We're Stamford firefighters. This is our foundation.

IAFF Local 786 got us started and continues to support us. But a labor union's job is to represent its members, and charitable giving is a different undertaking with different obligations. It needs its own entity, its own board, and its own books , so that gifts are tax-deductible, so that the governance is independent, and so that anyone can see exactly where the money goes.

That's what we built in March 2025. Seven Stamford firefighters sit on the board. None of us is paid, and none of us intends to be.

The IRS granted us 501(c)(3) status in March 2025. We raised $29,020 in our first year, most of it through our annual golf outing, and granted $10,000 of it to Make-A-Wish, a commitment we make every year.

The longer plan is to build our four funds as endowed capital rather than money that is raised and spent in the same year. An endowed scholarship can carry a student through four years instead of writing one $1,000 check. An endowed line-of-duty fund has money sitting ready the week a family needs it, without waiting on the next fundraiser. That is how institutions built to last are structured, and it is what we're working toward for all four.

We're early in that, and we'd rather be candid about the stage than vague about it. We publish these numbers every year. You can see what the funds are for on our programs page.