December marks the schizophrenic time of year when hoards of Americans give thanks for all they have and then open their wallets and go buy as many new things as their credit cards will permit. But there are worthier causes out there than Sony and Sanyo, and some patriots have given a bit more than the average character in the latest Call of Duty video game.
There are many non-profit organizations that help military veterans, the intelligence community, and the families of the fallen. Choosing which to spotlight was a difficult task, as each of the dozens of worthy charities tends to focus on some different, underserved area of importance. Presented here are three organizations that have been evaluated by Charity Navigator for performance and transparency, ensuring that the money you donate actually goes to the causes you support.
CIA Officers Memorial Foundation
On November 25, 2001, Johnny “Mike” Spann was killed in Afghanistan. He was an officer in the Central Intelligence Agency’s Special Activities Division, and was the first American killed in the Global War on Terror. The circumstances behind his death remain shrouded in mystery, in part because of his harrowing final moments in the chaotic din of battle, and in part because of the nature of his job.
Here is what we know. He was sent to Afghanistan immediately after 9/11 as part of a small CIA paramilitary element determined to build alliances and find Osama Bin Laden. On November 25, he and another CIA officer arrived at Qala-i-Jangi, a 19th-century fortress where Northern Alliance forces were holding al-Qaeda prisoners. The Americans were there to interrogate detainees for information on Bin Laden’s whereabouts. What they didn’t know was that an uprising had been planned the night before. The prisoners rebelled with rifles, rocks, and grenades, and before he was killed, Mike Spann mounted a last stand that bought his fellow CIA officer and other innocent Afghans and civilians time to escape.
Spann left behind two daughters, whose tragedy would be compounded weeks later when their mother died of cancer.
In response to all of this, former members of the agency (including Richard Helms, the former director of Central Intelligence) banded together to found the CIA Officers Memorial Foundation. The charity’s purpose is to provide educational support to the surviving spouses and children of fallen CIA members. As of last year [pdf], at least 60 dependents of fallen officers were eligible for support by the foundation, and at least 27 have begun their studies at 21 different institutions of higher learning. As if in illustration of how long we’ve been at war, Spann’s oldest daughter, who was nine at the time of his death, is now a senior at Pepperdine University in California; the CIA Officers Memorial Foundation is providing for her education.
(An evaluation of the CIA Officers Memorial Foundation can be found here.)
Special Operations Warrior Foundation
A similar non-profit exists for the families of fallen members of U.S. special operations forces. The Special Operations Warrior Foundation was founded in 1980 in the wake of Operation Eagle Claw, the failed hostage rescue attempt in Iran. A scholarship fund was established for the seventeen children of the nine service members killed or incapacitated during that mission. In 1998, the fund expanded to support the families of all special operations personnel killed in combat or training, and today it provides an education for nearly 1,000 children of 900 fallen members of special operations forces. To date, the foundation has put 222 surviving children through college.
The foundation also provides emergency financial aid for severely injured members of special operations, ensuring that they can have family at their bedsides during recovery.
(An evaluation of the Special Operations Warrior Foundation can be found here.)
Fisher House Foundation
Bedside support for service members in recovery is also the mission of Fisher House Foundation. The charity’s most well known role is in providing housing for the families of wounded veterans, so that they can be close during treatment. Since it was established in 1990, Fisher House has served 180,000 families, saving an estimated $200 million in out-of-pocket lodging and transportation costs. It also maintains a scholarship fund for the children and spouses of the injured and fallen.
Fisher House has also proven to be nimble in the support that it provides, reacting to situations as they arise. Earlier this year, perhaps the most abhorrent repercussion of the government shutdown was the suspension of benefits for survivors of service members killed in action—to include burial expenses. Fisher House immediately provided the full amount of the benefit when the government would not. (The Special Operations Warrior Foundation also contributed, providing $20,000 per family of the fallen.)
(An evaluation of Fisher House Foundation can be found here.)
Each of these organizations does tremendous work for the intelligence community, special operations, and the military. But they can only provide such fine services with the support of individual donor. As we move into the holidays, and while our wallets are open, anyway, there may be no higher purpose for our money than to help the families of those who guard us while we sleep.
