A 501(c)(3) Nonprofit · Founded 1995
Texas Is Fertile Ground.
And We Believe God Prepared It.
"Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop — a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."
— Matthew 13:8
The Calling · A 30-Year Journey
From a Bible Study to 1,500 Agencies
In 1995, in the aftermath of the Polly Klaas tragedy, a small Bible study group felt a clear call: technology can and should be used to protect the least among us.
That call birthed Critical Reach. Three decades later, our APBnet™ platform is the daily standard for 1,500+ law enforcement agencies — enabling officers to share intelligence, coordinate responses, save lives and protect all citizens in ways that weren't possible before.
We didn't build this for profit. We built it as a calling. And that calling has been pointing toward Texas for a long time.
Todd Bower
Co-Founder
25+ years leading the organization from its founding after the Polly Klaas tragedy to serving 1,500+ agencies nationwide.
Dr. Jennifer Dawson
Executive Director
Stanford engineering doctorate with expertise in autonomous systems. Leading Critical Reach's technology and product strategy.
Our Platform · Four Products, One Mission
Community-wide crisis readiness.
Real-time criminal intelligence for law enforcement
1,500+ agencies sharing bulletin intelligence in real time — the fastest path from a crime to an apprehension and a missing child home safely.
Emergency alerts direct to schools and public spaces
When a threat emerges, Direct Connect puts law enforcement's alert in front of every nearby building — before harm arrives.
Crisis response for every school, at no cost
Every school, regardless of budget, gets the same life-saving emergency response tools — so no child is less protected because of a ZIP code.
Crisis readiness for every place families gather
Houses of worship, shopping centers, community organizations — Community Secure extends the same protection beyond the school door to everywhere children and families go.
Why Texas · Why Now
The Ground Has Been Prepared.
Texas doesn't just wait for a crisis to happen. The leaders we meet here — sheriffs, mayors, school principals, church pastors — don't say "it won't happen here." They say "what can we do?" That posture is rare. It is exactly the soil in which this work takes root.
Critical Reach has been building relationships in Texas for years — working alongside law enforcement in Houston and San Antonio. We know this state's seriousness about safety.
But the door to Gillespie County opened differently — through a lifelong friendship, not a sales call. That's how God tends to work. He goes before, prepares the ground, and opens a door you didn't know was there.
A long-time APBnet user from the Chicago area relocated to the Coastal Bend of Texas and reached out to us — a door we didn't knock on. He recognized immediately what APBnet could do for the region and has spent the past year building relationships and gathering buy-in for a 13-county deployment. Platform upgrades arriving in July 2026 will extend our full emergency alerting capabilities to all 13 counties at launch — and like Gillespie County, the Coastal Bend becomes another seed from which Texas-wide adoption can grow.
"The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you."
— Deuteronomy 31:8
We believe God will use Gillespie County to lead the state of Texas — not as a pilot that stays in Fredericksburg, but as the seed of a county-by-county strategy that reaches every community in the state.
The Problem · Lives Lost in the Gap
When the link is broken or nonexistent, the cost is lives.
When crisis strikes, we discover that the systems we rely on are insufficient. Hover over each to see what was missing — and how it could have been different.
Guadalupe River, TX · 2025
Flood
Paradise, CA · 2018
Fire
Uvalde, TX · 2022
School Shooting
Sutherland Springs, TX · 2017
Church Shooting
Hover or tap each card to learn more.
What's Broken · What We Built
The gap between crisis and response
is a communication problem.
Every tool first responders have today was built for a simpler world. Here is what breaks — and what we replace it with.
The Problem
Every Emergency Is Different
The tools first responders have today are rigid and narrow. When the situation doesn't match the scripted playbook — and it never does — the gap is filled with improvisation.
Our Solution
Easy-to-use, broad communication that supports real-time coordination across every site, every responder, and every decision-maker — so first responders can make good decisions regardless of how the situation unfolds.
The Problem
Flying Blind
Officers arrive with no site map, no knowledge of current status. Is the school evacuating, sheltering, or on lockdown? Where is the threat?
Our Solution
Every connected site has a digital floor plan and live status pushed to every responding officer before they arrive on scene.
The Problem
Nearby Sites in the Dark
Neighboring schools, churches, and camps hear sirens but don't know what to do. Police work through a slow phone tree while the situation evolves.
Our Solution
One broadcast reaches every registered site simultaneously. Nearby communities get actionable guidance — not just sirens.
The Problem
Every Emergency Is Different
The tools first responders have today are rigid and narrow. When the situation doesn't match the scripted playbook — and it never does — the gap is filled with improvisation.
Our Solution
Easy-to-use, broad communication that supports real-time coordination across every site, every responder, and every decision-maker — so first responders can make good decisions regardless of how the situation unfolds.
The Problem
The 911 Queue
Every parent, child, and bystander with a phone is calling. One or two dispatchers are overwhelmed. Critical intelligence sits in a queue.
Our Solution
APB Direct Connect sends one alert from any authorized staff member directly to every officer simultaneously — bypassing the queue and delivering real-time intelligence.
The Problem
One-Way Mass Alerts
Text message community alert systems can push a message out. But it can't receive feedback. There's no path to decision-makers at the center of the event.
Our Solution
Two-way communication with site leaders — confirmed receipt, live status, and direct dialogue with the people who matter most.
The Vision · Fully Deployed
What it looks like when it works.
When the system is fully deployed, the question changes. It's no longer "Did anyone get the word?" It's "How are they responding?"
Dispatch has flexible tools and can reach everyone at once — or a specific site, a specific role, a specific area. A message that would have required twenty phone calls takes ten seconds.
Sites don't just receive the alert — they confirm it.
Fredericksburg Elementary: evacuated.
First Baptist: sheltering in place.
The camp on the river: requesting assistance.
Officers arrive at the scene already knowing the floor plan, the room number, the occupancy count. They don't arrive blind. They arrive informed.
That feedback loop — broadcast out, confirmation back — is the difference between hoping the word got through and knowing it did.
Proven across law enforcement and community.
Play As One · Encinitas, CA
A youth soccer program is currently piloting Community Secure to coordinate leadership and safety across multiple fields and sites simultaneously. When your participants are spread across a complex, one click reaches everyone.
Tracy Avelar · Chief of Police, Pleasanton, CA
"The ability to communicate directly across multiple jurisdictions is a game changer. We have solved crimes, located missing persons, and connected criminal behavior. Without APBnet™ many crimes would go unsolved."
The Texas Strategy
Fredericksburg first. Then Texas.
The plan is grounded, relational, and already in motion. We will start in Gillespie County through dedicated local leaders who have already opened the door — the Mayor of Fredericksburg is supportive, the Sheriff is ready, and the infrastructure of committed leaders is in place.
2
Counties
Ways to Give
Every gift plants a seed.
Check / DAF
Payable to: Critical Reach, Inc.
25 Latham Court
Hillsborough, CA 94010
EIN: 94-3215363
Stock Transfer
Brokerage: Charles Schwab
DTC Routing: #0164, code 40
For our account number, please call 650-922-5963 — we will personally ensure your broker has everything needed for a seamless transfer.
The Ask · A Self-Sustaining Legacy
Growth capital. Not a permanent subsidy.
Our financial model has sustained this mission for over 20 years. We will replicate it for Texas.
$10M
Over three years enables national launch
$10M+
Projected annual revenue at national scale
Free
For every school, always
Schools use Critical Reach free, forever — no grants, no annual applications. Every public and private school is covered at no cost. Other community sites — churches, camps, and businesses — pay modest annual fees. Those fees generate self-sustaining revenue for Critical Reach.
With $10M raised over three years, we will scale for national launch — protecting every child in America. Our financial model predicts more than $10M in annual revenue at full scale, producing sustained mission impact that outlasts any single donor's gift.
The platform is built. The model is proven.
The only thing standing between us and deployment is funding for the staff to do it. The faster we raise, the faster we deploy — and the sooner every community is protected and the mission becomes self-sustaining.
Support the Mission
Plant the Seed.
Why Critical Reach
A modern fulfillment of an old calling.
Built, tested, deployed
Not a concept — this infrastructure has run 24/7 for three decades.
Nonprofit, not a startup
No exit pressure. No investors demanding margin. No excessively expensive solutions.
No cost to schools
Modest fees from private-sector sites subsidize free access for every school.
Permanent by 2029
Texas sustains itself through community fees. A one-time investment, not a recurring subsidy.
30+ years serving LE
1,500+ agencies. 10,000+ officers. 1M+ bulletins. The track record is real.
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God."
— Matthew 5:9
In the modern world, peace requires the infrastructure to protect the innocent. In Texas, the ground is ready. The leaders are willing. The need is clear.
We are simply asking you to plant the seed.
Get in Touch
Dr. Jennifer Dawson, Executive Director
jdawson@criticalreach.org · 650.922.5963 · criticalreach.org