Become a Scout partner

Help your neighbours with what you already have.

What Scout is

Scout is a text line for people in El Paso County who need help. Someone texts what they need; Scout finds who can help and connects them. Partners are the people and organizations who do the helping.

What happens next

  1. We verify. Someone from Scout calls to confirm this request is real and answer your questions. We call a number we look up independently, not the one you enter here.
  2. You review the covenant. A one-page agreement: help comes with no strings attached. No expectation of attendance, conversion, or participation from anyone we send you.
  3. You start receiving texts. When someone near you needs something you provide, Scout texts you: what's needed, roughly where, and when. You reply yes or no.
  4. You can stop anytime. Reply STOP to any Scout text.

What Scout will never do: share your information, charge you, or let payment affect who gets matched with whom.

Sign up

About you
Individuals can help with drop-offs of goods at a doorstep or public place. Anything involving entering a home, transporting a child, or overnight shelter is organizations only.
What can you help with? Select everything that applies.
When can we text you?
Scout will never text outside these hours. By law we can't text before 8am or after 9pm regardless.
How often can you help?
Scout will never send you more requests than this in a month. You can change it anytime.

You can read the full partner covenant before you sign up.

Text message consent

By submitting this form, you agree that Scout (operated by Best of Colorado, LLC) may send text messages to the phone numbers you provide, to ask whether your organization has capacity to help a specific community request. Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out at any time, HELP for help. Texts come from 719-249-6060. By listing a phone number below, you confirm that you are authorized to provide it and that the person who uses that number has agreed to receive these texts. We will never sell or share your information.

Questions

How many texts should I expect?

Very few at first. Scout is new, and we only text you when someone near you asks for something you provide. Early on that might be once or twice a month. If it ever becomes more than you want, tell us and we'll adjust, or reply STOP to any text.

Who should sign up?

Anyone who can help someone directly. Food pantries, churches with a benevolence fund, civic clubs, neighborhood associations, nonprofits, small businesses — and individuals. A church that keeps a closet of diapers, a bakery with day-old bread, a neighbor with a garage full of kids' clothes. These are the resources no directory lists.

Can individuals sign up, or only organizations?

Both. Individuals can help with drop-offs of goods at a doorstep or public place. For anything involving entering someone's home, transporting a child, or overnight shelter, we work only with organizations — not because individuals are less trustworthy, but because those situations need safeguards like background checks and a two-adult rule, and those take more than one person to keep.

Do you send us people's names or details?

No. Scout identifies people by phone number only — we don't collect names. When we text you about a request, you get what's needed, roughly where, and when. Anything more comes from the person directly, if they choose to share it.

What do you do with my information?

We use your contact details to reach you about matches, and nothing else. We don't sell data, we don't share your information with other organizations, and we never charge you.

What if I can't help with a particular request?

Say no. There's no penalty and no expectation. Scout asks several partners; a no just means we ask someone else.