coast guard foundation

Case for Support

Coast Guard Foundation Case for Support

y our mission

The Coast Guard Foundation’s mission is to support projects and programs that enhance the lives of all Coast Guard members and their families. The Coast Guard Foundation serves as a goodwill ambassador for the United States Coast Guard.

y our goals

The Coast Guard Foundation provides education, support and relief to Coast Guard members and their families. We enhance their lives to strengthen their service to our nation by helping them excel on- and off-duty.

y history

Established in 1969 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Coast Guard Foundation funded academic, athletic, and other margin of excellence needs of the Coast Guard Academy and its cadets that were not covered by federal operational funding.

In 1986, the Foundation expanded its charter to support projects that enhance the education, welfare and morale of all Coast Guard members and their families. The Foundation is governed by a board of 88 trustees from all parts of the country. Located in Stonington, Connecticut, the Foundation employs a staff of thirteen civilians responsible for meeting the organization’s objectives and working closely with the Coast Guard to ensure its forces are Semper Paratus, always ready.

The Foundation supports numerous programs and proj-ects through donations from individuals, corporations, foundations and fundraising events. The Foundation supports academic, athletic, and leadership excellence for cadets at the Academy; provides financial support to Coast Guard families who lose a loved one in the line of duty; offers financial relief to Coast Guard families who lose their possessions in natural disasters; provides college scholarships to dependents of enlisted personnel; funds recreation and family-oriented facilities; and supports education and morale programs at bases and on cutters around the nation; as well as hundreds of smaller projects.

y summary

The men and women of the Coast Guard serve their country day in and day out. Theirs is a life-saving mission. The Coast Guard is our nation’s first responders. They protect us from foreign threats to our ports and borders, keep drugs off our streets, and safeguard the delicate ecosystems of our waterways and oceans. These brave individuals perform their duties with honor, integrity and respect, and ask for nothing in return.

The Coast Guard Foundation inspires leadership, learning and a proud legacy of service to our nation by providing support to the men and women of the United States Coast Guard and their families.

The Coast Guard Foundation provides education, support and relief to Coast Guard members and their families. We enhance their lives to strengthen their service to our nation…

“It was my first real chance to lead people in complex situations. It was also my first real chance to apply

my navigation skills with direct consequences and to develop my seaman’s eye.

z uscg academy cadet

”

y visionThe Leadership 44 campaign demonstrated how powerful a public-private partnership is in fundraising. The Foundation plans to build on that success and identify additional campaigns that would benefit from similar fundraising strategies.

The Foundation received corporate grants totaling $450,000 since 2009, which have been used for Leadership and Ethics support at the Academy.

The goal is to identify additional opportunities like this in the future, with the hopes of expanding both corporate and individual support in these areas.

Despite the strong donor-designated gifts in leadership and ethics, the majority of waterfront and athletics programs and cadet activities are funded with unrestricted money.

The Foundation believes it can match these areas of support with specific donors, increasing the amount of donor-designated funds for athletics, cadet activities and waterfront programs.

Support for the United States Coast Guard Academy

Serving the future leaders of the Coast Guard is a key initiative for the Foundation as well. That’s why we support the Coast Guard Academy annually to benefit academic enrichment, leadership development programs and athletics. The Academy is a top-tier college, and the Foundation’s robust support allows

it to maintain its competitive edge when recruiting students.

Most recently, the Foundation has funded leadership and ethics initiatives at the Academy, including partnering with other Academy stakeholders in an $8 million capital campaign to provide eight state-of-the-art sailboats, which are used for the coastal sail training program. This program, the Leadership 44 Campaign, was a unique and successful public-private partnership, which drew upon a mixture of corporate and individual giving.

Cadets cite the sail training program as one of their most crucial and formative experiences at the Academy. It gives them a chance to get hands on leadership training in a maritime setting. Prior to the Leadership 44 campaign not all students were able to participate in this vital program. The Foundation’s efforts made it possible for all cadets to join in the sail training program.

One cadet described the sail training program this way: “It was my first real chance to lead people in complex situations. It was also my first real chance to apply my navigation skills with direct consequences and to develop my seaman’s eye.”

The Foundation has supported ethics and leadership courses at the Academy, providing funding for a professor who specializes in these subject matters, as well as top-tier conferences on important topics such as the shifting state of the Arctic. In addition to these initiatives, the Foundation supports Academy athletics programs, cadet activities and mentoring projects.

Shipmate Fund, Special Projects and Capital Projects

Supporting margin-of-excellence programs that benefit the men and women on the front lines of the Coast Guard helps ensure these dedicated individuals have opportunities for education, health and wellness activities off duty, so they can excel on duty. In cooperation with the Vice Commandant of the

Coast Guard, the Foundation has identified a needs list to make our donations as effective as possible.

Typically, funding for Shipmate projects comes from a mixture of unrestricted dollars, as well as donor-designated funds. We’ve had several successful campaigns run by Coast Guard Foundation Directors to benefit Coast Guard units in their communities. Several recent examples are fundraisers run by Trustee Bro D’Arcy in Ft. Myers, Florida and Director Jim O’Hare, who helped fund a basketball court at Station Thomas Point, Maryland and a playground in Southwest Harbor, Maine. Foundation Director James Coleman also recently donated funds to pay for a new basketball and tennis court at Air Station Cape Cod.

For the first time ever, in 2011, we established a named Shipmate Fund in honor of the immediate past chairman, Ross Roeder. This fund, which contains more than $131,000, will benefit margin of excellence projects in Northern Michigan. We hope this serves as an example of what the Foundation can do on a regional basis for Shipmate Projects.

A boatswain’s mate at Coast Guard Station Chetco River in Oregon thanked the Foundation for its generosity in providing for a distance learning center: “All of the effort and time you have given to our Coast Guard family through scholarships, education and relief efforts is extraordinary. Through your generosity it was made possible for Station Chetco to create a learning center… We currently have 12 members working towards a degree and this center has provided them with endless resources to complete their furthered education.”

In 2011, the Coast Guard Foundation funded a basketball court and recreation facility at Station Thomas Point, Maryland so that Coast Guard members and their families could have a safe place to play and build a community.

y vision

The Foundation, in conjunction with the Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard, has identified $1 million in projects that are prioritized on its Shipmate Fund needs list.

The hope is to find regional champions for each of these projects, who would be willing to spearhead the fundraising efforts.

There is an opportunity with Shipmate Projects to expand corporate giving to extend beyond our dinner support, where we could match interests of corporate donors with certain projects.

An additional opportunity to expand the Shipmate Fund’s impact is to seek in-kind corporate donations for items such as workout equipment, computers and software, and additional items.

The Foundation provided paddleboards, kayaks, mountain bikes, fishing gear and a tow tube for Coast Guard members and their families at Station Kauai.

shipmate projects E Shipmate Projects allow the Foundation to have a permanent positive effect with bases, units and cutters around the country, which reinforces our relationship with Coast Guard personnel from top brass to enlisted individuals. Typical projects include fitness gear, computer learning centers, textbooks and outdoor recreation equipment.

special projects E The CGF Special Project Fund provides support for larger projects, such as building playgrounds, resurfacing athletic courts, installing outdoor lighting and other projects that cost up to $250,000. These projects are identified by the Coast Guard at the district and headquarters level.

capital projects E The CGF Capital Project Fund provides support for capital improvement projects that carry a price tag of $250,000+. These projects are large scale campaigns to construct brick-and-mortar buildings. The Foundation has funded many capital projects, including building recreation centers on Dauphin Island, Alabama and Valdez, Alaska, and a swimming pool in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and the athletic track at the Coast Guard Academy.

The new playgrounds at Port Angeles, Washington, and Cape Hart, Oregon, built with donations to the Coast Guard Foundation.

“The phone rang early on Wednesday morning, and it was a call from our friends at the Coast Guard Foundation,

saying, ‘Tell us what you need. Tell us how we can help you.’ z admiral robert j. papp, in reference to the foundation’s response to the

crash of cg-6535 in february 2012

”

Whether it’s a care package, or paying for an airline ticket for a family member to attend her loved one’s memorial service, what we provide is also an emotional safety net to those affected by these tragedies. Through these services, the Foundation is always focused on bettering the lives of those who serve in the Coast Guard and supporting their families. Coast Guard Commandant Robert J. Papp spoke of the Foundation’s support after a helicopter crew from Mobile, Alabama was lost: “The phone rang early on Wednesday morning, and it was a call from our friends at the Coast Guard Foundation, saying, ‘Tell us what you need. Tell us how we can help you,’” continued Papp. “The Coast Guard Foundation has always been there for us, and we are fortunate to have shipmates like them.”

Sadly, since 2008, the Coast Guard community has lost four aircrews in mission-related crashes. During these difficult times, we are reminded of the stark danger that Coast Guard personnel face on a daily basis, and the sacrifice these brave individuals are willing to make for their country. The Family Disaster Relief Fund was established in September 2008 in response to a tragedy at Air Station Barber’s Point, Hawaii, in which the Coast Guard lost four crewmembers in a helicopter accident. At the time, the Family Disaster Relief Fund provided emergency assistance to the families of this helicopter crew to attend memorial services in Hawaii immediately following the incident. We have continued to draw on this fund to support and comfort other families affected by these difficult, heart-wrenching situations.

y vision

The disbursement of relief funds is almost entirely dependent on events that are beyond the Foundation’s control. However, we believe it’s important to have funds at the ready in the case of an accident that warrants our help.

The primary options in this area are the Family Disaster Relief Fund, which was established following a Coast Guard aircraft crash in 2008, and the Disaster Relief Fund, which was established after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 to help Coast Guard personnel whose lives were turned upside down.

We want to expand this program to include the Coast Guard community at large within the definition of family, comforting all of those impacted when the service suffers a tragedy.

These events are tragic, but they are also high-profile, which means they are largely fundable by emergency appeals on our website and through our direct mail campaign.

One option The Foundation hopes to pursue is to establish a pillar campaign, as well as a documented process (an “emergency response plan”) that can be implemented following a tragedy to kick start a fundraising and awareness campaign.

Relief for the Coast Guard Community and Families

In times of need, the Coast Guard Foundation acts as a lifeline to active duty personnel and their families. When a family is faced with the unthinkable loss of a loved one in the line of duty, the Foundation works hand in hand with the Coast Guard to help the family cope with the loss of their loved one and ensure

their immediate needs are covered.

“I had made the commitment to myself to fulfill my dreams of becoming a nurse after Nathan

passed away, but it would have been a huge financial burden for me as a single mom.

z pattie bruckenthal

”

Our hope is to expand the program to provide additional support to the families earlier on in the child’s life, from the time of the disaster until the child reaches college age. We want to reinforce the importance of a good education and proactively assist the children in making sure their dreams of a college education become a reality when that time comes, to provide a full college scholarship. To accomplish these goals, we need additional funding.

Take the case of Pattie Bruckenthal, whose husband, Nathan, was killed in the Iraq War in 2003. The Foundation provided her with a scholarship, allowing her to get a degree in nursing. “I had made the commitment to myself to fulfill my dreams of becoming a nurse after Nathan passed away, but it would have been a huge financial burden for me as a single mom,” she said. The Fallen Heroes Scholarship not only covers Mrs. Bruckenthal’s education. Her daughter Harper, who just finished first grade, will also be eligible for the scholarship once she graduates from high school.

“I am so amazed that other people would extend their hand the way they have to both my daughter and me,” Bruckenthal said. “It still amazes me how people that I do not know are so willing to help make a brighter future for my family, and I will be forever grateful.”

Audrey Gill is a recipient of the Coast Guard Foundation’s Fallen Heroes Scholarship. Audrey’s father, AM1 Michael Gill, was killed while flying a rescue mission in California. She said her scholarship, which she was not expecting to get, is “definitely helpful — college is expensive and it’s getting more expensive.”

Audrey received a $20,000 Fallen Heroes Scholarship. She was just three years old when her father died, so her memories of him have been mostly passed down from her mother, Donna. However, Audrey has letters from her dad that she reads often, as well as pictures and stories from her father’s friends to help keep his memory alive. One of her most prized possessions is a wooden rocking horse that her father made “completely from scratch” as a Christmas gift for her.

“My dad was a car person, a mechanic. He was always fixing everything around the house, but I didn’t get that gene,” Audrey joked. Audrey said she is honored to be the recipient of the award in her father’s memory. “It’s a really big honor that my dad served in the Coast Guard,” she said. “He’s my hero.”

y vision

There are nearly 20 children who qualify for this scholarship.

The Foundation needs an additional $1 million in the endowment to fund all those children at the current rate of $2,500/year.

If a child does not apply, scholarships can be awarded to the surviving spouse.

To expand the program to increase involvement earlier in the child’s life, we need an additional $3 million for an endowment.

Support for Families of the Coast Guard’s Fallen Heroes

The Fallen Heroes Scholarship was endowed by Coast Guard Foundation Director John Statts in memory of his parents. This endowment currently awards partial college scholarships to dependents of personnel who make the ultimate sacrifice for their country. Losing a parent is an unparalleled

tragedy, and the Coast Guard Foundation ensures that these heroes’ loved ones receive a quality education in the wake of their death.

Vice Admiral Vivien Crea and Fallen Heroes Scholar Patti Bruckenthal at the Foundation’s annual Tribute to the United States Coast Guard in Our Nation’s Capital.

“Being a husband and a father on top of that makes it even harder. Money is tight and every little bit helps. I appreciate

all the help the Coast Guard Foundation has given me in pursuit of my degree.

z enlisted grant recipient

”

y enlisted education grants

Grants for enlisted personnel pay for expenses not covered by the G.I. bill or the Coast Guard’s tuition assistance programs, items such as textbooks, lab fees and calculators. The education grants program is successful because the distributions are relatively small dollar amounts that give enlisted personnel the ability to buy essential materials without incurring out of pocket expenses. Often times these individuals are the sole income-earner in their households, and the most junior enlisted members of the service earn only $22,000 per year. The grants are $500 and renewable yearly.

One grant recipient wrote in a thank you note to the Foundation: “Being a Coast Guard member and going through school is hard enough. Being a husband and a father on top of that makes it even harder. Money is tight and every little bit helps. I appreciate all the help the Coast Guard Foundation has given me in pursuit of my degree.” Presently, these grants are funded primarily through unrestricted money. Ideally, though, the Foundation would be able to use a combination of donor-designated funds and an endowment to expand this important program.

y education grants for spouses of enlisted

In 2011, the Coast Guard Foundation established a program to award college grants to spouses of enlisted Coast Guard personnel. The initial contributions provided three years’ worth of grants, and the hope to expand on that support going forward,

y vision

The majority of enlisted education grants are paid for with unrestricted money and must be raised each year.

Currently the Foundation distributes roughly $300,000/year for enlisted education grants that aren’t covered by restricted funds.

We hope to shift that funding to a restricted or donor-designated source, leaving us more flexibility with our unrestricted funds.

The Foundation’s goal is to establish a designated fund between $300,000 and $400,000, or an $8 million endowment to pay for these enlisted education grants.

The Foundation would like to find donors to support the spouse grant program, after the three years of funding runs out — either through a multi-year pledge or the establishment of an endowment.

We anticipate the demand for this program will increase greatly once the program becomes better known. To maintain the current level of funding would require $25,000 annually in cash, or $650,000 in an endowment. We could need as much as $300,000 annually once the program is established.

In its initial year, the program was very popular among Coast Guard spouses, and going forward there is room for a great deal of growth in this area of support.

Grants and Scholarships for Enlisted and Families

One of the most challenging aspects of life in the Coast Guard is balancing responsibilities of family and duty. Because of these challenges, the Coast Guard Foundation supports families in various ways, including college scholarships for dependents of enlisted personnel, education grants for

spouses and disaster relief funds that can be used in the wake of a tragedy.

with the goal of making this program self-sustaining. In its inaugural year, the spouse grant program was immensely popular.

We awarded $17,300 in grants to 77 spouses, two of whom are men, and 75 are women. They currently reside in 22 different states. Some are taking long-distance courses through certified universities online; others are attending colleges or technical schools. They range in age from 20 to 53. Some are parents, some are not. The one common thread in their life is the love and support of their spouses and the United States Coast Guard, and the desire to better themselves through education.

One grant winner wrote in her application: “During our time in the Coast Guard, I have had to relocate and search for a new job time and time again. It is a great challenge to get a foot in the door without a degree. With high unemployment rates, the application process is much more competitive and the lack of a degree on my resume puts me at a great disadvantage to compete with other applicants. The experience I have gained during each class has provided me with the training and background to better serve my time as an employee, spouse and a teacher for my daughters.”

y scholarships to children of coast guard personnel

Over the past 20 years, the Coast Guard Foundation has awarded more than $2.4 million in college scholarships to 250 deserving students. The Foundation currently has multiple scholarships that benefit the children of enlisted personnel, and our scholarship program is one of the strongest ways we support Coast Guard families.

As one retired Coast Guardsman told us, the Coast Guard Foundation scholarship his son received was the difference be-tween his son finishing his college degree and not. The chief was badly injured in a car accident, which prevented him from working. Without the Foundation’s schol-arship, his son’s future would not be so bright. “The loss of income, and the com-plete lack of certainty about our future, left us unsure whether our son would even be able to continue at college,” the parent said. “These haven’t been easy times, not only for

me, but especially for my family. My son at one point was going to quit so he could help us pay the bills. Thankfully it didn’t have to come to that.”

At the current rate, however, the Foundation won’t be able to continue funding our most popular scholarship, the Arnold Sobel Scholarship, beyond 2013. In order to benefit the most number of applicants, we’ve reduced most of our scholarships from four year awards to one year awards. These vital programs have a direct positive impact on the lives of Coast Guard personnel and deserve to be expanded upon in the future. The need for additional support is obvious. The Foundation should be in a position support awards for all qualified students. We never want to say “no” to a deserving candidate.

y vision

In order to continue funding our four-year, $5,000/year college scholarships, we need to secure an additional $3 million in scholarship endowment funds over the next 10 years.

Our goal is to fund 100 percent of requests for qualified students, which would translate into $600,000 distributed annually. This number could be generated annually, or by an endowment fund that totals $15 million.

In 2011, 21 students with GPAs above 3.5 were not awarded any scholarship money; 17 of those applicants are currently enrolled in college; and nine of the students were members of the National Honor Society, which requires academic excellence and substantial community service.

photography creditsfront cover: The Coast Guard Cutter Eagle sails into San Francisco; uscg photo by pa1 alan haraf.

Air Station San Francisco flies Coast Guard ensigns at the Golden Gate Bridge to honor the helicopter crew of CG-6505, who perished in 2008; uscg photo by lt matthew udkow. The national ensign and the Coast Guard

ensign fly side-by-side in Texas; uscg photo by pa renee c. aiello. Members of Coast Guard recruit companies at Arlington National Cemetery during the annual Flags Across America; uscg photo by pa2 annie r. b. elis.

page 1: CGC Eagle, a barque, is known as America’s Tallship; uscg photo by ensign ryan beck.

page 2: The Coast Guard Academy’s new Leadership 44 sail training vessels; photo by onne van der wal.

page 3: Hats fly at the Academy commencement in New London; uscg photo by telfair h. brown sr.

pages 4 and 5: All Foundation project photos submitted by the Coast Guard stations pictured.

page 6: An HH-65 from Air Station Barbers Point flies above canoes near Oahu at the Fallen Guardians Memorial Race, which benefitted the Foundation’s Fallen Heroes Scholarship Fund; uscg photo by pa3 angela henderson.

page 7: The flight helmet of a fallen helicopter crewmember of CG-6535, who perished in March 2012, at the memorial service at Coast Guard Air Training Center Mobile, Alabama; uscg photo by pa2 patrick kelley.

page 8: Flags Across America at Arlington National Cemetery; uscg photo by pa2 annie r. b. elis.

page 9: Tribute to the Coast Guard in Our Nation’s Capital dinner photo by john harrington.

page 10: A boatswain’s mate aboard CGC Sea Horse embraces his wife after the cutter’s return to its Portsmouth, Virginia homeport; uscg photo by pa3 david weydert.

page 11: Ecstatic family and friends in Norfolk, Virginia greet the arrival of Coast Guard cutters returning from supporting Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom; uscg photo by pa1 kimberly smith.

page 12: A crewmember from CGC Bear is reunited with her children at the end of a 58-day deployment; uscg photo by pa3 david weydert. A petty officer from CGC Bainbridge Island hoists his son after returning from a deployment

in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom; uscg photo by pa1 kimberly smith.

back cover: CGC Valiant helo tie-down crew on the flight deck; uscg photo by seaman joseph puterbaugh.

coast guard foundation case for support

CoastGuardFoundation.org394 taugwonk road, stonington, connecticut 06378

t: 860-535-0786 z f: 860-535-0944

“All of the effort and time you have given to our Coast Guard family through scholarships, education

and relief efforts is extraordinary.” z boatswain’s mate at station chetco river