Stumbled into this. Hope you have recovered, and thanks for sharing. Have had the pleasure of working with several sar groups including TCSAR. They run a great organization. In my previous job we supplied both equipment and some training to TCSAR and other similar groups, usually at a very significant discount (basically our cost as a manufacturer) and also donated some $ as well as various equipment used for their fundraising events, and provided some training to their responders on the use of several of our products. I think a lot of the companies in those industries do similar as way to give back to the community that supports them. Most of these SAR orgs are operated under the auspices of a public org of some sort--sheriff, state police, forest service, park service or similar, all of which have public funding but in a limited way--but most also have "friends of" organizations specifically to fundraise for the organization to get the neccessary equipment and training as well as cover operating costs. I think the mix of who they rescue varies considerably depending on the exact location and the season, Jackson gets a lot of hikers rescued but also backcountry skiers, lots of snowmobilers, hunters, etc. Around me it's largely hikers, with a solid smattering of backcountry skiers, but also hunters do make up a good portion. I think in many locations people often talk about billing recipients, but that is often quashed becasue the areas these SAR groups are typically working in have economies that are heavily dependent on outdoor recreation, so this is seen to a degree as a cost of doing business in that sector, similar to how a firefighter who pulls you out of a car on the interstate doesnt bill you for that service, it's often the road transport to hospital that is the first service you get billed for. That's not at all universally true, but it's fairly common. when I worked in switzerland I climbed and backcountry skied on weekends usually, and carried REGA insurance so any helicopter ride would be covered.