After serving in the armed forces, many veterans return home only to struggle with their mental health. Even those who have loving families and strong support systems can suffer trauma. Outer Circle Foundation steps in to normalize mental health care and connect veterans and first responders to the care they, and their families, deserve. 

“We have both personally lost close service member friends to suicide, and have seen the struggles with friends, family, and community with PTSD and wanted to provide caring supportive resources to help those in need.” Matt and Buffy Payne

Background

Matt Payne understands well the sacrifices of so many military families. His father, Herman “Chuck” Payne, was killed in Vietnam just a few months after Matt was born. 

Matt himself joined the military as an adult, and he dealt with decades of PTSD after his service. But, like many veterans, Matt struggled to admit that there was a problem. 

“I always tried to manage my feelings on my own, trying to hide the way I was feeling, adopting self-coping mechanisms, closing myself off from family and friends, and hoping no one saw how I felt. Eventually, my nightmares got worse, what little sleep I was getting got worse, my fuse was extremely short, I didn’t like talking to people, and I wanted to be alone.” Matt Payne

After many conversations with his wife, Buffy, Matt started therapy and began digging into some newly developed treatment plans. After he found the right doctors, Matt and Buffy found a new equilibrium. 

Pretty soon, they realized they wanted to bring that same healing to other families. Trained to be strong and serve their countries, many veterans see PTSD as a weakness, instead of a solvable problem. Matt and Buffy knew that sharing their story was the first step in breaking down the stigma surrounding mental health. And, as they’d both lost service member friends to suicide, they knew that message was critical to saving lives. 

The next step was founding an organization that would walk alongside veterans and first responders who were ready to find help. That’s how Outer Circle Foundation was born. 

It took work for Matt to find the right treatment for his own PTSD, and Outer Circle Foundation is dedicated to helping each veteran or first responder find the therapies that serve their individual needs. They help veterans find help and treatment for PTSD, provide resources on transitioning from military to civilian life, and even secure service animals for those who need them. 

Matt and Buffy run the foundation together, supported by a team of volunteers. Their organization is small but mighty, and they have lofty goals. 

Most PTSD therapies are long-term treatment programs run by highly trained professionals, so it can be an expensive (though worthwhile!) intervention. For the Outer Circle Foundation, every dollar raised could save the life of someone who had risked their own to protect their neighbors. So when they lost over $2,000 to PayPal fees, the couple was frustrated. That amount could have provided a PTSD awareness therapy program to five service members who needed the support.

”We were disappointed and frustrated with the experience with the other platforms, getting responses from support was not easy and then the fees they charge a nonprofit is disappointing. As a nonprofit we work so diligently to raise money to support our veterans and first responders, it's disheartening that such a large portion had to go to technology platforms.”

And the fees weren’t even the end of their problems with PayPal. After just a few months, they were so annoyed with the difficulties and lack of customer support that they switched to Donorbox. Then Venmo, Cashap, and Gofundme… None of these platforms offered all the capabilities they were looking for. 

Buffy and Matt tried half a dozen different ways to fundraise before a friend told them about Zeffy. This friend, Brian Pruitt, founded a nonprofit support organization. Brian has helped dozens of nonprofits overhaul their marketing and fundraising efforts, so he knows a thing or two about the logistics of outreach. 

On the strength of their friend’s recommendation, Buffy and Matt decided to give Zeffy a try. 

Brian worked with Matt and Buffy for a year, but his suggestion to switch to Zeffy has had long lasting effects. They were thrilled that the platform not only offered completely free fundraising—it was also easier to use and offered much more comprehensive customer support than the other platforms they’d used.

Matt and Buffy used Zeffy to collect donations and sell tickets to a golf tournament fundraiser. Their experiences with Zeffy were so smooth and easy compared to previous platforms that Matt and Buffy have found themselves doing exactly the same thing Brian did—spreading the word about Zeffy to everyone they know in the nonprofit world.

”We love Zeffy, we love how easy it is to use and the flexibility it allows nonprofits. We have shared Zeffy with seven other nonprofits that we know of and they have all moved to Zeffy. It is AMAZING! Seriously, we are so thankful that Zeffy is here to support us!” Buffy Payne

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