Skip to main content

Because of you, we can make a difference!

 

 

 

 

Dear Friend,

 

On behalf of First Responders Children’s Foundation, we look forward to your support of our organization's mission to provide transformational programs and services to the children and families of first responders.

 

Now, more than ever, the job of a first responder is becoming increasingly dangerous and uncertain. Through our year-round programs, we are there for their children, especially in situations where the unimaginable happens.

 

 

In 2023, we made significant strides but our job is not done yet. The following is a recap of our key successes:

 

·     Scholarships: Provided over $1.1 million in scholarships to 415 children.

 

·     Mental Health: Offered over 1,300 hours of free and confidential mental health counseling to children of first responders since the program’s inception in 2022. We achieved this by onboarding new partners to provide services and collaborating with first responder agencies across the country. We are actively providing support to children in six states.

 

·     Bereavement & Line of Duty Death: Provided over $275,000 in Bereavement or Line Of Duty Death Emergency Financial Assistance Grants benefiting families with children who lost a first responder parent in the line of duty and families experiencing financial hardship.

 

·     Community Engagement Events: Brought joy to more than 120,000 children through our Toy Express toy distribution events in over 145 communities with over 200 first responder agencies.  

 

In addition, we expanded our programmatic footprint in Dallas, New Mexico and Oklahoma and strengthened our Board by adding engaged partners who believe in what we do. In 2024, we hope to continue our growth and focus on deepening our impact.

 

None of this would have been possible without generous donors and the first responder agencies that stand behind our mission. 

 

Every dollar counts. If you would like to make a year-end donation in 2023, there is still time. Simply click here to support first responders across the country.

 

Wishing you a joyful holiday season and a safe and happy New Year!

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Jillian Crane

President & CEO

 

 

 

 

 

Visit us online at www.1stRCF.org

Scholarships | Grants | Mental Health | First Responder Community Engagement

 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Credit Where Credit's Due

  Credit Where Credit's Due   Credit reports 101 Used to calculate credit scores   and determine creditworthiness, credit reports are comprehensive documents that detail the credit history of a person or business, including current and former lines of credit, bankruptcy records, and more.  Credit assessments actually started in the 1700s   as a way to evaluate businesses’ financial standing rather than consumers’. The early 1800s brought efforts to standardize the credit reporting system as more businesses were started that needed loans, and the labor movement’s success in the second half of the 1800s led to an increased need for standardized c...

47-Second Loan Décisions. Underwriting in Minutes. How AI is Revolutionizing Turnaround Time in Mortgage Lending

May 27, 2026 CU Today TORONTO–While AI has been deployed across a host of back office functions, on the consumer-facing side its promise is increasingly being seen in mortgage lending, where lenders are promising mortgage approval decisions in as little as 47 seconds, reporting that up to a third of inquiries are now being handled by chatbots, and slashing underwriting time to just minutes. Toronto-based TD Bank Group said it has also deployed its first agentic artificial intelligence system in mortgage lending, reducing the time required to prepare applications for underwriting from an average of roughly 15 hours to less than three minutes. According to a statement from TD Bank, the new AI model automates mortgage pre-adjudication — the process that occurs before a human underwriter reviews an application. The bank said the system classifies borrower documents, extracts and validates financial information, calculates income, performs policy and consent checks, identifies discrepancie...

Trump Accounts Program For Children Moves Forward With New Mobile App Launch

  WASHINGTON—The Treasury Department on Thursday announced the launch of the new Trump Accounts mobile app, marking the next phase of the Administration’s rollout of its new federally backed investment savings program for children ahead of the program’s official July 4 launch date. Donald Trump The app, now available through major mobile app stores, will serve as the primary platform for families to manage and activate Trump Accounts. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the app is intended to give parents and guardians a “simple, secure way” to participate in the program, which was created under the 2025 Republican tax-and-spending package. Families that already submitted IRS Form 4547 to enroll children in the program will begin receiving phased activation emails between now and July 4, according to Treasury. Under the program, eligible children born between Jan. 1, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2028, can receive a one-time $1,000 federal seed contribution into a tax-deferred investment ac...

AI Rapidly Reshaping How Consumers Discover, Compare & Choose Banking Products (But Trust Remains an Issue)

  Frank Diekmann May 26, 2026 SYDNEY — Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping how consumers discover, compare and select banking products, forcing financial institutions to rethink their digital marketing and customer acquisition strategies, according to a new report from Bain & Company .  The report, titled “How AI Rewrites the Rules of Brand Discoverability in Banking,” found that AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Claude and Google Gemini are increasingly acting as the first point of contact between consumers and banks, particularly in Australia, where consumers are using the technology to evaluate products, interpret fees and even prepare applications for loans and credit cards.  According to Bain & Company, the traditional banking sales funnel — once driven by branches, brokers, advertising and search engine rankings — is rapidly shifting toward AI-generated recommendations and responses. ‘Increasingly Influencing Choice’ “AI assistants increasingly influen...

‘Statistically Better Than Humans’: Revolut Says AI Is Transforming AML Monitoring

5/25/2026 08:36 am     WASHINGTON—Artificial intelligence is now outperforming humans in some key areas of financial crime compliance, according to American Banker, which reported comments from Revolut U.S. CEO Cetin Duransoy during Semafor’s Banking on the Future Forum in Washington. Duransoy said AI-driven transaction monitoring at the fintech performs “statistically significantly better than human reviews of the transactions,” allowing human investigators to focus on more complex cases. Duransoy said AI has evolved from a supplemental tool into “core infrastructure” at Revolut, helping the company manage regulatory requirements across 39 countries while also supporting know-your-customer and anti-money-laundering functions. He added that every employee at the company now uses AI in some capacity, including customer service systems powered by large language models that generate responses using actual account information. The executive also warned that financial institutions ...

Cox Lowers Auto Sales Forecast as Rates Rise, 'Outlook Worsening'

Economist says auto loan rates will rise to a 21-year high by year’s end. Interest rates for cars are likely to hit 21-year records by the end of the year, further raising monthly payments and driving down sales as many buyers hold on to aging vehicles a little longer, Cox Automotive analysts said Wednesday. During Cox Automotive’s forecast call, the analysts announced lower forecasts on both new and used vehicles for 2022, compared with its previous quarterly forecast in June . New car sales that in June had been expected to fall 3.4% to 14.4 million this year are now expected to fall 8.1% to 13.7 million. Used car sales that in June had been expected to fall 8.6% to 37.1 million are now expected to fall 10.6% to 36.3 million. The forecast for new car sales was reduced for the third time this year not only because supply shortages haven’t improved as much as expected, but also because higher rates are driving up monthly payments. Cox Automotive Chief Economist Jonathan Sm...

Royal Administration Services, Inc. is the Official Conference Sponsor of the 2018 National Council of Firefighter Credit Unions Inc Annual Conference

Hanover, Ma,   Royal Administration Services , Inc. is pleased to announce it is the Official Conference Sponsor for The National Council of Firefighter Credit Unions Inc (NCOFCU) 2018 Annual Conference. NCOFCU’s 2018 Conference will be held in Seattle, Washington September 19-22, 2018. NCOFCU is the nation’s premier professional association of Credit Unions serving firefighters and First Responders and their families. “We are thrilled to Welcome Royal as this year’s Official Conference Sponsor,” said Grant J. Sheehan, Executive Director and CEO of NCOFCU; we are pleased to partner with Royal’s suite of vehicle protection product offerings to our members, and their families. By stepping up its role at the conference, Royal is further demonstrating their support for Firefighters and First Responders and the Credit Union Community. “We share in the Council’s commitment to providing relevant auto lending protection products and services; Royal Administration Services...

Fed will not be raising rates any time in the near future!

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told Congress on Wednesday that the central bank will not start raising interest rates until it believes its goals on maximum employment and inflation have been reached. Powell also warned that many who had worked in industries hardest hit by the pandemic and ensuing recession will likely need to find different jobs. As he did before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday, Powell told the House Financial Services Committee that the Fed is in no hurry to raise its benchmark short-term interest rates or to begin trimming its $120 billion in monthly bond payments used to put downward pressure on longer-term rates. Financial markets, which had begun to wane Tuesday on fears that higher inflation might trigger an earlier-than-expected tightening of credit conditions by the Fed, rebounded on Powell’s comments. That trend extended into Wednesday with the S&P 500 index rising more than 1 percent. Powell said the Fed does not see any...

Visa, Mastercard Revisions Will Cost Merchants more Than $475 Million Annually, Economist Says

 NEW YORK—The two biggest U.S. card networks are preparing revisions to their interchange schedules that at least one research firm says will cost U.S. merchants an estimated $475 million in additional transaction fees. Though Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. have historically revised their rate schedules each April and October, “this April is particularly significant,” Callum Godwin, the Atlanta-based chief economist for CMSPI, a United Kingdom-based research firm, told Digital Transactions. The firm’s estimates indicate the changes in Visa’s rates will add up to a net $145 million in additional cost to acquirers. For Mastercard, the impact will net out to $330 million. The networks do not collect interchange. Merchant processors pay in...

Monday Morning Cup of Coffee: No money down mortgages return

NASA Federal Credit Union and Navy Federal Credit Union are once again offering members mortgages that do not require money down or mortgage insurance. And, Blackstone makes a big bet on a particular housing market. read more    Monday Morning Cup of Coffee: No money down mortgages return :