The Fayetteville Firefighters Foundation was created in October 2023 to support the active duty and retired firefighters for the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas. We are an Internal Revenue Service certified 501c3 organization.

One goal of laws, ordinances, and policies of government is to guard against frivolous and unneeded expenses, as well as to safeguard against the self-serving or fraudulent behavior of a bureaucrat. The downside to such legislation is there is no mechanism for a leader to recognize and reward the challenging work of their people. There is no funding for simple gratuities a leader in the private world might utilize, such as a yearly awards banquet.

The primary purpose the Foundation is tasked with is identifying and obtaining avenues of revenue (private donations) to support things the City of Fayetteville is not legally allowed to provide with taxpayer dollars, such as the yearly Firefighter’s Banquet.

The Fayetteville Fire Department has educational requirements associated with promotion, but there is no funding assistance to help with higher education. The secondary purpose of the Foundation is to seek out funding to create a scholarship program for current active-duty Fayetteville Firefighters.

An area of struggle for firefighters is transitioning into retirement. Their entire career they have been a part of a team, a part of something bigger than themselves. They often sacrifice their safety and well-being for the good of the team, the cause, and the citizens. When they enter retirement, they may lose their purpose, they are no longer part of the team. The tertiary purpose of The Foundation is to prepare our firefighters for retirement and support them as they transition into the next phase of their lives. The Foundation will connect them with other retirees and keep them active in our department family through retirement.