First Responders Survivors Fund

First Responders Survivors Fund

Our goal is to help support the survivors of our fallen first responders by personally providing financial support within 48 hours.

First Responders Survivors Fund

Thank you so much for taking an interest in our story and what we do at the First Responders Survivors Fund - 501c3!

The First Responders Survivors Fund was created shortly after Matt Rittner was killed while executing a search warrant in Milwaukee.

The Mission of the First Responders Survivors Fund is to provide $5,000.00 to the family of a first responder who is killed on duty, in the counties our non-profit currently serves.

When Matt was killed, it really made it apparent that additional help was needed for the families of fallen first responders after an on duty death.

Many people don't realize that when an unexpected death occurs, the family doesn't receive insurance money right away, and sometimes there are disputes about insurance payments to the family for months at a time. On top of that, the family is forced into paying for and planning an unexpected funeral, preparing final arrangements and so on. These families are often tasked with putting up extended family from out of town in their homes or hotels, and providing food, drink and support to the extended family as well, all while in the midst of beginning their own grieving process. It is an absolute heavy burden on the family that can often be quite expensive and intimidating from a financial perspective.

That's where the First Responders Survivors Fund steps in, we provide significant financial support to the family within 48 hours of an on duty death. We give the money in good faith, no strings attached, and allow the family to use those funds as they see fit to help get through that terribly sad time, in hopes they don't need to overextend themselves while putting family up, planning the funeral and preparing final arrangements. There is no expectation of those funds to be paid back to us, we just hope to impact the families in a positive way. We fundraise throughout the communities we serve, so we can provide those funds when these tragedies happen.

Bob Chapman Founder of FRSF, who is a former Milwaukee Tac Squad member, stepped up to do something when Matt was killed, and his efforts all started with a golf outing at Western Lakes in Pewaukee - we had 12 participants (all Law Enforcement Professionals or Law Enforcement Families) that came out and raised money to provide to Matt's family.

We were able to do the same for Peter Jerving's family when he was tragically killed on duty in Milwaukee - these families need our help during those tough times, and we will do everything in our power to provide it.

Now, we host a golf event annually, our reach has grown, the public's participation in the event has grown, we sell out that golf event every year now (over 140 golfers come out to support!), because people care about taking care of these families during those hard times. We care about honoring the fallen and their legacy.

We just held our first concert fundraiser in Oconomowoc at SteelTank Brewing and RallyPoint with the Metal Men - and HUNDREDS of people came out to support, it was amazing!

We are starting to expand with more and more support from the public, and especially through the support of small and large local businesses, we are so grateful for Carisma Customs for making us a part of the day here at the car show!

We currently cover Milwaukee and Waukesha Counties, but we need the public's help to expand and cover more areas, with our goal being to eventually cover the entire state of WI, and then expand further to cover the entire nation.

We are looking to expand west to Dane County currently, so that is in the works. And we are very excited to start working on some offerings such as scholarships for law enforcement programs and students as well. In order to expand to new areas, we need to find those people willing to step up and support, just like Bob stood up and brought people together when tragedy struck - so if you or someone you know wants to make a difference, please contact us to chat.

Again we so very much appreciate you taking an interest in FRSF and our mission, you can always find out more at our website www.firstresponderssurvivorsfund.com or by reaching out to Bob and board members like me directly.

Thank you for your support everyone, God bless, have a wonderful day! - Patrick, Bob, John, Dwayne and Jerry.