PenFed Foundation

The PenFed Foundation serves a variety of unmet needs of military communities.

> We prevent short-term emergencies from becoming long-term problems.

> We educate, inform and offer assistance to develop financial knowledge and skills.

> We believe that building assets is critical to financial security.

> We are committed to providing alternatives to predatory lending.

> We foster a culture of service, integrity and transparency for ourselves and others.

Our core programs provide financial assistance along with counseling and education to encourage our grantees to prepare for long-term financial security. These programs are:

MILITARY HEROES FUND - We offer financial assistance for wounded, ill and injured Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) veterans and service members who are experiencing an unexpected financial setback. By ensuring their essential needs are met, we provide a solid financial base from which the service members, veterans and their families can succeed.

INTEREST FREE LOANS - Through the PenFed Credit Union and our network of other credit union partners, we offer short-term, interest free loans to service members. By partnership with credit unions across the country, we provide a nationwide alternative to predatory lending in an effort to eliminate the need for high-cost payday loans. The program helps mitigate an immediate financial crisis and helps service members avoid falling into a cycle of debt that is difficult to break.

DREAM MAKERS - We offer down-payment and closing cost assistance for qualifying service members and veterans who are buying their first home by providing matching funds. The grants are offered in conjunction with any lender to assist the buyer in covering the high upfront costs of purchasing a home to assist the goal of homeownership. The foundation also provides grants for qualifying home rehabilitation projects. Through home renovation, we ensure veterans have a safe and healthy environment in which to live and support their families.

VETERAN ENTREPRENEUR INVESTMENT PROGRAM - The PenFed Foundation, in cooperation with PenFed Credit Union, leverages our collective capital and influential networks to help specially selected and qualified Veteran entrepreneurs succeed in business. Veterans, through their military training, tested leadership, varied professionals skillsets and life experience, create a significant and sustainable competitive advantage in business. At the same time, Entrepreneurs are determined innovators who solve problems and close critical gaps through their product and service offerings. PenFed Foundation believes that investing both of these resources in veteran entrepreneurs will help enable veterans to strengthen and support our local and national economies by creating jobs and by building thriving enterprises that will ultimately hire additional veterans down the road.

In addition to delivering our core programming, the PenFed Foundation embraced an innovative way to help our nation's defenders through a public/private partnership with the Department of Veterans Affairs. The LEE & PENNY ANDERSON DEFENDERS LODGE is a no-cost hotel for veterans receiving outpatient care at the VA Hospital in Palo Alto, Calif. The lodge offers a safe, secure and comfortable place to stay and provides onsite programs and services that promote healing and wellness.

Leveraging our three core programs and the Defenders Lodge, the PenFed Foundation is developing comprehensive programming in financial education and credit-building. When fully deployed, this programming is expected to engage 20,000 participants annually with services ranging from providing financial education to one-on-one long-term coaching that will lead to behavior change, a balanced budget, increased credit-worthiness, asset-building and productive consumerism.

Since the PenFed Credit Union underwrites our salaries and most administrative costs, nearly every dollar raised goes to programs.