Frequently Asked Questions

Question: My children and I have suffered a loss and are having financial difficulties can I apply for financial assistance?

Answer: Yes, you may request obtain an application here or have your Casualty Officer contact us.

Question: What happens once my application and other information is received?

Answer: If your application and all required documentation is received and in order, we will contact you and if still available your casualty officer and/or others listed on the application who may be able to assist us in determining your eligibility and financial status. Incomplete submissions will not be considered, please keep in mind our revenues are limited and used primarily to help provide support to families with children and you will be asked to supply us with information that back ups your request for assistance.

Question: How long will it take to receive an answer once an application is received.

Answer: The Board meets quarterly and makes a decision based on complete submissions, your financial status, need, and the amount of funds available at that time. Once an approval has been made, you should receive a letter within several weeks after the Board meeting indicating their decision and the conditions if any of award.

Question: What is the minimum age for College Grant applicants and can a spouse apply?

Answer: The minimum age requirement to apply for College Grants is 17 yrs of age. The Children of Fallen Soldiers Relief Fund, Inc. provides College grants to both surviving children and spouses of our U.S. Military or to families whose parent or spouse have sustained a severely disabling condition during his/her service in either war. To complete an application or for more information, please refer to the college grants section of our website.

Question: Are there deadlines for either Financial Assistance or College Grants?

Answer: There are no deadlines for submitting an application for financial assistance, however, College Grant Applications must be postmarked by April 30th and October 31st of each year in order to be eligible for determination for the Spring or Fall Semesters. All applications must be completed in full and submitted along with all necessary confirming paperwork in order to be considered for an award. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Question: Do you offer financial assistance to spouses?

Answer: Unfortunately, our funds are limited and our financial assistance program is designed to provide assistance to children affected by the loss of a parent or parents or children whose parent has suffered a severe injury.

Question: How do we set up a memorial fund, or contribute on someone elses behalf?

Answer: In order to set up a memorial fund or contribute in the name of another or on another persons behalf, simply provide us with the persons name, rank (if possible), address and other useful information when making your contribution. The funds received will be held in the name of the person you are contributing and the family or person will receive an acknowledgement and information regarding the donations received as well as the contributors information. If you are a the spouse or next of kin and have not received information from us, please contact us as there are times when we do not have your information on file. Please allow sufficient time for all contributions to be received and accounted for. We try our best to send out quarterly memorial fund information to the families. If you prefer to receive updates through email, please contact us at (301) 865-6327.

Question: Who receives the taxable donation when we make a contribution in memory of someone or on someone elses behalf.

Answer: The contributor or donor making the donation is able to deduct the amount from his or her taxes, however, if you would like the individual on whose behalf that you are contributing to to receive the taxable donation, please advise us during the donation process.

Question: I have been approached by someone indicating that they are raising funds for the CFSRF. How can I be sure that the funds being raised are for your organization?

Answer: Unfortunately, there are times when members of the public ask others to contribute to a charitable organization and use their name as a means to collect monies. We encourage you to check our events calendar and see if the event is listed and if not, please email us with the person or events name and location for verification. Otherwise, there is a good chance that your donation will not ever be received by the CFSRF.

Question: I am interested in planning an event to be held in my State and will be collecting pledges or donations with proceeds benefiting families that have lost a parent in the Afghanistan or Iraq wars. What should I do next?

Answer: Email us at: events@cfsrf.org and provide our coordinators with your name, address, telephone number and your event, mission or project idea. If you are in an advanced planning stage, please provide us with all specifics to date.

Question: If I am able to raise donations for my specific event, what portion goes to help surviving military families?

Answer: 100%

Question: I am sending in a donation and would like to help families within my State, is this possible?

Answer: Yes, if you are donating online or through the mail, please indicate so on the memo portion of your check or the description area of your online donation.

Question: How can I obtain a copy of your current financial information and your letter of determination from the IRS.

Answer: You may obtain our financial information and our letter of determination, simply by requesting it at: P.O. Box 3968, Gaithersburg, MD 20885-3968 or email us with your full name, address and any other pertinent information that may assist us. Note: Our federal identification number changed to 20-4526203 after we incorporated. Donations received beginning in 2006 are reported under our new fein. If you have our previous IRS Letter of Determination Letter on file, you may request our corporation one by contacting us.

Question: I would like to contribute to your organization and would like it to be held for specific needs, such as tuition, for families within my State. Is that possible

Answer: Yes, please indicate this when sending in your contribution, paying online or you may email us and we will assist you further.

Question: Is it possible to volunteer and in what areas?

Answer: We are in real need of volunteers and are glad you asked. We are growing and at a fast pace, we are looking for volunteers that can help us with grantmaking, event coordinators, families of our military that would like to offer a hand with data entry, representation at events throughout the States, legal and accounting advisors, skilled data entry people for research and for building databases and various other projects. Most of our work load is done by one individual and includes updates on our website, donation receipts, letters of thanks, printing literature and other material, research, inquiries, filing, etc. All that is required to start is a good heart and the desire to help our troops and their families.

Question: My company is considering making a donation to the CFSRF - in what areas do you need specific help?

Answer: We are asking for help to cover administrative costs. If you would like to provide us with support in this area, please let contact us. If your firm is interested in partnering with us or learning how they can help with our growth and assist us with administrative costs, please let us know. You may email us and a representative will provide you with our financial information, budget, etc. for your consideration.

Question: I understand that certain donors are able to be involved with the award process, is that so?

Answer: Yes, depending on the situation and the amount of donation(s) received, there are those that are invited to join us in our determination of awards as well as be personally involved with the presentation of the award.

Question: Do you collect items for the families, such as clothing, donated automobiles, etc.

Answer: No, since we are a smaller organization our space is limited and we cannot collect and distribute clothing and other articles for the families.

Question: Why is your organization listed on some Charity sites and not others.

Answer: Some Charity websites require 4 years of tax report filings with the IRS and some require that we incur donations from the public of more than $500,000 each year. Since we are a fairly new organization we do not have 4 years of 990 tax filings and have not received donations of more than $500,000 or other requirements. We are listed with many of the sites, however, and encourage you to check us at at: Charity.com, Network For Good, Just Give and some of the other sites that offer philanthropy information about the CFSRF.

Question: I would like to donate through the Combined Federal Campaign, CFC, however, your organization is not listed. Why?

Answer: In order to qualify the Children of Fallen Soldiers Relief Fund and other organizations are required to file a 990 tax report filing with the Internal Revenue Service. Our revenue totals did not meet the filing requirements the first year we were in existence. However, once we are qualified and the CFC begins their registration process again we will begin the filing requirements with the office of CFC.

Question: Why are your awards to date less than the amount of total contributions?

Answer: Our awards are made on an application basis. In order to provide assistance to military famlies in need, they must first submit and complete the application process as incomplete submissions cannot be presented to our Grant Committee. The balance of contributions received are held pending receipt of fully completed submissions and cannot be released without going through this process. We ask for those working with the families, casualty officers, veterans administration counselors, pastors and other military support groups to help identify families in need and help us help them by referring these families to our organization.

Question: Some of your College Scholarships name the same recipients for Spring and Fall semesters is this an error?

Answer: No, there are times when an award is made based on a four year term. In an effort to reduce the expenses, strain and financial difficulties in our families our Committee may make an award based on the entire four years of college. For example a student may be attending college and our award is made based on eight tuition semesters at $2,500.00 each semester. The total award is for $20,000.00, however, the college receives $2,500.00 each fall and each spring. Each student is also required to meet certain guidelines in order to maintain eligibility and must continue to be registered in order to receive the full scholarship award.

Question: How can I receive more information about the Children of Fallen Soldiers Relief Fund, Inc?

Answer: If you would like more information regarding our organization, please call us or email us with your questions.

Question: Can I contribute on a weekly or monthly basis to the CFSRF.

Answer: Yes, you may do so online or mail your check to us at:

CFSRF

P.O. Box 3968

Gaithersburg, MD 20885-3968