Nearly a decade after it was founded, the business leaders behind The Patriot Fund are still motivated by one simple statistic: 22 suicides per day.
That’s how many veterans take their own lives every 24 hours in America, a tragic fact that remains top of mind for everyone involved in The Patriot Fund, a South Jersey-based organization that recently joined the Satell Institute.
“That’s what keeps us up at night. That is really the driving force,” says Michael Wilkinson (pictured, middle), volunteer president of the organization. Wilkinson — Founder and President of M. Wilkinson Construction Company in Maple Shade — puts that suicide number in context. “There are more deaths from suicide outside of war than actual casualties of war.”
The Patriot Fund serves as a bridge between members of the business community who want to help veterans in need and the nonprofit organizations that do exceptional veteran-focused work. The fund is a perfect example of what Corporate Social Responsibility is all about: business leaders working together to improve communities and build a stronger America. It’s also the embodiment of the Satell Institute’s motto: Think WE, not just me.
Vetting the Veterans Organizations
The Patriot Fund got its start in 2015, when Todd L. Sherman — a senior partner with wealth management firm SSG Executive Advisory Group at Raymond James — found himself frustrated. Sherman (pictured, left) wanted to support struggling veterans, but as he researched his options he learned that several of the best-known organizations carry particularly high overhead, while many other outfits focus only on providing scholarships to the children of deceased service members. That was a worthy mission, but Sherman and his co-founders — Major General Steven Hashem (U.S. Army – Ret.), and South Jersey entrepreneur Joseph Caruso — wanted to help veterans right now.
Thus was born The Patriot Fund. The organization raises money from private donors, then makes grants to veterans organizations with a track record of impact. “We do the due diligence to identify those-best-in-class operating partners that are making a difference in the lives of veterans today effectively and efficiently,” says Sherman, The Patriot Fund’s Board Chair. Being effective and efficient is also the operating philosophy of the fund, which only employs one fulltime staffer (executive director Matthew Ellison — pictured, right). As Sherman puts it: “Everybody is involved in this for love of country, and patriotism and philanthropy.”
The fund has grown enormously in the last nine years, this year contributing $1.7 million to 31 different veterans organizations. Those nonprofits run the gamut, from one that uses video gaming as a way of connecting Gold Star families to several others that cover the high cost of providing service animals to veterans in need (an expense not covered by VA benefits).
Business, Philanthropy and Patriotism
Fittingly, The Patriot Fund’s biggest supporters are other entrepreneurs and professionals who are similarly motivated by giving back. “It’s a lot of business owners who are self-made, very patriotic — that seems to be the biggest group of our larger donors,” says Sherman.
Veterans’ stories are a key motivator. Sherman recalls one former Marine who spoke at a Patriot Fund event. The man walked to the podium with a support dog that a veterans organization had provided to him and told the audience that, before he came to the event, he asked his 6-year-old son what he should tell the audience.
“His son responded, without any hesitation, ‘Thank you for bringing my daddy back,’” Sherman recalls. “There wasn’t a dry eye in the room, me included.”
Such emotional appeals can be powerful, but Sherman and The Patriot Fund team understand that supporting veterans isn’t just about sentimentality. As with Corporate Social Responsibility more broadly, it’s about building stronger communities that help all of us.
“They’re our heroes,” he says of veterans, “and today we need heroes in this world. That’s who these guys and gals are.”
Finding Like-Minded Leaders at the Satell Institute
The leaders of The Patriot Fund were introduced to the Satell Institute earlier this year when they saw a social media post by SI member Anthony Mongeluzo, president and CEO of tech firm PCS. Mongeluzo shared photos from the Satell Institute’s Private CEO Conference at the National Constitution Center.
The more they learned about SI, the more The Patriot Fund organizers felt a kinship with SI’s CEO members. “When I looked at who was involved, I thought, we’d be perfect for this,” says Wilkinson.
He and other Patriot Fund leaders envision a future that’s bigger and bolder. One new focus is providing transitional housing for veterans who don’t qualify for existing programs run by the VA or the FHA. The Fund is working with Catholic Charities on the program, and a donor has supplied financial support for three years.
“This program is to get veterans back on the straight and narrow, bring them back into society, and make them productive again,” says Wilkinson.
As with CSR in general, it’s a mission from which the whole country benefits.
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