OPERATION HEALING FORCES SELECTED TO JOIN STAND TOGETHER FOUNDATION'S CATALYST IGNITE EXPERIENCE
Operation Healing Forces joins a highly selective network of nonprofits working to address our country's biggest problems.
TAMPA, Fla., Jan. 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Operation Healing Forces, a national nonprofit serving the United States Special Operations Forces community, has been selected to join Stand Together Foundation's Catalyst Ignite, a highly selective leadership and organizational development experience designed for nonprofits driving innovative, community-centered solutions to complex challenges. Operation Healing Forces is one of just 15 organizations chosen nationwide to join the Catalyst Community, a network of more than 350 social entrepreneurs working across 1,300 communities to advance lasting systems change.
In 2025 alone, Operation Healing Forces supported approximately 3,200 members of the Special Operations Forces community through tailored programs designed to meet both immediate and long-term needs. This support included more than 600 Immediate Needs and Crisis Support grants, totaling approximately $1 million, as well as 55 Therapeutic Retreats that created space for rest, reconnection, and renewal for 420 SOF community members. Across all programs, more than $4 million was directed toward addressing urgent challenges and strengthening long-term stability for SOF families.
Operation Healing Forces was selected among hundreds of nonprofit organizations through an extensive selection process. The social entrepreneurs joining Stand Together Foundation's Catalyst Community are recognized for disrupting the status quo, demonstrating "outside-the-box" thinking, and embracing community-driven and people-centered approaches.
"We're excited to kick off the year by welcoming 15 bold nonprofits into Stand Together Foundation's Catalyst Community — a network of more than 300 of our country's most dynamic social entrepreneurs," said Amber Fogarty, managing director for Stand Together Foundation. "The Catalyst Ignite Experience is all about shifting how we tackle our country's biggest challenges, and these organizations are already demonstrating better ways to empower people by innovating, experimenting, and challenging the status quo. We can't wait to see how these new Catalysts learn, partner, and spark change together."
"Catalyst Ignite represents an opportunity to challenge assumptions, strengthen organizational health, and expand what's possible for the Special Operations Forces community," said Kerry Irvin, Chief Executive Officer at Operation Healing Forces. "Operation Healing Forces looks forward to learning alongside other social entrepreneurs committed to building stronger, more resilient systems of support that prioritize care, connection, and long-term stability."
Catalyst Ignite is an exclusive year-long experience for the nation's most transformative social entrepreneurs. It's designed to meet high-potential nonprofit organizations with the tools, coaching, capital, and networks needed to accelerate their organizational health and impact. By helping them uncover what makes their work transformational and build on it, it lays the foundation for social entrepreneurs to become proof points of a better way to solve problems.
About Stand Together Foundation
Stand Together Foundation is dedicated to empowering individuals to reach their full potential through community-driven change. We are building a movement of social entrepreneurs who believe in people, work with individuals closest to the problem, and unite with anyone to do right. Through innovations that inspire Americans to help each other, they are building stronger, safer communities where all people can learn, contribute, and live lives of meaning. Learn more at www.StandTogetherFoundation.org.
About Operation Healing Forces
Operation Healing Forces (OHF) is a national nonprofit organization headquartered in Tampa, Florida, that serves the wounded, injured, ill, and fallen United States Special Operations Forces community, including active-duty members, National Guard, Reservists, veterans, families, caregivers, and survivors. Through programs focused on rehabilitation, reintegration, and resilience, OHF strengthens relationships, restores hope, and helps rebuild lives for those who have endured visible and invisible wounds of military service. Since its founding in 2011, OHF has served more than 13,500 individuals through therapeutic retreats, mental health and crisis assistance, and family support programs. For more information, visit www.operationhealingforces.org.
SOURCE Operation Healing Forces
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