For organizations
We are recruiting our first cohort.
Operation Iron Gate has not launched. We are looking for the nonprofits, agencies and NGOs that will run the Vallejo pilot, and we would rather tell you what that involves than sell you on it.
What you are probably worried about
Is this more data entry?
It is the first question every director asks and it is the right one. The pilot is scoped to the handoff — the moment a person moves from you to someone else — rather than to everything your staff already record.
Will you take my clients?
No. The people you serve are yours. Pathfinders for Hope is not a service provider and is not becoming one. The pilot exists so that a person you refer actually arrives somewhere, and so you can show that they did.
Will you take my funding?
No. Joining does not route your funding through us and does not put your contracts in our name. A confirmed handoff is a number you can use in your own reporting.
Could my data leak?
Every system that holds data carries that risk, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something. What we can tell you is exactly who can see what, which is written out below — and that your data stays yours. You can export it, and you can leave.
What your organization gets
A confirmed handoff
When you refer someone, you find out whether they arrived — not merely that the referral was sent.
A record you can cite
Your own numbers, in a form you can put in a board report or a renewal application.
No ID at the door
A person without government ID will not be turned away at intake.
Your data, exportable
You can take your organization’s data out at any time, in a standard format.
Someone to call
Each participating organization will be assigned a named point of contact at Pathfinders for Hope when the pilot opens.
Cost during the pilot
Nothing. A temporary license to Operation Iron Gate, free for the whole length of the pilot.
Cohort 01 · Vallejo pilot
Free for the entire pilot.
Organizations in the first cohort get a temporary license to Operation Iron Gate at no charge, for the whole length of the Vallejo pilot. Not a trial period. Not a discount. The pilot.
What we ask in return. You bring your organization in, and you bring the people you already serve in with you. They stay yours — the system is only where the handoffs are recorded. That is the whole cost of the pilot.
Pricing after the pilot has not been set. Nothing converts to paid without your organization agreeing in writing first.
What joining involves
A conversation. You tell us what your organization runs and where handoffs break.
A written scope: what you would do, what we would do, and what neither of us would do.
You decide. Nothing is signed in the first conversation, and there is no obligation to continue.
Who can see what
A person’s file is visible to the staff working with that person, not to everyone who holds a login.
Every time a file is opened, that is recorded.
The public view carries counts and rates only. No names and no case identifiers, ever.
Your organization’s data belongs to your organization. You can export it and you can leave.
Questions directors ask
What does it cost to join the pilot?
Nothing. Cohort 01 organizations get a temporary license to Operation Iron Gate free for the entire Vallejo pilot — not a thirty-day trial, the whole pilot. You bring your organization and the people you already serve; they stay yours. You can export your data and leave at any time. Pricing after the pilot has not been set, and nothing converts to paid without your organization agreeing in writing first.
Do we have to replace what we already use?
We’ll walk through how this fits alongside what you already use.
How many organizations have joined?
None yet. We are recruiting the first cohort, and we would rather say so plainly than show you a wall of logos.
Is this a government program?
No. Pathfinders for Hope is a California 501(c)(3), and Operation Iron Gate is its program.
What if we join and it does not work for us?
You leave, and you take your data with you.
Has any of this been tested?
Not in the field. There are no results to show you and none are claimed anywhere on this site. What exists is the build, the measurement standard published in 04, and the commitment to publish the numbers whether they are good or bad.
Who do we talk to?
Marco Cardenas, Founder. Every message goes to him, and he answers it.
Open now
Bring your whole organization in
The pilot has not launched. Recruiting for it has. Fill this out and a person on our team reads it — nothing is verified or approved until they do, and the license is free for the whole pilot.
Not ready to apply yet?
This is for organizations, officials, funders and press. If you need services yourself, do not use this — go here instead. Nothing on this page asks a person in crisis for their details.
OrganizationsApply through the cohort form.
Officials and fundersRequest a briefing. Marco Cardenas, Founder, responds directly — or call 707-205-7588.
PressRequest a briefing and mark it press.
No mailing address is published on this site. A map is deliberately absent: one is added only if a publishable business address exists, and never a home address or a dropped pin on a city.