cgf annualreport 2011

message from foundation leadership
anne brengle and robert j. flynn
coast guard foundation president and board chairman
Providing education, support and relief to those who wear the Coast Guard uniform is
the Coast Guard Foundation’s central mission. To do this effectively, we partner with you, our
generous donors, to raise the funds needed to provide these programs and services.
In 2011, we strengthened our core support across the board, funding scholarship and grant programs,
Shipmate Fund requests, academic and athletic programs at the Coast Guard Academy and emergency
relief to those in need. We also expanded our area of support for the first time ever, offering education
grants for the spouses of enlisted personnel, as well as a regional endowment fund in honor of our
outgoing Chairman, Ross E. Roeder. Both of these efforts built on existing pillars of support that aim to
further our reach in the Coast Guard Community.
In its first year, the Spouse Education Grant program was exceedingly popular. The Coast Guard Foundation
awarded more than $17,000 to 77 spouses across 22 states. Some are taking long distance courses
through certified universities online, others are attending colleges or technical schools and they range in
age from 20 to 53 years old. A common thread in their life is the love and support of their spouses and the
United States Coast Guard, and the desire to better themselves through education. What could be a better
program to support than this? When you support the family, you support the Coast Guard member.
To thank our outgoing Board Chairman, Ross E. Roeder, for his many years of service to the Foundation, we established the firstever
named morale fund for enlisted Coast Guard members — the Ross E. Roeder Shipmate Endowment Fund. The fund will
benefit morale and welfare projects for Coast Guard bases and units in Northern Michigan, a place near and dear to Ross’ heart.
The long-standing partnership with the Coast Guard Academy Alumni Association, Coast Guard Academy Parents Association
and the Coast Guard Academy was realized when the first two Leadership 44 sail training vessels were delivered and christened.
We are proud of this collaborative effort that will bring a full fleet of state-of-the-art sailing vessels to the future officer corps.
In order to raise our profile higher, we relaunched our website—coastguardfoundation.org, with a greater focus on the people
we serve, and a brighter light on our donors who so generously support us. This annual report also reflects that theme of
people, and tells better stories about their involvement with the Foundation, and their motivation to support the Coast Guard.
In 2011, we established a new partnership with The Weather Channel, through a social media campaign to get fans on Facebook
for its docu-series Coast Guard Alaska, a television show that covers the arduous deployment of Coast Guard personnel in
Alaska. Together, The Weather Channel and the Coast Guard Foundation successfully accomplished getting 5,000 thumbs-up
for the show, raising awareness of the challenges and dangers Coast Guard men and women face on a regular basis, and raised
$5,000 for morale support in Alaska.
The simple fact is: our success would not be possible without you. Thank you for supporting our efforts in 2011, and thank you
to those who continue to do so.
coast guard foundation h 3 h 2011 annual report