Chp 11 99 Foundation

The CHP 11-99 Foundation provides emergency assistance and death benefits to California Highway Patrol employees and their families and provides scholarships to their children.

The California Highway Patrol (CHP) 11-99 Foundation was established in 1982 by philanthropist, Bob Weinberg, to provide emergency benefits and assistance to CHP employees and their families and scholarships to their children. The 11-99 Foundation has served the CHP community for over 40 year.

“11-99” is the radio code used by CHP officers and dispatchers, meaning “officer needs assistance”.

Since its inception, the 11-99 Foundation has provided over $42 million in support to CHP families, including more than $40 million in vocational and academic scholarships to dependents of CHP employees. This has been made possible by the generosity of many individual members and donors, and by institutional grant funding. The commonality among supporters of the 11-99 Foundation is great respect for law enforcement and a recognition of the dangers, demands, and difficulties CHP employees face on a daily basis.

The CHP 11-99 Foundation provided 1074 scholarships totaling over $3.3M for the 2024 calendar year. The 11-99 Foundations 2025 goals include increasing scholarship awards to roughly $3.5M and our benefit awards are expected around $300,000. It is also our goal to continue to provide 50% tuition to all eligible students as long as funding is available and 100% tuition to those students whose parent was killed in the line of duty. Additionally, the organization continues writing grant requests, soliciting major gifts, managing our planned giving program, and increasing our endowment for future generations.    

Each year we receive well over 1,000 applications for scholarship assistance from children of CHP personnel, many of whom would not be able to attend college without the support of our Foundation. This number includes many students whose parent was killed in the line of duty. All of these scholarships are partial. It is our goal to fund all eligible students at 50% tuition and to meet the obligation regardless of the increase in requests. It is also the desire of the Foundation to continue to provide full scholarships to those students whose parent is killed in the line of duty. Our budget for 2025 will only cover minimal tuition costs for the majority of applicants as we need continued support to meet our goals.  When an officer is killed in the line of duty, his or her family is provided for through our benefits program with $50,000. Surviving those first months after a loss is the most difficult time for any family and if not for the 11-99 Foundations immediate death benefit check (issued and delivered to the family within 24 hours), the family of these fallen heroes would not have funds to pay for the funeral (which is NOT covered by the State or the CHP) and living expenses. Upon an officer's death, his/her pay stops immediately and there is a long delay in the family receiving his last paycheck as well as any state or CHP death benefits.

We are a state-wide foundation and serve all counties, cities, and towns serviced by the CHP.  There are 10 area offices in the Southern Division which services all of Orange County. In addition, there is 1 commercial inspection facility, 1 transportation management center, 1 communications dispatch center, and roughly 1,130 uniformed officers, and 350 non-uniformed personnel in Orange County.

The CHP 11-99 Foundation has been assisting CHP families for over 40 years. We continue to focus on ensuring our CHP Officers and their families are taken care of in times of crisis and provide educational opportunities where none existed before. We are governed by a statewide twelve-member board of directors and managed by a staff of nine. A very unique aspect of the Foundation is our response time. When a family is in need, we respond immediately, and in most cases assist within 24-hours. We are very efficient with safeguards, so funds are distributed based on real need, but without the "red tape" that traditionally slows down support. Once a need for assistance is brought to our attention, we have a responsibility to respond immediately, much as the CHP officers respond immediately to the public when they call for help. Our partnership with the CHP has been strong since the beginning and we will always stand by their side and never forget our fallen heroes. Providing scholarships is another critical need we fulfill for these families. Many children of CHP employees would not be able to attend college if it were not for our assistance and many are the first in their family to earn a college degree. Fiscal management is crucial in maintaining the Foundation's corpus and the 11-99 Foundation strives to keep administrative costs to a bare minimum. We understand the importance of donors' dollars supporting the CHP families and not the overhead of the organization. The 11-99 Foundation is the only one of its kind statewide and we are humbled to carry its' torch, always keeping in mind that we exist because a CHP family is in need.

The decision to provide leadership for the 11-99 Foundation was easy for me, as I have witnessed the great work this Foundation has done in supporting the families of the CHP. Their efforts have helped thousands of families through challenging times as well as provided scholarships for the children of CHP employees. The Foundation responds immediately when a family is in need without delay and understands the importance of responsiveness.  While we cannot foresee future tragedies, with your help, we are confident we will be able to meet the inevitable needs that arise and be first responders to the brave men and women who serve us every day.  It is an honor and privilege for me to be associated with an organization whose mission is truly carried out.