for generations to come.”
A Simple Path to Launch a Police Foundation
1. Schedule a Discovery Call
We will discuss your department’s culture, your community’s goals, and what support looks like in your city.
2. Help Your Community Establish a Foundation
We guide supporters through nonprofit setup, board formation, compliance, and fundraising planning.
3. Launch and Fund the Foundation
Your community hosts its first event or gathers private donations to provide immediate impact for your officers.
Stronger Communities. Stronger Departments. Lasting Impact.
Police Foundations Help the Community and the Department By:
Built for Integrity and Transparency
Frequently Asked Questions
“Won’t this make it look like businesses are buying influence?”
Police foundations are designed to protect integrity. Donations go through a nonprofit, not individuals, and recognition is modest. This structure safeguards both officers and donors.
“Our city leadership will not approve this.”
We work with your city’s guidelines to ensure full compliance and create buy-in from leadership, making the process smooth and ethical.
“Police departments should be fully funded by tax dollars. Why do they need donations?”
City budgets are often stretched thin and cannot always cover specialized equipment, advanced training, community outreach programs, or officer wellness initiatives. A police foundation does not replace public funding. It supplements it. Foundations allow community members who want to help to do so in a structured, legal, and transparent way.
“I am worried the foundation money will be misused.”
Foundations operate as registered 501(c)(3) nonprofits. They have bylaws, a governing board, and financial reporting requirements to ensure donations are used responsibly. Valor Connect provides guidance on compliance and transparency so donors and the community can see exactly how funds are allocated.
“This will create special treatment for wealthy donors or businesses.”
A properly run foundation is designed to prevent favoritism. Contributions go into a collective fund that is managed by a board to meet agreed-upon priorities for the department and the community. Recognition is handled modestly and does not influence police operations or decision making.
“Our community has had tense relations with the police. Is this the right time to start a foundation?”
A foundation can help build trust by supporting programs that bring officers and residents together. It can fund initiatives such as youth outreach, neighborhood events, and mental health resources that create positive, non-emergency engagement. In communities facing tension, a well-run foundation can be part of the healing process.
Community and Officer Perspectives
“Since its inception in 2010, our agency has greatly benefited from the support of a dedicated police foundation. As a senior line officer on patrol, I initially viewed the concept of a police foundation with skepticism. I worried that it might resemble a social organization or that seeking financial assistance could be misinterpreted as a gratuity or ethical concern. However, I have since come to appreciate the significant positive impact the foundation has made on both our department and the community.
Lori has been instrumental in the success of our police foundation, actively driving initiatives that enhance our department. Her unwavering commitment has strengthened relationships with community members, secured vital equipment for our officers and specialized units, and improved our training programs. The foundation has effectively filled essential gaps for our department, both financially and in fostering trust within the community. I wholeheartedly support Lori’s efforts to extend these valuable benefits to other agencies.”
E. M. - Officer
“It is my great privilege to write this recommendation for Lori Haraldsen. I had the absolute pleasure of working alongside Lori as a fellow Board member for one of the premiere law enforcement non-profit foundations in the Pacific Northwest. Ultimately, she went on to fill the roles of vice-president and president of the foundation with great skill, innovative ideas and approaches, and a heart dedicated to the welfare of the all the department’s employees, sworn and civilian alike. She sought creative approaches to funding challenges, cohesiveness in the Board’s functioning, and collaborative working with other community members, both governmental and non-governmental alike, to fill the increasingly expensive needs of law enforcement personnel as they attempt to keep up with ever evolving craft of policing our communities.
If your agency is contemplating setting up a non-profit foundation specifically geared towards helping a law enforcement agency increase its financial resources, I highly recommend Lori Haraldsen as the person to provide you with the template needed to successfully accomplish that goal. She will provide excellent professional and knowledgeable direction so your task of putting the needed mechanisms in place is not delayed by time-consuming searching for reliable, informed and proven guidance.”
J. H. - Retired Officer
“I have served in a large police organization for more that 20 years. Having a partnership with Valor Connect and Lori makes it possible to establish long-term community relationships and see impactful changes. Valor Connect can help agencies develop or enhance a funding source to support your officers and their families. I have known Lori and her heart for the community for decades. She serves with honor, integrity and heart..”
D. C. - Officer
Imagine a Department Fully Supported by the Community It Protects
Picture a future where your department has the resources it needs, officers feel appreciated, and your community is united behind those who protect it.
Valor Connect can help your community turn that vision into reality.
Let’s Build a Foundation of Trust Together
Your officers face a tough job every day. Your community wants to help them feel supported, equipped, and valued. Valor Connect makes that possible.
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Valor Connect partners with law enforcement agencies and community members to establish ethical, effective nonprofit police foundations. Our mission is to build bridges of trust by equipping communities to support their officers, strengthen relationships, and fund initiatives that enhance safety, morale, and lasting community connections.
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