Home Front Heroes: The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund

The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund is a leader in supporting the men and women of the Armed Forces and their families. Begun in 2000 under the auspices of the Intrepid Museum Foundation, and established as an independent not-for-profit organization in 2003, the Fund has provided close to $60 million in support for the families of military personnel lost in service to our nation, and for severely wounded military personnel and veterans. These efforts are funded entirely with donations from the public, and hundreds of thousands of individuals have contributed to the Fund. 100% of contributions raised by the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund go towards these programs; all administrative expenses are underwritten by the Fund’s Trustees.From 2000 to 2005 the Fund provided close to $20 million to families of United States military personnel lost in performance of their duty, mostly in service in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Fund provided unrestricted grants of $11,000 to each spouse and $5,000 to each dependent child; and $1,000 to parents of unmarried servicemembers. The payments were coordinated with the casualty offices of the Armed Forces, to ensure all families received these benefits. In 2005 a new law substantially increased the benefits granted to these families. With that mission therefore accomplished, the Fund redirected its support toward the severely injured. For information on Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund support provided to families of those lost prior to May 12, 2005, click here.In January 2007, the Fund completed construction of a $40 million world-class state-of-the-art physical rehabilitation center at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. The “Center for the Intrepid” serves military personnel who have been catastrophically disabled in operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and veterans severely injured in other operations and in the normal performance of their duties. The 60,000 square foot Center provides ample space and facilities for the rehabilitation needs of the patients and their caregivers. It includes state-of-the-art physical rehabilitation equipment and extensive indoor and outdoor facilities. Click here for more information on the Center for the Intrepid.The Center is co-located with two 21-room Fisher Houses that house the families of patients (www.fisherhouse.org).Although sufficient funding has been received for the Center’s construction costs, the Fund is accepting donations to provide additional services for our wounded military and veteran heroes and their families. The Fund’s Board of Trustees is currently determining, in consultation with the Armed Forces and the Department of Veterans Affairs, the next area of need for our wounded military personnel and veterans that the Fund will address. All contributions received will be directed to support this new project.