2025 Annual Report
2025 Annual Report
Message from Susan Ludwig, President
For more than 57 years, the Coast Guard Foundation has partnered with donors and the U.S. Coast Guard to tackle the toughest challenges confronting the men and women who protect our borders, support our economy, and work with allies to counter adversaries abroad. In 2025, that partnership delivered meaningful results and set the stage for even greater impact ahead.
The nation is asking more of the Coast Guard than ever before. In response, the service is investing in new ships, aircraft and advanced technologies while growing its force by 30%. That is 15,000 new members to meet the increasing demands placed on the service. The Coast Guard is counting on us to support these new members and the brave men and women already serving. We are answering that call.
More than halfway through our five-year strategic initiative to triple our annual support, we are on track to reach our goals. We have already secured over half of our $98 million fundraising target, and the next two years are critical to achieving that goal.
In 2025, we invested more than $1.4 million in 247 morale and wellness projects, awarded $925,000 in scholarships to 255 Coast Guard children, and provided grants to 223 Coast Guard spouses pursuing higher education and professional certifications. We funded 58 resilience programs that reached 7,100 service members and family members. And when disasters struck, we were there, through flooding in Juneau and the Pacific Northwest and wildfires in California.
None of this happens without you. More than 19,500 donors stand behind Coast Guard members and their families every day, helping ensure they have support when they need it most. Since 1969, together we have provided more than $122 million in support — and the need continues to grow.
Achieving our goals in 2026 and 2027 will allow us to deliver up to 700 scholarships, a seven-fold expansion of our Coastie Camper youth enrichment program, a four-fold increase in spouse education grants, and $6.8 million in morale and wellness investment. The time is now.
Thank you for everything you do. Coast Guard members and their families know we stand behind them — and beside them — because of you.
With Appreciation,
Susan P. Ludwig
2025 Highlights
IMPACT: Emergency Disaster Relief and Tragedy Assistance
Support when Coast Guard members need it most
Emergency Disaster Relief: As natural disasters affected Coast Guard communities across the country in 2025, the Foundation provided $40,000 in emergency relief to 17 Coast Guard members and their families whose homes were damaged or destroyed by flooding and wildfires, including a glacial dam burst in Juneau, Alaska, devastating flooding in the Pacific Northwest, and wildfires in California.
These grants helped cover the cost of insurance deductibles, temporary housing, home repairs, and replacing personal belongings and household goods, ensuring that Coast Guard families had the resources needed to recover and
return to duty.
Support during times of crisis and loss: The Coast Guard Foundation provided tragedy assistance to 21 families following the death of a Coast Guard member or immediate family member. Members who were critically injured or managing chronic illness also received financial support to aid in recovery, and long-term assistance continued for families of Fallen Heroes to honor their service and sacrifice.
Coast Guard Foundation support helped ensure that nine Coast Guard members could attend the memorial service for Reserve Chief Warrant Officer Michael Horan in January 2025. CWO Horan was killed in the line of duty as a Greensboro, North Carolina, police officer in December 2024. This support brought his shipmates together to honor his life and service, helping make the gathering possible during a difficult time.
IMPACT: Education
Investment in education and training for Coast Guard members and families
Education remained a cornerstone of the Foundation’s work in 2025. A total of $925,000 in scholarships was awarded to 255 Coast Guard dependent children, with individual awards ranging from $2,500 to $5,000. Funding supported students pursuing college degrees as well as technical and trade school pathways, reducing financial stress and allowing students to focus on their academic and career goals.
The Foundation awarded grants of $1,000 and $2,000 to 223 Coast Guard spouses enrolling in college, and professional certification classes. These investments strengthened household stability and expanded long-term career opportunities, critical support given the wage gaps military spouses face compared to civilian peers, along with the licensing hurdles and job searches that often accompany frequent relocations.
The Fallen Heroes Scholarship supports children of Coast Guard members who died in operational, line-of-duty service. This scholarship covers 100% of higher education expenses, including tuition and living costs, helping recipients graduate debt-free while honoring the sacrifice of their deceased parent. In 2025, seven children of fallen Coast Guard heroes received scholarships that covered 100% of their college and trade school costs, and eleven children overall received Fallen Heroes scholarships and booster grants.
Workforce development programs provided classes and materials to 349 Coast Guard members earning captains’ licenses and professional credentials, supporting both mission readiness and transitions to civilian careers. An additional 133 grants helped members offset the cost of off-duty education.
At the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, the Foundation supported academic and athletic programs, waterfront activities and a fueling station for student-athletes. Through the generosity of a Coast Guard Foundation donor, a capable powerboat was donated to support cadet maritime training and sailing programs. The Foundation also supported Coast Guard K9 teams, funding care for working service dogs and specialized training for handlers while recognizing the operational importance of these teams and the unique bond they share.
IMPACT: Morale and Wellness
Meeting the needs of Coast Guard members and families
Chaplain-led programs: In partnership with the Coast Guard Chaplain’s Office, the Foundation supported a nationwide effort to strengthen relationships and resilience across the service. In 2025, the Foundation funded 58 chaplain-led programs that reached more than 7,100 Coast Guard members and family members, creating meaningful moments of connection and reflection at units across the country. From suicide prevention training and marriage enrichment workshops to unit-based resilience experiences and spiritual fitness events, the programs met Coast Guard families where they serve and live and provided support during some of the most demanding moments of service. The program brought members and families from the Great Lakes region together for a day at Boundless Adventures in Wisconsin.
The youth enrichment program: The Foundation awarded more than $416,000 in youth enrichment grants to 921 Coast Guard children in 2025, helping fund summer camps and access to technology for online learning and enrichment. These opportunities promoted confidence, skill-building, and social connection during the summer break, especially during times of transition or deployment. The Foundation’s youth enrichment program, affectionately known as “Coastie Campers,” has grown dramatically since it began, reflecting the growing reach and impact of our work for Coast Guard families.
Building morale and wellness: The morale and wellness of Coast Guard members is essential to readiness. The demands of service, long deployments, remote duty stations, and time away from loved ones can affect both physical and mental well-being.
In 2025, the Foundation invested more than $1.4 million in 247 national projects that supported health and wellness at Coast Guard units across the country. These efforts helped members remain mission ready while serving at sea and in remote locations and strengthened the community networks that sustain Coast Guard families.
Coast Guard Day celebrations, holiday gatherings, and unit based activities helped reduce isolation and reinforce support networks. The Foundation also played a key role in celebrating service milestones. Partnerships with local commissioning committees helped bring the commissioning ceremonies of four new fast response cutters to fruition. Each cutter received a grant to establish a morale account and additional funding supported morale projects across the fast response cutter fleet.
IMPACT: Building a Strong Community
Honoring Coast Guard Service and Mission Excellence
Honoring Coast Guard Excellence: We celebrated Coast Guard heroism and mission excellence at events across the country in 2025. Each event featured Coast Guard leadership, industry partnerships, and recognition of Coast Guard mission excellence in the region. U.S. Coast Guard aircrews from Air Station Corpus Christi and Air Station Houston were recognized at the Texas Salutes the U.S. Coast Guard dinner for their extraordinary response during the Kerr County flooding over the Fourth of July weekend. A defining element of the response was the rescue operation at Camp Mystic, where rescue swimmer Scott Ruskan and the crew of helicopter CG-6553 played a pivotal role. Operating in extreme conditions, the crew directly rescued five campers from immediate danger and supported the evacuation of more than 200 survivors from the disaster zone. Ruskan’s coordination on the ground was critical in directing incoming helicopters from multiple agencies, contributing to a record-setting Coast Guard single-mission rescue effort and underscoring the impact of seamless interagency cooperation during largescale disaster response.
It’s always a special opportunity when we can bring our scholarship recipients together with their benefactors. At the 2025 Texas event, graduating senior and four-year Red Stripe Scholarship recipient Cassidy Segelken had a chance to meet Darla and Fred Brodsky in person to extend her thanks and appreciation for their support.
Our Partnership with the Coast Guard Marathon continues to be a highlight each year. One of the best parts is connecting with Coast Guard Foundation program beneficiaries from across the many programs we support. We were especially proud to cheer on Coast Guard Foundation four-year scholarship recipient Kianna Fleek-Dixon as she crossed the finish line.
Coast Guard Foundation Run to Remember events and the Workout to Remember raised funds for Fallen Heroes scholarships and tragedy assistance support, honoring those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Providing full mission support: The Coast Guard’s missions meet America’s most diverse and dynamic security and economic needs — saving, protecting, and defending — at home and abroad. The Foundation’s work is similarly dynamic. We target our financial and other resources on the highest needs of Coast Guard members across our three broad mission areas. We use the term “full mission support” to define our flexible approach to assisting the Coast Guard — regularly assessing our programs and meeting frequently with Coast Guard leaders and members at all levels to identify the most pressing needs.
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247
Morale and Wellness Projects
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482
Coast Guard Members Supported through Education
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921
Youth Enrichment Grants
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255
Scholarships for Higher Education and Trade School
“I want to sincerely thank you for the support and opportunities provided through the youth enrichment program. This program has made a meaningful difference in our child’s life and in our family’s well-being… Through your program, our child has grown in confidence, gained new skills, and is looking forward to high school.”
— The Dato Family, stationed in Hawaii
Our Supporters
Your support means the world to our service members.
Why We Give
The Hoch and Rietsema Families: A Proud Legacy of Support
Laurie Rietsema’s connection to the Coast Guard Foundation is both personal and long-standing. A Coast Guard veteran and Foundation Board member for more than 20 years, she understands the realities of service and the impact it has on families. She also grew up close to the Foundation as the daughter of retired Coast Guard Commander Laurence J. Hoch, one of our most distinguished board members who served from 1981 until 2023.
"My dad loved the Coast Guard," Laurie said. "He loved the service, the mission and the people who dedicated their lives to it. I grew up with that same love, and it has stayed with me throughout my life."
That appreciation deepened through her own Coast Guard service and decades of involvement with the Foundation. She has seen firsthand the extraordinary commitment Coast Guard members bring to their work every day, often under challenging and stressful conditions.
"Coast Guard members put service above self," she said. "They perform at a remarkably high level because they know lives depend on it."
She also understands that commitment can come with a cost for members and families. That's why supporting the Foundation remains so important to her.
"When I support the Coast Guard Foundation, I know we're helping people when they need it most. If it’s scholarships for Coast Guard children, education grants for spouses, resiliency programs or emergency assistance, we're making sure Coast Guard families have support behind them while they serve our country."
For Laurie, giving is a way to honor both her father's legacy and the Coast Guard community she has been part of her entire life. "I've always loved the Coast Guard and I always will."
Today, that legacy continues. Augustine Rietsema, Laurie’s son, joined the Coast Guard Foundation's Board of Trustees in 2023, carrying forward the values instilled by his grandfather, Commander Larry Hoch, and his mother.
"I grew up attending Foundation events with my mom, so I was always aware of the incredible work the Foundation does," he said. "Having not served myself, getting involved with the Foundation feels like a small way to give back."
For Augustine, joining the Board is about continuing something that has shaped his family for generations.
"The family connection definitely makes it more special," he said. “Both my grandpa and my mom have shown me what it means to show up and give back, and the importance of humble service. They gave and continue to give - both time and resources - because it's the right thing to do.”
As a trustee, he has come to appreciate the Foundation's impact in a more personal way.
"I'm always most struck by the stories of the individuals and families the Foundation supports," he said. "For me, the family connection to the Coast Guard and the Foundation makes this community particularly special.”
Why We Give
Honoring Lt. Cmdr. James Alligood's Service to our Nation
Arlene Alligood, the owner of Alligood Marine International Inc., has bequeathed AMI’s building in St. Petersburg, Florida, to the Coast Guard Foundation in memory of her father, the late Lt. Cmdr. James Alligood, USCG. James operated Alligood Marine Supply from the building for 35 years. The following is an excerpt of her father’s story, as told by Arlene.
You could say "farming" brought Jim Alligood to the U.S. Coast Guard. It was 1924. He was a 19-year-old country boy and he knew one thing: he did not want to work on his father's vegetable farms scattered across the state of Florida. So, as the story goes, he "ran away," found an enlistment office and joined the Coast Guard.
He had been born on Terra Ceia Island on Florida's Gulf Coast. Boats and water were his first love. Assigned to the Coast Guard station in New London, Connecticut, his first year wasn't easy. Tall, quiet and very thin, Alligood was an easy target for bullies. One day he walked past the base gym and saw men boxing inside. He asked if anyone could teach him to box. Within a year, he was on the Coast Guard Academy boxing team as a welterweight, winning 46 of 52 fights. No one bullied him again.
He made the Coast Guard Rifle Team in 1930 and won Distinguished Marksman, the service’s highest marksmanship award. In 1936 he was awarded Double Distinguished honors for pistol and rifle. Only 32 Coast Guard marksmen have received this award.
In 1930, Alligood had married Roberta Lawrence and their daughter Arlene was born in 1937.
When Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Alligood was at sea on the SS American Seaman, a Coast Guard training vessel. Sent to the Pacific in 1943, he served on the USS Serpens (AK-97), a cargo ship crewed by Coast Guard personnel. The ship is best known for the massive explosion that destroyed her off Guadalcanal on January 29, 1945, killing all but two aboard, the single deadliest disaster in Coast Guard history.
In 1944, Alligood transferred to the USS Mintaka as executive officer, transporting troops to Guadalcanal and Okinawa until Japan's surrender in August 1945. By then a Lt. Commander, he had spent three years aboard ships in the Pacific without leave.
Alligood returned to St. Petersburg in late 1945. His daughter, then eight years old, did not remember him.
After serving as the commander of the Coast Guard base in St. Petersburg, he retired in 1948 as part of the postwar demobilization. He was 43 years old, having known nothing but the Coast Guard since he had enlisted at 19.
After serving in the U.S. Merchant Marine, he opened Alligood Marine Supply in 1969, which he operated until 1994, finally retiring at 89.
He died in 2004 at 99 and is buried in an Aripeka, Florida, Cemetery.
Arlene lives in Washington DC and honors her father’s service by supporting current Coast Guard members through the Foundation.
Thank You
This edition of our annual report illustrates the impact of your support in 2025. We thank you for your steadfast partnership and continued investment in Coast Guard members and families. An extended report with donor honor rolls, and Munro Society and Guardians Circle membership, can be found on our website at coastguardfoundation.org/annualreport.
$100,000 and Above
$50,000-$99,999
$25,000 - $49,999
$10,000 - $24,999
$5,000 - $9,999
Financials
The Foundation’s latest audited financials can be found online at coastguardfoundation.org/about-us/financials.