Fisher House Foundation, Inc.
Because a family's love is good medicine.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our “homes away from home" offer welcoming and free temporary lodging so military and veteran families can remain together while their loved ones receive specialized medical care at military and VA medical centers around the world. A long-term stay in a military hospital, often thousands of miles from home, can lead to unmanageable burdens and extensive expenses for family members needing to be a part of their loved one's healing process. Since 1990, Fisher House has saved families $575 million.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Fisher House Program
Fisher House Foundation raises money to build "comfort homes" on the grounds of military and VA medical centers, enabling families to be together upon the hospitalization of a loved one. Once built, the houses are given as gifts to the U. S. Government, which then becomes responsible for their operation and maintenance.
In addition, Fisher House Foundation operates a scholarship program (Scholarships for Military Children Program), a grants program (Chairman's Awards), a frequent flyer mileage program (Hero Miles), and a program that uses donated hotel points when Fisher Houses aren't available (Hotels for Heroes).
Hero Miles
Fisher House Foundation uses frequent flyer miles that have been donated by passengers of our airline partners to provide airline tickets to support wounded, injured, and ill service members and their families who are undergoing treatment at a military or VA medical center or who are attending authorized events.
Hotels for Heroes
The Hotels for Heroes program provides hotel rooms to the families of wounded, injured, and ill military service members who are undergoing treatment at authorized medical centers when a Fisher House is not available. Rooms are made possible through the donation of rewards points by the hotel's rewards members.
Chairman's Awards
Fisher House Foundation and Military Times award $250,000 in grants to the most creative military quality of life improvement plans from non-profit or volunteer groups.
Scholarships for Military Children Program
Awards scholarship grants to sons and daughters of active duty, reserve/guard, or retired military commissary customers who are enrolled or planning to enroll full-time in a four-year undergraduate college or university, accredited in the U.S. Scholarships are merit-based.
Heroes' Legacy Scholarship
The "Heroes' Legacy Scholarships" program honors not only those who have fallen in battle, but all who have died or have become disabled through their active military service since September 11, 2001. The program is open to their dependent unmarried children under age 23. A disability is defined as one that results in the service member being eligible for, and receiving, Traumatic Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (TSGLI) or a permanent and total disability compensation rating of 100%.
Military Spouse Scholarships
(Grant funding the NMFA's Joanne Holbrook Patton Military Spouse Scholarships) The mission of this scholarship program is to help prepare military spouses for meaningful employment and to better contribute to their family’s financial security.
Where we work
Awards
4 Star Rating for 19 yrs 2022
Charity Navigator
A+ Rating 2022
Charity Watch
Best Charity for Veterans 2022
Wallethub
4 Star Rating for 20 years 2023
Charity Navigator
A+ Rating 2023
Charity Watch
External reviews
Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of families who report that service and support staff/providers are available and capable of meeting family needs
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Military personnel, Veterans
Related Program
Fisher House Program
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Fisher House continues to build homes at VA and DoD hospitals, consequently, the number of families served continues to grow. On any given night, up to 1300 families can stay at a Fisher House.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
We believe it is crucial to show the men and women who have dedicated their lives through service in our Armed Forces that we are grateful for their sacrifices, and care about them, particularly in their time of need. When a service member or veteran is wounded, injured, or diagnosed with a serious illness, the emotional, financial, and physical stress can be devastating. The goal of Fisher Houses is to offer "a home away from home" for families while their loved one is receiving medical care at major military and VA medical centers.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
The Foundation's core mission is to build Fisher Houses at military and VA medical centers, to be operated by the government. The Foundation also seeks to coordinate private support and encourage public support for the network of comfort homes. The Foundation also seeks to meet humanitarian needs beyond what the government can provide by offering Quality of Life programs, such as scholarship programs for military children and spouses, a grants program for volunteer organizations with innovative plans for quality of life projects, the Hero programs to assist with lodging and transportation during a medical crisis, and individual assistance to members of the military and their families.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Fisher House Foundation is a well-established not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization, nationally recognized as a premier non-profit with a four-star Charity Navigator rating for the 19th consecutive year. It has also received an A+ rating from CharityWatch, being one of only three organizations appearing in the "Veterans and Military" section that has received an A+ rating.
The Foundation's Board and leadership team consist of retired military officers, successful business professionals, and non-profit leaders with a wide array of experience. The Foundation's management team is led by David Coker, President, a retired Army Officer with a military background in medical command and hospital support.
Fisher House Foundation has a solid reputation not only in the military community but also nationwide as a well-respected and established non-profit.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Since its inception, the Fisher House program has assisted more than 455,000 families by offering over 12 million nights of lodging. The estimated savings to the families, calculated by comparing local lodging and transportation costs, exceed $575 million. In addition, using frequent flier miles and hotel points donated by the very generous American public, the Hero programs have saved the families of wounded, injured, and ill service members and veterans more than $121 million since their inception. Fisher House Foundation's Scholarship Programs have awarded over $34 million in grants to more than 15,000 military children and spouses.
There are still many more military and VA hospitals that require the free temporary lodging support only a Fisher House can provide. As the population of recent veterans continues to grow, the need at VA Medical Centers will only increase. So many servicemen and women have been affected by wounds, injuries, and illnesses due to their service, and they will require medical care for the rest of their lives.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, It is difficult to identify actionable feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Fisher House Foundation, Inc.
Board of directorsas of 01/26/2024
Mr. Kenneth Fisher
Senior Partner, Fisher Brothers
Kenneth Fisher
Senior Partner, Fisher Brothers
Nancy Edelman
No Affiliation
Michael Carns
No Affiliation
John Dubia
Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association
David McIntyre
TriWest Healthcare Alliance
Richard Myers
Academic Chairs, National Defense University and University of Kansas
Gerry Byrne
Fidelis Global Enterprises
David Fox
Grenwich Associates
Mary Jo Myers
Hayes and Associates
Winston Fisher
Partner, Fisher Brothers
Mark "Ranger" Jones
Ranger Group
Tammy Fisher
No Affiliation
Martin Edelman
Of Counsel, Paul Hastings
Martin Steele
No Affiliation
Cecily Carson
Carson Family Charitable Trust
Montel Williams
Montel Media
Suzie Schwartz
No Affiliation
Lynne Pace
No Affiliation
Barbara Gentry
No Affiliation
Paul Bucha
No Affiliation
Crystal Fisher
Fisher Brothers
Thomas Lynch
No Affiliation
Bruce Mosler
No Affiliation
Kyra Phillips
ABC News
John Quintas
Amazon Global Military Affairs
Will Reynolds
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Not applicable