Contributions to the Chattanooga Heroes Fund have topped one million dollars, enough to endow the fund for the foreseeable future, the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga announced on Wednesday.
Established in July of this year by Peyton Manning and his family in partnership with Senator Bob Corker, former mayor of Chattanooga, the fund will support the families of those servicemen who lost their lives or were wounded in the tragic shootings in Chattanooga on July 16.
“We are overwhelmed by the outpouring of support shown to these families through contributions to the Chattanooga Heroes Fund,” Mr. Manning said. “Now that contributions to the fund have topped one million dollars, we decided to end the contribution phase on Sept. 30, and focus on providing assistance to those in need.
“Thanks to the goodwill and generosity of so many donors, the fund is fully equipped to provide long-term financial support for the affected families as they face the challenge of rebuilding their lives – and their futures,” Mr. Manning said. “We would like to express our sincerest appreciation to each and every person, family, and organization that made a donation in honor of the servicemen who sacrificed their lives, and the police officer who risked his life to protect the greater Chattanooga community on July 16.”
“The Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga would like to reiterate our gratitude to donors across the U.S. and beyond who have provided support for the Fund,” said Pete Cooper, president of the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga. “We will continue working closely with Peyton Manning, Senator Corker, and key military and governmental officials to ensure proper protocols for funds disbursement are in place, and to provide appropriate support to the families based on their needs.”
According to Mr. Cooper, anyone who still wishes to make a gift in support of the families affected on July 16, or in honor of military and government service personnel after Sept. 30, may still do so through the CFGC 7-16 Freedom Fund, which is dedicated to providing college scholarships for children and spouses of the fallen servicemen. They can also donate to the CFGC First Responders Fund, which is dedicated to providing financial support to families of Chattanooga area first responders killed or wounded in the line of duty.
The Chattanooga Heroes Fund is administered by the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga. Chattanooga’s oldest community-based foundation, CFCG has a more than 50-year track record of managing funds dedicated to addressing areas of critical need in the Greater Chattanooga community. This includes the administration of more than 350 funds totaling more than 100 million dollars in assets and more than 14 million dollars in grants in 2014 alone.