In 2025, the Scripps Family Impact Fund (SFIF) is making a commitment to support those who have served. Each year, the Fund’s grantmaking reflects both the Scripps family’s philanthropic values and the evolving needs of communities across the country. This year’s focus is on military veterans: men and women who have sacrificed for their country and now deserve every opportunity to rebuild, recover, and thrive.
Through three impactful organizations—Hire Heroes USA, Operation Second Chance, and the Gary Sinise Foundation—SFIF’s 2025 grants will help veterans transition successfully into civilian life, regain independence, and restore confidence in the future.
Hire Heroes USA: Empowering Transitions, Transforming Lives
For veterans and military spouses, the transition to civilian employment can be challenging. Hire Heroes USA exists to make that journey successful. Through its Partnered Career Transition (PaCT) program, the organization provides free, one-on-one career coaching, resume writing, interview practice, and job placement support for servicemembers, veterans, and their spouses.
Each client is paired with a dedicated Transition Specialist who tailors guidance to individual goals and challenges—ensuring every participant gains meaningful employment aligned with their skills and aspirations. Since 2005, Hire Heroes USA has supported more than 105,000 veterans and spouses being hired into well-paying, fulfilling careers, setting a national standard for impact and accountability in veteran employment.
SFIF’s 2025 support will help expand the PaCT program’s reach, enabling more veterans to achieve career stability and success after service.
Operation Second Chance: Stability and Healing for Veterans and Families
For many veterans, the hardest battles begin after returning home. Operation Second Chance (OSC) provides both urgent assistance and pathways to long-term healing through two core programs: emergency financial aid and wellness retreats.
OSC’s emergency fund helps veteran families avoid eviction, foreclosure, utility shutoff, vehicle repossession, and food insecurity—often delivering aid within 24 hours of a verified request. This rapid-response support ensures that those who have served do not face personal crises alone.
Beyond immediate relief, OSC’s wellness retreats at Heroes Ridge near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania offer safe spaces customized for combat veterans, women veterans, couples, and families to help facilitate connection, healing, and growth.
SFIF’s 2025 grant will also help introduce an equine therapy program at Heroes Ridge. In high demand, this unique therapy is provided by trained professionals and helps veterans process trauma, build trust, and rediscover peace—often becoming a turning point in their recovery journey.
Gary Sinise Foundation: Building Homes for Heroes
For veterans with life-altering injuries, independence often begins with a home that meets their needs. The Gary Sinise Foundation’s Restoring Independence Supporting Empowerment (R.I.S.E.) program builds mortgage-free, specially adapted smart homes for America’s most severely wounded heroes and their families.
Each home is custom-designed in partnership with the veteran to ensure every detail—from counter height to shower configuration—supports daily independence and comfort. These homes do more than provide accessibility; they restore dignity, lessen the burden on caregivers, and serve as symbols of gratitude from a nation that remembers their sacrifice.
SFIF’s 2025 grant will help fund 13 homes currently under construction, including the Foundation’s 100th R.I.S.E. home. To date, GSF has completed 94 homes, giving wounded veterans a safe place to rebuild their lives with confidence and pride.
A Legacy of Service and Gratitude
Supporting veterans has long been part of the Scripps family’s philanthropic vision. In 2025, the Scripps Family Impact Fund continues that legacy by investing in organizations that help veterans find stability, healing, and renewed purpose.
From meaningful careers to emergency relief and lifelong independence, these grants embody the Fund’s guiding principle: that no one who has served their country should face the challenges of rebuilding alone.
