Alyssa

Thank you again for your generosity and support. I promise I will work very hard and eventually give something back to others, possibly a scholarship to future students like myself. By awarding me the Heart of America Patriot Foundation Scholarship, you have lightened my financial burden which allows me to focus on the most important aspect of school, learning. Your generosity has inspired me to help others and give back to the community. I hope one day I will be able to help students achieve their goals just as you have helped me.

We achieve the first part of our mission through the patriotic ceremony at the beginning of the Patriot Benefit, our primary fundraising activity on Patriots' Day, September 11th.  

We achieve the second part of our mission by providing scholarship money to partner institutions who match our contributions and distribute the money to the dependents of deceased or 100% disabled veterans.  These individuals qualify under the Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) Program under Chapter 35 of the GI Bill.

  HOAPF supported numerous veteran-related organizations before changing our focus to supporting the dependents of deceased or 100% disabled veterans in 2021. We distributed $277,500 to our 12 partner institutions in December of that year.  They agreed to match our contribution, administer the scholarship program, and report back to us annually. 

Our first round of scholarships provided in excess of $450,000 of scholarships to to 173 DEA-qualified students in the Fall of 2022. This is an average scholarship amount of $2,600, though three students received $10,000 each. Our partner institutions have an additional $100,000 of funding for Spring 2023 scholarships.   

In December of 2022, HOAPF distributed $500,000 to 11 new partner institutions in addition to our original 12 partners. They will match that amount, and distribute the money in the Fall of 2023 and Spring of 2024. This will result in 400 scholarships averaging $2,500 each.