Selection criteria
Who we serve, and how we choose.
These criteria are adopted in writing by the trustees, published in advance, and applied the same way to every application. We would rather be held to a standard in public than explain a decision after the fact.
Threshold conditions
All four must be met. These are not weighted; they are gates.
- Active emergency response service. EMT, paramedic, firefighter (career or volunteer), law enforcement officer, or emergency dispatcher, currently serving with an identifiable agency or department.
- Subject to call-back or on-call response. The household must actually be left behind during an emergency. This is the condition the whole program rests on.
- Owner-occupied primary residence. We install permanent equipment that is bolted to a structure and permitted through a municipality. We cannot do that on a property the applicant does not own and live in.
- Within our current service area. New Jersey, with early installations concentrated in Bergen County and adjacent municipalities. Applicants outside the area are held rather than declined, and contacted as the area expands.
Who we cannot serve, and why
These exclusions are not discretionary. Federal law forbids a private foundation from spending its funds for the benefit of people connected to it, under Internal Revenue Code section 4941, using the definitions at section 4946. A household in any of the categories below is ineligible no matter how compelling the need, and no exception exists that we could grant.
- The spouse, parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, or great-grandchild of either trustee, or the spouse of any of those descendants.
- Any trustee, employee, or manager of Ripple Foundation.
- Anyone who has contributed more than $5,000 in total to Ripple Foundation.
- Any owner of an interest in Zimick Electric LLC or Zimick Brothers Cleaning Service LLC.
Every applicant certifies these points in writing, and we document the answer in the file for each installation whether or not a relationship exists. A relationship that falls outside the four categories above does not disqualify anyone, but we disclose it in the record either way.
No donor can buy a specific household a generator. We do not accept a gift earmarked, designated, or given on any understanding that it will benefit a named person or family, and we will decline the restriction if one is offered. Under IRS Publication 3833, assistance has to reach a class “large enough or sufficiently indefinite that the community as a whole, rather than a pre-selected group of people, benefits,” and donors “cannot earmark contributions to a charitable organization for a particular individual or family.” Every household is selected through the criteria on this page and nothing else, including the household in front of you if you know one.
How households are prioritized
Among applicants who clear the threshold, these factors move a household up the list. None of them is a disqualifier on its own.
| Factor | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Powered medical equipment in the household | An outage is a safety event rather than an inconvenience. We ask yes or no and allow an optional note. We do not ask for a diagnosis, a device list, or a provider. |
| Dependents in the home | Children, elderly parents, or anyone who cannot independently manage a multi-day outage. |
| Documented outage history at the address | Repeated or extended outages at the property, including during Sandy, Isaias, or subsequent events. |
| Household income band | Optional and always banded, never an exact figure. It affects priority; leaving it blank does not disqualify an application. |
| Site feasibility | Available gas or propane service, a viable equipment location, and an electrical service that can accept a transfer switch without a full upgrade. |
| Length of service | Considered, but weighted lightly. A third-year paramedic carries the same night as a twentieth-year one. |
What happens after you apply
- Step 1: Received
- You get an email confirmation with a reference number, usually the same day.
- Step 2: Verification
- We contact the supervisor you listed to confirm active service and call-back status. We confirm that fact and nothing else. We do not discuss your household, your finances, or your application with your department.
- Step 3: Site review
- A licensed electrician walks the property, checks the service and fuel supply, and prices the work. There is no cost to you and no obligation.
- Step 4: Committee decision
- The selection committee reviews complete, verified applications against the criteria on this page. You are told the outcome in writing either way. Not selected does not mean declined. Most non-selections are a funding timing question and stay on the list.
- Step 5: Scheduling and installation
- Permit, install, inspection, and a walkthrough with you on how the system exercises itself and what to do if it faults.
- Step 6: Follow-up
- We check in after each significant outage. This is where the data comes from that we have committed to publishing.
What selection actually gets you
- You pay nothing, at any point
- No cost, no co-payment, no deposit, no deductible, no repayment, and no interest. This is not a loan and not a financed product. Ripple Foundation contracts with the electrical contractor directly and pays the contractor directly. You never receive an invoice for the scoped work. If you ever do, do not pay it, and tell us.
- No lien can be placed on your home
- This one matters more than it sounds. Because the work happens on a house the foundation does not own, an unpaid contractor's normal remedy under N.J.S.A. 2A:44A-21 would run against your property. Our contract requires the contractor and every subcontractor and supplier to waive that right against your home, makes the foundation the sole recourse for payment, and requires signed waivers at each payment. You are named as a party who can enforce that clause yourself.
- The equipment becomes yours
- Title passes to you when the installation is complete and inspected. The foundation keeps no ownership interest, no security interest, and no right to take it back. Manufacturer warranties are registered in your name, and the contractor's workmanship warranty runs to you, so you can enforce both directly.
- It is not taxable income to you
- Consistent with IRS Publication 3833, assistance of this kind is treated as a gift excluded from gross income under section 102 of the Internal Revenue Code. We do not issue you a Form 1099 for it. We are not your tax advisor, and a permanent improvement can affect a property tax assessment, so ask yours about your own situation.
- What you are responsible for afterward
- Fuel, and manufacturer-scheduled maintenance, and repairs after the warranty period. A standby generator is a machine with oil, a filter, and a battery, and skipping the service schedule will void the warranty and can leave you dark on the night you need it. We walk you through the schedule at handover and put it in writing. The program does not include ongoing service or replacement.
- You never owe us your story
- Permission to use your name, your photograph, or your story is a separate, optional, revocable document. Saying no changes nothing about your eligibility, your priority, your schedule, or the quality of the work, and we will never publish your street address. The permission form is itemized, so you can agree to share your story while withholding your address or any image of your home.
Submitting an application is not a promise of selection. Our capacity in any given period is limited by funds raised, and we would rather say that here than imply otherwise. Nothing on this page creates an entitlement to a system, and applying costs you nothing but the time it takes.