The corporation executes its Financial Assistance and Scholarship programs based on the earned income received from the previous year's investments. The budget specifies the amount available to be expended on individuals involved in each program. As the year concludes, a report outlining the actual individual expenditures is presented to the Board of Trustees in December. If budgeted funds remain available, the Board allocates portions to the reserve for emergencies and capital expenditures as well as other agencies supporting the same eligibility group as the MFST. In this manner, the Trustees have previously designated, or considered designating, funds to the following organizations.

Operation Helping Hand

  Operation Helping Hand is an initiative of the Tampa Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA). This project has been organized to help the families of the wounded and injured during their stay in the Tampa Bay area.

  Since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, the James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital has had a marked increase in the number of the wounded and injured active duty members referred for treatment. The VA Spinal Cord Injury and Rehabilitation Units have treated many military service members who have been severely injured in combat operations.

  Obviously, the family members of the wounded want to be there with loved ones during this critical time of treatment. The average hospital stay is 45 days. Many of the families visit Tampa from all over the country and must provide for themselves while staying in Tampa. Operation Helping Hand provides funds and in-kind support from the entire community for this purpose.

  The Tampa Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America, which created Operation helping Hand, received the Newman's Own Award and a $10,000 grant from the Paul Newman Foundation during a Pentagon ceremony in June 2005. Support for these awards also comes from the Fisher House Foundation in Bethesda, MD., and the Military Times Media Group in Springfield, VA. The awards recognize "ingenuity and innovation for volunteer organizations working to improve military quality of life." Operation Helping Hand was selected out of 176 organizations applying for this recognition.

Armed Forces Retirement Home

Armed Forces Retirement Home Website

  The Armed Forces Retirement Home provides a living facility for retired officer and enlisted personnel of the armed services.

LifePath Hospice of Hillsborough County, FL

LifePath Hospice Website

  Lifepath Hospice of Hillsborough County, Florida, recently built a new facility for singles on the Freedom Plaza Campus in Sun City Center, Florida. There are many retired military personnel and federal employees in this area who will have this facility at their disposal should the need arise.

MacDill Education Council Fund

MacDill Education Council Fund Website

  The MacDill Education Council Fund was established under the auspicis of the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay, Florida in 1999. Its' purpose is to provide funding for books and tuition for military personnel from all branches of the uniformed services at MacDill Air Force Base.

Operation Warm Heart, MacDill AFB

  This program provides financial assistance to service personnel at MacDill Air Force Base in the form of commissary vouchers each Christmas, as well as emergency funding throughout the year. The MFST conducts a special solicitation of its contributors for this program each Christmas.

MOWW Youth Leadership Conference

MOWW Youth Leadership Conference Website

  The Military Order of the World Wars (MOWW) holds an annual Youth Leadership Conference. An MOBC eligible high school senior from the Sun City Center area was identified to attend in 2000, and the Board of Trustees provided the funds for him to do so.

Army Emergency Relief Agency & Navy Marine Corps Relief Society

Army Emergency Relief Agency

Navy Marine Corps Relief Society

  As a result of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attack on the Pentagon, a special solicitation resulted in several thousand dollars being sent to each of these agencies for the victims of this tragedy.

Quantum Leap Farms, Inc., Odessa, Florida

  This organization provides recreational therapeutic services to disabled veterans in the Hillsborough County area. Its services and facilities are used by the DAV and the James A Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa to assist veterans in the healing process.