Our Foundation | Bob Woodruff Foundation

Our Mission

We ensure that our nation’s veterans, service members,
and their families — those who stood for us — have stable
and successful futures.

Bob and Lee Woodruff’s Story

The Woodruffs seemed to have it all.

In 2006, Bob was reporting on the transfer of power between US and Iraqi security forces for ABC’s “World News Tonight.” Bob’s armored vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb, and he sustained a life-threatening traumatic brain injury.

Due to quick actions of brave soldiers, medics, and military medical professionals, Bob’s life was saved. Within days, he was transported to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

There, Bob spent 36 days in a medically-induced coma. Lee got to know the families of service members dealing with the impact of hidden injuries such as traumatic brain injury (TBI), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and depression.

As Bob recovered, the Woodruff family resolved to
raise awareness about the tough challenges veterans and military families are facing, and invest in solutions to help support them in the next chapter of their lives.

Today the Bob Woodruff Foundation complements our government’s work, and ensures that our veterans are thriving long after they return home.

Our 2023 Focus Areas

  • Community Building
  • Emergency Financial Assistance
  • Employment
  • Food Insecurity
  • Housing
  • Legal Support
  • Mental Health & Wellbeing

Our 2023 Focus Areas

  • Community Building
  • Emergency Financial Assistance
  • Employment
  • Food Insecurity
  • Housing
  • Legal Support
  • Mental Health & Wellbeing

Impact Stories

How does our work
ensure that our veterans and service members are supported and successful?

Dec 4
Providing Housing After Hurricane Ian 
Boley Centers has been at the forefront of addressing the housing needs of veterans affected by Hurricane Ian and preparing for Florida’s unforeseen climate disasters. They provide Safe Havens, a… Read More
Nov 30
Supporting Veterans in the Woodruff Family’s Hometown of Detroit
This fall, through the NFL-BWF Salute to Service partnership, we awarded a Healthy Lifestyles and Creating Community grant to Volunteers of America Michigan (VOAMI). With the funding, VOAMI will improve… Read More
Nov 22
The Unseen Sacrifices of Military Caregivers  
Taking on the role of caregiver is often something that happens, to borrow a phrase from Lee Woodruff, “in an instant.” Often partners, spouses, parents, and children are thrown into… Read More
Nov 13
Combating Food Insecurity Among Coastal Veterans 
Veterans may face challenges after service, but food insecurity shouldn’t be one of them. Statistics show that 1.4 million veterans are food insecure, and only about half of those food… Read More
Oct 30
Restoring Stability for New York City’s Unhoused Veterans 
Services for the UnderServed (S:US) is supporting unhoused veterans with housing and career services in NYC and Long Island.
Oct 27
PATH Combating Veteran Homelessness 
In 1983, concerned community members on Los Angeles’ Westside started People Assisting The Homeless (PATH) to support for their unhoused neighbors, including veterans. Today, PATH continues to provide housing services across… Read More
Oct 25
Preparing Student Veterans for the (College) Frontlines
What is one way to prepare student veterans for academic success? Through a boot camp, of course. Warrior-Scholar Project (WSP) offers this model to prepare students for success at U.S.… Read More
Oct 17
Supporting Military Student Transition at the Daniels Veterans and Military Family Center
Transitioning from military to civilian life can be challenging for any service member or veteran. With support from a military family center, making that transition can be smoother when providing… Read More

The Got Your 6 Network

National Reach. Local Impact.

The Bob Woodruff Foundation’s Got Your 6 Network includes our best-in-class grantees and our national network of locally-based community veterans’ organizations. With partners across the country, our growing network reaches millions of veterans and their families where they live and work.

Our Ongoing Initiatives

With our continuing efforts in veteran fertility assistance, scientific research partnerships, and community collaboration, we identify, pursue and champion areas of need that are most critical to the population we serve.

Our Ongoing Initiatives

With our continuing efforts in veteran fertility assistance, scientific research partnerships, and community collaboration, we identify, pursue and champion areas of need that are most critical to the population we serve.

Our Team

Anne Marie Dougherty

Chief Executive Officer

As Chief Executive Officer of the Bob Woodruff Foundation, Anne Marie Dougherty oversees and funds the nation’s largest nongovernmental network of veteran service providers, which, according to Forbes, helps veterans not only navigate the 40,000+ organizations that provide services to them, but also helps veterans heal from the physical and psychological wounds of war. With A-list celebrities and philanthropic institutions at our side – Bruce Springsteen, the NFL, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, MacKenzie Scott, Jon Stewart, Lee Ann Womack, Mickey Guyton – and our country’s highest-ranked military and national security leaders, we have invested more than $100 million in best-in-class veterans programming across the country. Our product is peace of mind – for veterans, for veteran-serving organizations, and for philanthropists looking to invest efficiently and effectively in veteran services.

As a military spouse, Anne Marie’s connection to the Bob Woodruff Foundation’s mission is personal. She has lived experience as a Marine spouse during war time combat deployments and through multiple duty station moves. When she tells veterans, their families, and their caregivers that the Bob Woodruff Foundation has “Got Your 6,” she means it. She regularly speaks to media outlets ranging from ESPN, to NPR, TIME, CBS, and Fox to raise awareness for veteran needs.

Anne Marie is active with her two young boys in their local community, including through their sports teams and schools. She serves on the Board of Directors of the UN Women for Peace Association, as an Advisory Board Member for Game Changers Institute, and as a NationSwell Council Member. Anne Marie holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Communications from Drexel University.

Our Team

Bob Woodruff Foundation’s leadership team brings experience from defense, media, healthcare, philanthropy, business, and government.

Anne Marie Dougherty

Chief Executive Officer

Anne Marie Dougherty is the Chief Executive Officer of the Bob Woodruff Foundation. She is an award-winning marketer, industry thought-leader, and passionate champion for our nation’s veterans and their families. Under her dynamic approach to leadership and management, the Foundation has grown from a small regional organization to a top-tier, nationally recognized brand and market leader. Dougherty has disrupted the traditional fundraising approach, leveraging metrics, relationships, and results to maximize the foundation’s $80 million investment impact. She utilizes an entrepreneurial approach in moving the foundation forward. She has established a standard of excellence that permeates the entire organization.

Since she took on the role in 2011, Dougherty transformed the Foundation’s annual Stand Up for Heroes event. Today, the event is a sustainable business model and growth engine that has raised over $66 million. Dougherty has broken new ground in programming and partnerships, establishing the Foundation as an innovative hub for collaboration among partners. These include the Department of Veterans Affairs, the National Football League, the Embassy of the State of Qatar to The Royal Foundation in the United Kingdom.

Dougherty was named The Nonprofit Times and American Marketing Association “Nonprofit Marketer of the Year” in 2012. She has received multiple awards on behalf of the Foundation’s industry-leading impact. She is a Leadership Council member of Nationswell, and a member of the Board of Directors for the UN Women for Peace Association. Dougherty has appeared on broadcast outlets including ESPN, Cheddar TV, Fox News, MSNBC to discuss the Foundation’s work. She has been featured in articles in USA Today, CBS News, Forbes, TIME Magazine, the Military Times. Dougherty has been a keynote speaker at industry events on topics including veterans, military families, high impact grantmaking, philanthropy, and women in leadership.

Our Transparency and Accountability

Transparency is where confidence begins, the foundation of trust, where problem-solving starts.
– General Martin Dempsey, U.S. Army, Retired; Bob Woodruff Foundation Board Member

As a 501(c)(3) public charity, the Bob Woodruff Foundation relies upon the support of generous donors to fulfill our mission and we hold ourselves to the highest standards of transparency and accountability.

Bob Woodruff Foundation 501(c)(3) Letter
Top-Rated Charity
  • We will pursue opportunities to ensure that veterans and service members have access to the same quality of recovery support that Bob Woodruff and his family received.
  • We will meet veteran needs no matter how intractable a problem seems. If a solution doesn’t exist, we will create one.
  • We will remain steadfast in our commitment to meet veterans’ evolving needs through the impactful and effective programs.
  • We will devote as much diligence to raising funds as we do to allocating them. We will maintain the highest commitment to transparency and highest standards for stewarding the funds entrusted to us.
  • We will maintain industry-leading subject matter expertise on veterans’ needs and the programs that support them. In doing so, we will rely on local and national data and input.
  • We will share our expertise to do more good for more veterans.
  • We will emulate the generosity of spirit that our founders and military families demonstrate each day.

Press Room

Get the latest on how we’re investing to ensure our service members and veterans thrive.

Nov 30
The Bob Woodruff Foundation Invests $2.8 Million In Programs Addressing Housing Insecurity, Mental Health, Other Urgent Needs
The Bob Woodruff Foundation invests $2.8 million in programs addressing housing insecurity, mental health, other urgent needs.
Nov 30
The Bob Woodruff Foundation Calls for Collaborative Solutions to Veteran Homelessness
In its goal to reduce the obstacles many veterans still face in achieving long-term housing stability, The Bob Woodruff Foundation has published “Beyond Financial Assistance: Addressing Risk Factors for Homelessness… Read More
Nov 15
The Bob Woodruff Foundation Establishes a Natural Disaster Fund with Help From Craig Newmark Philanthropies
The Bob Woodruff Foundation (BWF) has established a $5 million Natural Disaster Fund for veterans and military families with the help from ongoing supporter, Craig Newmark Philanthropies.
Nov 9
The 17th Annual Stand Up for Heroes Raises More than $14 Million to Support Veterans Through the Bob Woodruff Foundation
Stand Up for Heroes, presented by the Bob Woodruff Foundation and the New York Comedy Festival for its 17th year, raised over $14 million for veterans.
Sep 28
BlackRock to Host Bob Woodruff Foundation’s VOWS Symposium for Veterans Returning to the Civilian Workforce
Military veterans, spouses, service members who are returning to the civilian workforce, and corporate hiring managers are invited to attend the Bob Woodruff Foundation’s VOWS Symposium on November 2, 2023,… Read More
Sep 27
The Embassy of the State of Qatar Announces a $5 Million Gift to the Bob Woodruff Foundation
The Bob Woodruff Foundation (BWF) has received a $5 million donation from longtime partner, the Embassy of the State of Qatar. Through December 2024, the Foundation will invest the funds… Read More
Sep 6
17th Annual Stand Up for Heroes, Presented by the Bob Woodruff Foundation and the New York Comedy Festival, Returns to New York
Jimmy Carr, Ronny Chieng, Shane Gillis, Josh Groban, John Mellencamp, Tracy Morgan, Jon Stewart, The War and Treaty, Rita Wilson and More to Take the Stage to Honor Our Nation’s… Read More
Aug 21
The Bob Woodruff Foundation Publishes Understanding the PACT Act
the Bob Woodruff Foundation has published Understanding the PACT Act to help – address misinformation about eligibility and claims and – ensure that those who may be eligible for expanded… Read More

Press Room

Get the latest on how we’re investing to ensure our service members and veterans thrive.

Nov 30
The Bob Woodruff Foundation Invests $2.8 Million In Programs Addressing Housing Insecurity, Mental Health, Other Urgent Needs
The Bob Woodruff Foundation invests $2.8 million in programs addressing housing insecurity, mental health, other urgent needs.
Nov 30
The Bob Woodruff Foundation Calls for Collaborative Solutions to Veteran Homelessness
In its goal to reduce the obstacles many veterans still face in achieving long-term housing stability, The Bob Woodruff Foundation has published “Beyond Financial Assistance: Addressing Risk Factors for Homelessness… Read More
Nov 15
The Bob Woodruff Foundation Establishes a Natural Disaster Fund with Help From Craig Newmark Philanthropies
The Bob Woodruff Foundation (BWF) has established a $5 million Natural Disaster Fund for veterans and military families with the help from ongoing supporter, Craig Newmark Philanthropies.
Nov 9
The 17th Annual Stand Up for Heroes Raises More than $14 Million to Support Veterans Through the Bob Woodruff Foundation
Stand Up for Heroes, presented by the Bob Woodruff Foundation and the New York Comedy Festival for its 17th year, raised over $14 million for veterans.
Sep 28
BlackRock to Host Bob Woodruff Foundation’s VOWS Symposium for Veterans Returning to the Civilian Workforce
Military veterans, spouses, service members who are returning to the civilian workforce, and corporate hiring managers are invited to attend the Bob Woodruff Foundation’s VOWS Symposium on November 2, 2023,… Read More
Sep 27
The Embassy of the State of Qatar Announces a $5 Million Gift to the Bob Woodruff Foundation
The Bob Woodruff Foundation (BWF) has received a $5 million donation from longtime partner, the Embassy of the State of Qatar. Through December 2024, the Foundation will invest the funds… Read More
Sep 6
17th Annual Stand Up for Heroes, Presented by the Bob Woodruff Foundation and the New York Comedy Festival, Returns to New York
Jimmy Carr, Ronny Chieng, Shane Gillis, Josh Groban, John Mellencamp, Tracy Morgan, Jon Stewart, The War and Treaty, Rita Wilson and More to Take the Stage to Honor Our Nation’s… Read More
Aug 21
The Bob Woodruff Foundation Publishes Understanding the PACT Act
the Bob Woodruff Foundation has published Understanding the PACT Act to help – address misinformation about eligibility and claims and – ensure that those who may be eligible for expanded… Read More

Get Support

Are you a veteran or family member looking for initiatives and assistance? Or are you an organization in need? We’ve got your 6.

Get Support

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Interested in supporting our work to ensure veterans and service members have access to the service and resources they deserve? Donate.

Give Support

Get Support

Are you a veteran or family member looking for initiatives and assistance? Or are you an organization in need? We’ve got your 6.

Get Support

Give Support

Interested in supporting our work to ensure veterans and service members have access to the service and resources they deserve? Donate.

Give Support