On the anniversary of their appearance on ABC’s Shark Tank, DARTdrones says it is pledging $100,000 in drone training grants to public safety organizations as a way to give back.
A year ago, A small team at DARTdrones eagerly awaited their moment in the spotlight, preparing to be featured on Shark Tank. Since that time, the company has tripled the size of its team; expanded training to 40 cities across the country; and added curriculum that not only helps industry professionals get started in drones but also provides police, fire and federal agencies with drone training that can help save lives. DARTdrones says it has trained over 70 police and fire departments to date.
The company notes that the financial costs involved in getting a drone program off the ground remains a barrier for many public safety organizations. In turn, DARTdrones is is launching the DARTdrones Public Safety Grant, which provides a pathway for departments to adopt unmanned aircraft technology.
Recipients will be awarded full or partial funding for their initial training needs, potentially including basic flight training, search-and-rescue training, accident investigation training, aerial disaster response training, and a number of consulting and legal documentation writing services. Additionally, the company will work with grant participants to collect data on the use of drones in public operations to continue the development of new training programs.
DARTdrones already offers a number of free resources online for public safety departments, including “Starting a Drone Program with Your Police Department,” “Starting a Drone Program with Your Fire Department,” and “The Lives Saved with Search and Rescue Drones 2017.”
“From mapping a disaster area to providing a safe evacuation route, drones provide critical intelligence to a police officer entering a dangerous situation. As a public safety UAS instructor, there is no greater pride than seeing the knowledge and skills you impart on your students being used towards saving lives,” says Mike Uleski, DARTdrones’ chief public safety instructor and a Daytona, Fla., law enforcement officer, firefighter and EMT.
The company hopes this initial pledge is just the beginning of the program; it is working with other drone software and services companies to expand the reach and offerings of the grant. More information can be found here.
Not saying this is an “us too” situation but we at Drone Pilot, Inc. have been doing this for years. The “grant” is just really a discount on their classes, not so much of a money-into-your-hands type of grant that can buy you equipment. I would imagine, the more pilots you send, the larger the “grant” would be, which is essentially a quantity discount. Anyone in business would do this. Very nice marketing ploy though since many PSA’s rely on grants for funding.
Gene is correct, we do the same thing here at Drone University USA.