About Us

The MMFF is a community-supported fund founded in November 2004. Contributions are made by people who understand that there are many sacrifices that military families make and want to help soften the financial hardships that may occur, especially when a family member is deployed, by providing a financial safety net.

The men and women that serve in our military have given up their freedom to protect the freedom of American citizens and to proactively pursue people who have attacked or plan to attack America and Americans. Contributing to the Minnesota Military Family Foundation is how many of your fellow citizens show their thanks and support to our troops and their families. The Minnesota Military Family Foundation is an all volunteer board with zero overhead.

The Minnesota Military Family Foundation distributes money through grants and loans to Minnesota military families that need a little help. To read testimonials from retired military personnel and families, click here.

The Foundation works closely with the Soldier and Family Readiness Centers (SFRC) and Chaplains. The SFRC and Chaplains communicate with the MMFF and provide details of the financial need and direct requests to the Foundation.

The Foundation supports:

• Military personnel
• Military spouses
• Military children

The Foundation honors requests for:

• Household expenses such as utilities, rent and mortgages
• Household appliances and repair
• Auto repairs
• Transportation and lodging for families to visit soldier in hospital
• Family counseling
• Medical expenses

How we make a difference:

The Minnesota Military Family Foundation makes a difference not only in the lives of the military family, but also improves the morale and safety of our active military personnel.

An Army squad is made up of eight soldiers and when the squad is on patrol/mission, each soldier is dependent on each other for security and safety.  When a soldier is distracted because of concerns about financial issues/difficulties with the family back home, every soldier on the squad is at risk because the soldier is not fully engaged in the patrol/mission.

The Minnesota Military Family Foundation helps turn a bad situation into a positive situation for all the soldiers in the squad.

The soldier feels the financial burden lifted and feelings of pride because of the support from the community at home.  When the soldier is no longer focused on the financial situation at home, the soldier is able to stay engaged in the mission and protect the other soldiers in the squad to the fullest.

When we help one soldier, we help all soldiers. When we help one military family, we’re helping all military families.

The All Volunteer Board of Directors of the Minnesota Military Family Foundation:

• Founder and President

  Bill Popp, Chair and President of POPP.com, Inc.

• Vice President

  Major General (Retired) Jon L. Trost

• Executive Director and Secretary

  Brigadier General (Retired) Tim Kennedy

• Treasurer

  Susan Kennedy

• Current Board Members
• Thomas W Lyons, President Faelon Partners Ltd

• Tom Jenkins, President Marquette Capital Partners

• Dr. David Hamlar, Brigadier General (Retired)

• Dennis Angell (retired) Federal Premium Ammunition

• Jim Carey President of Sieben Carey Law firm

• Jason Burley, VP Food Ingredient Sales, Cargill, Inc.

• Senior Master Sergeant (Ret) Tim McElroy (retired) 3M

Past Board Members:

• Major General (Retired) Harry Sieben, Law Firm of Sieben Carey
• Terrence Palmer, former Executive Director
• Colonel (retired) Gary Olson, US Customs & Border Protection
• Brigadier General (Retired) Kevin S. Gerdes, University of Minnesota
• David Frauenshuh
• Command Chief Warrant Officer 5 (Retired) Tom Novak
• Mary Niemeyer
• Air Force Brigadier General (retired) Dennis Schulstad
• Army Brigadier General (Retired) Joseph P. Kelly
• Colonel (Retired) Denny Shields
• Mick Anselmo, (Retired) Sr VP Market Manager, CBS Minneapolis
• Dirk Kloss, Polaris