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Frequently Asked Questions about Help for Heroes

When and why did H4H start?
In the summer of 2007 Bryn and Emma wanted to do their bit to help the wounded. Their son was due to join the Army and, as an ex Serviceman himself, Bryn was in touch with his old Regiment, The Royal Green Jackets (now the Rifles), and hearing about the level of casualties. With an idea for a fundraising bike ride, Bryn and Emma met General Sir Richard Dannatt, the Chief of the General Staff, and he suggested that they focus their fundraising efforts on helping to provide a swimming pool at Headley Court, the Tri Service Rehabilitation Centre near Epsom in Surrey. As the pool was a capital project, they were unable to fundraise for existing service charities such as SSAFA Forces Help or the Army Benevolent Fund (ABF) whose charitable objects did not include such projects. Therefore, on 7th September 2007, they asked their solicitors to form a charity and, with seed corn funding from ABF, launched Help for Heroes on 1st October 2007.


Is H4H a charity?
Yes, H4H is registered in England and Wales as a charity, number 1120920, and as a company limited by guarantee, number 6363256. There are currently six members of the charity, the Trustees, who are responsible to the Charity Commission for good governance. H4H is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association.


What are H4H's charitable objects?
Charitable objects define what a charity may or may not do and are policed by the Charity Commission.

The charity’s objects are to assist persons who are currently serving or who have served in the Armed Forces, and their dependants, by any lawful charitable purpose at the discretion of the Trustees and in particular, but not exclusively:

  1. To promote and protect the health of those who have been wounded whilst serving in the Armed Forces by making grants to purchase equipment for their rehabilitation, and
  2. To make grants to other charities that assist members of the Armed Forces and their dependents.

Our current grants policy is to look for strategic partners that are developing the rehabilitation infrastructure required by those Servicemen and women injured in the line of duty, both in action and in more general service. Mindful of the work of other service charities, we currently restrict our grant making to support those affected by the current conflicts, i.e since 9/11.


Can you give some examples of what you do with the funds?
We see an individual on a ‘Road to Recovery’ that starts with him/her coming back from operations, probably to Selly Oak, then to Headley Court and then on the journey through life. We want to support him/her and his/her family, on every step of the way, funding services and facilities that give him or her the very best chance of a fulfilling and happy future. We do this by funding our strategic partners as outlined above.

Capital Projects.
Our funds have been used to build capital projects like the £8m H4H Rehabilitation Complex at Headley Court or the £3.5m treatment centre at Combat Stress.

Grants towards the delivery of support services.
We have partnered SSAFA- Forces Help with a £500,000 grant to provide two Relatives' houses at Selly Oak and Headley Court, and granted Erskine over £750,000 to support the Personnel Recovery Centre at Edinburgh.

Services and activites.
We help support Battle Back adventure training for the wounded and Troop Aid who provide the welfare grab bags. Further along the road, the individuals may spend some time in one of our Personnel Recovery Centres (£20m) or benefit from our funding on an Individual Recovery Programme (£15m). You will find many more details in the ‘How We Spend Your Money’ section.

Individual support.
Our £5m Quick Reaction Fund (QRF), administered through the three service benevolent charities, enables us to get support to individuals in need, whether they are wounded themselves or it is their dependents who have been injured. Read More


Why do you have to do this, surely it is the job of the Government to look after its people?
It is and they do. The MOD provides our Servicemen and women with the necessary support but frankly, there is never enough money to do everything we would like. We want to help our boys and girls so, if we are prepared to run races, climb mountains, swim, cycle, bake cakes and do all the other crazy things we do in support of our blokes to provide additional support, then the Armed Forces are happy to accept our contribution. We want to help and our help is welcomed, but it is the extras we provide and we are not letting the Government off the hook or doing their job for them.


Are you criticizing the way the Government supports the blokes?
No, we are non judgmental. If we fundraise for our local hospital’s CAT scanner or Air Ambulance then we do it because we want to help enhance facilities. It is not an implicit criticism of the NHS; it is a welcome additional facility.


Is H4H politically motivated?
No, H4H is strictly non political and accepts that wars happen under any government. H4H seeks to support those people wounded in war, not to criticise the reasons for those conflicts. We accept that wars happen, they are brutal and Servicemen and women are injured. We can’t prevent that but we can help them recover and that is our focus. We are a fundraising organisation that seeks to support our blokes; it’s as simple as that.


Does H4H support political parties?
No, Help for Heroes is strictly non-political. We have no affiliation with any political party and we do not endorse the use of our name, our brand or our images for the promotion of any political viewpoint. The money that we raise at Help for Heroes is used to support wounded Servicemen and women of every colour and creed and we strongly oppose any individual or political party who believes otherwise, and those who seek to use the charity’s name for their own political gain.


Do you support individuals?
Yes, everyone who benefits from our funding is of course an individual. We do not discriminate between those wounded in action or on training, male or female, race or service; we just want our funds to help ‘the blokes’, the men and women of our Armed Forces. Our funds are used in all sorts of ways, from the big projects like the Headley Court Rehab Complex to the smaller provision of a juice machine in the ward. Individuals have received help from our funding, administered by one of our strategic partners, from help with improvements to housing, rent for a widow or financial assistance to a Dad. The only thing is that we do not do it directly from H4H to the individual; instead we ask our partners (the experts) to administer the money while we concentrate on fundraising and grant giving.


Why have you not built anything yet in Scotland, Ireland and Wales? Are you a charity just for England?
No, we are a nationwide charity serving the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom. All those who serve will benefit from our funding equally, whether they come from Arbroath, Birmingham, Lands End, Barry Island, Fiji or any other county or country from where our boys and girls originate.

If we help fund a building in Edinburgh or Plymouth it is because the Chiefs of the Armed Forces ask us to do so. We raise the funds and help where they ask us to.

It is always worth remembering that Scottish soldiers serve in Kent, Cornish Marines are in Scotland, Welsh Soldiers are in Hampshire and London Airmen are in East Anglia. We fundraise nationally for our nation’s boys and girls and help where we are directed.


You seem to do a lot for the Army. Are you an Army charity?
No, we support all members of the Armed Forces equally. Each patient is given the same support, regardless of unit or service. Sadly, the soldiers of the Army and the Marines of the Royal Navy currently make up most of the casualties so much of our work is directed towards them.


Why don’t you support Servicemen from former wars before 9/11?
We had to start somewhere and there are literally hundreds of wonderful organisations already providing support to the veterans of earlier wars. Those veterans are equally our heroes, but our funds are limited and they are already cared for. After each major conflict, charities are set up to help those who are damaged as a result: The Royal British Legion in the aftermath of World War 1 and The Army Benevolent Fund in 1944 for example. Help for Heroes was set up in order to help those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan today.


Why do you call Servicemen and women “Heroes”; surely they are just doing their jobs and know the risks?
We consider that anyone who volunteers to join the Armed Forces, knowing that one day they may have to risk all, is a hero. That’s it; simple.


How come you sell merchandise? Surely charities are not allowed to carry out trading activities?
Correct, H4H does not carry out any trading activities. When we launched, we decided to set up Help for Heroes Trading Company Ltd (H4HT) - a wholly owned trading subsidiary that sells gift products or allows the use of our logo to raise funds. The profits from H4HT cover all of our operating costs, both from the charity and the trading company, as well as making the biggest annual donation. This means that when someone gives us a donation, it all goes to the cause, not to costs, and that has to be good.


So you get paid working for a charity?
Yes, when we set up in October 2007, we all worked for ‘passion not pay’ but we could only sustain that for a few months as we all had mortgages to pay. All our main office staff are now salaried and are backed up with some wonderful volunteers. The main point though is that, by using H4HT, we ensure that all our costs are covered so none of the donations are used to pay our salaries and we believe that is a unique feature of H4H amongst charities. In short, H4HT pays us, not H4H.

All staff salaries are benchmarked by an independent HR company and assessed against similar organisations and charities, before being approved by our trustees and audited. All our accounts are, of course, submitted to the Charity Commission.

If anyone joined us only for the money, they would not last long!


Is the publicity surrounding H4H taking away from the longer-term, established Service charities?
No, in fact the publicity has meant that all the service charities have benefitted considerably from the focus on this generation’s wounded and all report that their income has increased as a result. In addition, we have both supported many charities with funds and helped in joint fundraising partnerships, notably the X Factor song Hero which raised hundreds of thousands of pounds that we shared with The Royal British Legion.


What if I am moved to help? Perhaps I have lost a member of my family, should I set up a charity like H4H?
Each time someone is hurt or killed, their relatives and friends are moved to do something to help or remember their loved one. Setting up another charity can lead to additional costs and duplication so it is worth talking to us first, as we might well be able to create a ‘Restricted fund’. This is effectively a fund within H4H that you can name and decide how the money is spent (within our charitable objects). That way you can concentrate on fund raising and don’t have to get too involved in all the administration and considerable costs, meaning more of the funds you raise goes to the cause you choose.


Can I leave money to H4H in my will?
Yes, an increasing number of people are setting up legacies, which will ensure that people will continue to get help in your memory. Read more on legacies here...


Can my company support H4H?
Yes! It’s a brilliant way to motivate your workforce by getting them to join us in doing their bit to help. We have a very successful Charity of the Year (COTY) programme in place and would be happy to tell you more about that, as well as the Give As You Earn scheme (GAYE). Read more on corporate support here...


Why did H4H buy Bmycharity?
In line with our policy to get the very best value for our donating supporters, we bought Bmycharity in order to be able to provide our fundraisers with an online, commission free donations service. We cover the costs by saving ourselves the commission we would otherwise be paying to other providers who have to charge for their services. Now we have it, we are delighted to be able to offer the same service to other charities if they wish to use it, with no strings attached. Read more on the acquisition of Bmycharity here...


Does H4H have enough money now?
No, we have a long wish list of projects and services that we want to do to support our blokes. Please keep the money coming in and we will ensure it is spent quickly, effectively and very efficiently. Read the H4H Wish List here...


How do I raise money for H4H?
Simple, just look at our events pages and see what you fancy doing. As long as its legal, safe and honest then register it online and get on and do it. Alternatively just hit that donations button and give us as much as you can and leave us to spend the money on the blokes… thanks! Take a look at our fundraising page here.


Is H4H here to stay?
We really don’t know the answer to this one! Provided there is a need for us, we will carry on raising money to help our heroes, for as long as that takes.