Our Foundation | Bob Woodruff Foundation

Our Mission

We invite you to stand up for heroes so that we can find, fund, shape, and accelerate equitable solutions that help our impacted veterans, service members, their families, and their caregivers thrive.

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 ensure that our nation’s veterans, service members, and their families have access to the highest level of support and resources they deserve, for as long as they need it. That vision became the Foundation’s mission.

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 impact veterans and their families, helping them thrive after service?

Mar 27
Women’s History Month Spotlight: Laura Whitfield
After a career in the Marine Corps and the private sector, Laura Whitfield helps fellow veterans thrive with Mission United in Miami.
Mar 15
USA Wheelchair Football Takes Center Stage Ahead of Super Bowl LVII 
Days before the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs took the field for Super Bowl VII, the USA Wheelchair Football League (USAWFL) held its own championship game – and a… Read More
Mar 2
Bridging Military and Financial Service
Transitioning from service to the workforce isn’t easy, with veterans facing many unique and unforeseen employment barriers. They’re often forced to ask vexing questions, like which skills gained from military… Read More
Mar 1
“WoVeN Means Family,” says USAF Veteran Mia Miller of the Women Veterans Network 
Many veterans feel adrift without the community they forged in the service. For women vets, that sense of isolation can be a unique challenge. In addition to transitioning their careers… Read More
Feb 27
Army Veteran Eases the Transition to Civilian Life
Retired Command Sergeant Major Al Lampkins knows a thing or two about service. After 31 years in the Army, Lampkins is now the Sandhills Region Community Network Director at Veterans… Read More
Feb 24
2023 Got Your 6 Summit Hosts San Antonio Leaders
Hundreds of San Antonio leaders convened for the Got Your 6 Summit where they addressed challenges military families and veterans face.
Feb 23
Army Veteran Opens Community Kitchen to Continue Passion for Serving
A brown paper bag holding a cup of soup and a sandwich – that’s what ignited a passion for service in Mercedes Kirkland-Doyle, the founder and executive director of The… Read More
Feb 14
VIVA Sweethearts Celebrate Valentine’s Day
For Valentine’s Day we’re celebrating the 23 babies born last year with support from our Veterans In Vitro InitiAtive (VIVA).

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 collaboratives of 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

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

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.

Mar 28
The Bob Woodruff Foundation Announces Second Annual Veterans Classic to Support Food Insecurity Initiatives
Event includes golf, pickleball, and a celebration of our veterans WESTHAMPTON, New York, March 28, 2023 — The Bob Woodruff Foundation is thrilled to announce their second annual Veterans Classic… Read More
Mar 28
Craig Newmark Philanthropies Announces $3 Million Grant to Bob Woodruff Foundation to Support Veterans and Military Families
NEW YORK, March 28, 2023 — Craig Newmark Philanthropies today announced a $3 million grant to the Bob Woodruff Foundation (BWF), once again demonstrating its unwavering commitment to the military/veteran… Read More
Feb 2
2023 Got Your 6 Summit
Bob Woodruff Foundation and United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County Host Summit Feb. 14 (San Antonio, Feb. 2) In partnership with the United Way of San Antonio and… Read More
Jan 26
Celebrating Bob Woodruff’s Seventeeth Alive Day 
In 2023, Bob Woodruff celebrates his 17th Alive Day, the anniversary of when he survived a roadside bomb attack in Iraq.
Nov 21, 2022
Bob Woodruff Foundation Invests $3.9 Million in 34 Organizations that Support Veterans and Service Members
The Bob Woodruff Foundation is proud to announce an investment of over $3.9M to 34 organizations that ensure veterans, service members, their families and caregivers thrive.
Oct 18, 2022
The Bob Woodruff Foundation and Gridiron Capital Partner to Support Service Members, Veterans, and their Families
Gridiron Capital invests in 16th annual Stand Up for Heroes event and the Veterans On Wall Street initiative.
Oct 7, 2022
Bob Woodruff Foundation Expedites Investments in Veteran-Serving Organizations in Florida to Urgently Address Needs Following Hurricane Ian
The Bob Woodruff Foundation invests in emergency relief and legal services for veterans and service members impacted by Hurricane Ian.
Sep 13, 2022
Veterans on Wall Street Announces Twelfth Annual Veteran Symposium
Military veterans, spouses and corporate hiring managers are invited to attend the 12th Annual Veterans on Wall Street (VOWS) Symposium on November 3, 2022, from 8:30 am–5 pm ET in… Read More

Press Room

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

Mar 28
The Bob Woodruff Foundation Announces Second Annual Veterans Classic to Support Food Insecurity Initiatives
Event includes golf, pickleball, and a celebration of our veterans WESTHAMPTON, New York, March 28, 2023 — The Bob Woodruff Foundation is thrilled to announce their second annual Veterans Classic… Read More
Mar 28
Craig Newmark Philanthropies Announces $3 Million Grant to Bob Woodruff Foundation to Support Veterans and Military Families
NEW YORK, March 28, 2023 — Craig Newmark Philanthropies today announced a $3 million grant to the Bob Woodruff Foundation (BWF), once again demonstrating its unwavering commitment to the military/veteran… Read More
Feb 2
2023 Got Your 6 Summit
Bob Woodruff Foundation and United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County Host Summit Feb. 14 (San Antonio, Feb. 2) In partnership with the United Way of San Antonio and… Read More
Jan 26
Celebrating Bob Woodruff’s Seventeeth Alive Day 
In 2023, Bob Woodruff celebrates his 17th Alive Day, the anniversary of when he survived a roadside bomb attack in Iraq.
Nov 21, 2022
Bob Woodruff Foundation Invests $3.9 Million in 34 Organizations that Support Veterans and Service Members
The Bob Woodruff Foundation is proud to announce an investment of over $3.9M to 34 organizations that ensure veterans, service members, their families and caregivers thrive.
Oct 18, 2022
The Bob Woodruff Foundation and Gridiron Capital Partner to Support Service Members, Veterans, and their Families
Gridiron Capital invests in 16th annual Stand Up for Heroes event and the Veterans On Wall Street initiative.
Oct 7, 2022
Bob Woodruff Foundation Expedites Investments in Veteran-Serving Organizations in Florida to Urgently Address Needs Following Hurricane Ian
The Bob Woodruff Foundation invests in emergency relief and legal services for veterans and service members impacted by Hurricane Ian.
Sep 13, 2022
Veterans on Wall Street Announces Twelfth Annual Veteran Symposium
Military veterans, spouses and corporate hiring managers are invited to attend the 12th Annual Veterans on Wall Street (VOWS) Symposium on November 3, 2022, from 8:30 am–5 pm ET in… 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

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

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