What Objective Zero Foundation does

The Objective Zero Foundation is a US 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2015 that operates a free mobile application connecting active duty service members, veterans, their families, and caregivers to a nationwide network of trained volunteer peer supporters ("Pathfinders") via text, voice, and video chat. The iOS/Android app provides advanced filtering to match users with Pathfinders by age, gender, branch of service, military occupational specialty, and location, and adds a mood and symptom tracker, journaling tool, curated wellness resources (guided meditation, yoga, mindfulness), and Apple HealthKit integration, all under a HIPAA-compliant data architecture. As of the most recent disclosed metrics, the platform has trained 2,600+ Pathfinders across all 50 US states and 27 countries, connected 15,000+ community members to resources, facilitated 100,000+ text conversations, and logged 6,000+ hours of voice/video sessions. The organization monetizes primarily through individual donations (including a $10/month "OZ Battle Buddy" recurring tier), competitive grants (Fast Forward, Twilio.org, CTIA Catalyst, Face the Fight), and minor partnership income (Rover affiliate, Lemonade Giveback), while a separate paid Medical Professionals Agreement extends the platform to licensed therapists and clinicians. Leadership is concentrated in co-founders Chris Mercado and Betsey Mercado, supported by a five-member board dominated by retired US Army Colonels and the Executive Director of the CTIA Wireless Foundation.

Name

Objective Zero Foundation

Legal name

The Objective Zero Foundation

Website

https://objectivezero.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Objective Zero Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that operates a free mobile app connecting active duty service members, veterans, their families, and caregivers to a nationwide network of over 2,600 trained volunteer peer supporters via text, voice, and video chat.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Veteran Mental Health Peer Support Services

NAICS

Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Social Assistance (624)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Safety Check-Ins, Wellness Calls & Monitoring (Non-Clinical) (HSABAAAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Community Health, Prevention & Health Education (BPAGACAC)

Keywords

• Veteran peer support
• Suicide prevention app
• Military mental health
• Mobile wellness platform
• Peer support network

Headquarters

HQ city

Fort Leavenworth

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations: Objective Zero is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The primary revenue stream is charitable donations from individual donors. Approximately 96 cents of every dollar goes toward the Program Fund used to sustain and improve the Objective Zero mobile app and train peer supporters. Donations are accepted via PayPal, Venmo, check, and Donor Advised Fund (DAF) Direct through Fidelity Charitable, Schwab Charitable, and BNY Mellon.
2. Monthly Subscription (OZ Battle Buddy): Optional monthly giving program called 'OZ Battle Buddy' at a suggested rate of $10/month to provide ongoing support to sustain the app and its services. This is a recurring donation model rather than a paid product tier, as the app remains free for all veterans and military community members.
3. Grants: Objective Zero receives grant funding from organizations including the CTIA Wireless Foundation Catalyst program (2020 winner), Twilio.org Impact Fund (2019 grant recipient), and other foundation and corporate grant programs. These represent non-repayable awards often tied to specific program or technology development objectives.
4. Partnership Revenue (Rover): A partnership with Rover (pet services marketplace) generates revenue through affiliate referrals. Users and ambassadors receive a $25 coupon for Rover services, and Objective Zero earns affiliate referral income from bookings made through the partnership link.
5. Corporate Giving Programs: Objective Zero participates in corporate giving programs such as the Lemonade 2020 Giveback Program, where a portion of premiums or contributions from policyholders are directed to the organization.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels16 records

Core offering

The Objective Zero mobile application connects active duty service members, veterans, their families, and caregivers to a nationwide network of trained volunteer peer supporters (Pathfinders) via text, voice, and video chat, and provides free access to mental health and wellness resources, mood and symptom tracking, journaling tools, and caring push-notification messages. The Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that funds operations through donations, grants, and partnership programs, and the app is always free for the military and veteran community.

Product overview

Objective Zero Foundation offers a single unified mobile application — the Objective Zero App — designed to combat military and veteran suicide through peer support and access to mental health resources. The core product provides a platform connecting users (service members, veterans, families, and caregivers) with trained volunteer Pathfinders via text, voice, or video chat. The app includes built-in wellness features such as a mood and symptom tracker, journaling tool, and access to curated health and wellness resources including guided meditation, yoga, and mindfulness training. The platform operates as a free service for the military community and maintains HIPAA compliance for medical professional connections.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Objective Zero Mobile App A free iOS and Android mobile application that connects active duty service members, veterans, their families, and caregivers to a nationwide network of trained volunteer peer supporters (Pathfinders) via text, voice, and video chat, and provides access to mental health and wellness resources, mood and symptom tracking, journaling tools, and push-notification caring messages.
• Volunteer Pathfinder Peer Support Program A structured volunteer program that recruits and trains adults aged 18+ as Pathfinders to provide peer support to veterans and service members through the Objective Zero app, with baseline suicide prevention training delivered through partnerships with the Department of Veterans Affairs and PsychArmor Institute.
• Objective Zero App v2.0 Version 2.0 of the Objective Zero mobile app introducing enhanced filtering options for finding peer supporters by age, gender, branch of service, military occupational specialty, and location, along with a mood and symptom tracker, journaling tool, and customizable light or dark modes.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2,600+ peer supporters trained and active across 50 US states and 27 countries
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• CTIA Wireless FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Dori Kreiger, Objective Zero board member, serves as Executive Director of CTIA Wireless Foundation. Objective Zero was named the 2020 CTIA Catalyst Winner — a competitive awards program supporting early-stage social entrepreneurs using 5G and leading-edge wireless technologies. Dori Kreiger leads the Foundation's Catalyst program, which launched Objective Zero as a winner.
• LemonademinorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2020Objective Zero was selected for the Lemonade 2020 Giveback Program — a social impact insurance company's program where unclaimed premiums are donated to nonprofits voted on by policyholders. This provides a funding source and visibility among Lemonade's socially-conscious customer base.
• Twilio.orgcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Objective Zero was named a 2019 Twilio.org Impact Fund Grant Recipient. Twilio.org provides communications technology funding and support to nonprofits using technology to drive social impact. The grant supports Objective Zero's use of communications technology (voice, text, video) in its peer support platform.
• RoverminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 13 January 2018Objective Zero partnered with Rover (pet services marketplace) to offer users and ambassadors a $25 coupon for Rover services. Objective Zero uses an affiliate link for bookings, generating referral income. This partnership addresses pet-related needs of veterans and military families while providing a revenue stream.
• Fast Forward (Tech Accelerator)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Objective Zero was selected for Fast Forward's 2018 accelerator cohort — the first and only accelerator exclusively for tech nonprofits. Fast Forward invested in Objective Zero through funding, mentorship, and capacity-building programs bridging the tech and nonprofit sectors. The program culminated in Demo Day 2018.
• Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Department of Veterans Affairs partners with Objective Zero to provide suicide prevention training to peer supporters. Through this partnership, all Objective Zero support Pathfinders receive baseline suicide prevention training and have access to a library of additional training resources. The VA officially partnered with the Objective Zero Foundation and this partnership provides significant credibility and reach within the veteran community.
• PsychArmor InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPsychArmor Institute partners with Objective Zero to provide baseline and advanced suicide prevention training to volunteer peer supporters (Pathfinders). Together with the VA, PsychArmor provides the foundational training curriculum that enables the volunteer network to deliver effective peer support.
• Face the Fight CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerObjective Zero Foundation is a proud member of the Face the Fight Coalition, working collectively to address veteran suicide. Face the Fight is a coalition of organizations committed to preventing veteran suicide through coordinated action and awareness.
• GuideStar / CandidminorOthersObjective Zero maintains its GuideStar Platinum Seal of Transparency, demonstrating commitment to nonprofit transparency and accountability. GuideStar (now Candid) is the world's largest source of information on nonprofit organizations.
• National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe National Institute of Mental Health has published research supporting mobile mental health apps as cost-effective and scalable solutions to address the mental health treatment gap. Objective Zero references NIMH research to support its evidence-based approach.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• BetterHelp: Large online counseling marketplace connecting users to licensed therapists. Comparable as a mental-health support channel addressing the same underlying need, but professional- rather than peer-led, and at national commercial scale.
• Calm: Leading consumer meditation, sleep, and mental-wellness app with a similar wellness-content-plus-tracking feature set. Not veteran-specific but competes for the same 'mental wellness via mobile' category with substantially greater scale.
• Wounded Warrior Project: Large veteran-services nonprofit offering mental-health, physical-health, and economic-empowerment programs. Comparable mission and donor-funded nonprofit model but operates at far greater scale with a broader program portfolio than Objective Zero.
• Headspace: Major consumer mental-health and meditation app with guided content, mood tracking, and coaching. Comparable as a digital mental-wellness platform but much broader (general population) and better capitalized, with overlapping meditation/mindfulness features.
• Talkspace: Publicly-traded teletherapy platform serving individuals, couples, and teens via licensed therapists. Comparable mental-health delivery mechanism (digital, asynchronous + live) targeting the same end-user need for accessible support.
• Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA): Major post-9/11 veteran advocacy and service organization with programming across mental health, benefits, and community. Comparable in serving the same veteran population and policy/advocacy posture, though with a membership/advocacy model rather than a peer-support app.

Emerging players

• Cohen Veterans Network: Nonprofit clinic network offering confidential mental-health care to post-9/11 veterans and their families at no cost. Comparable mission and donor-funded delivery model, but clinician-led in-person/telehealth rather than volunteer peer-led.
• Reboot Recovery: Nonprofit providing trauma-recovery programs and peer-support courses for combat veterans, first responders, and their families. Comparable peer-support methodology but delivered through in-person/intensive courses rather than a mobile app.

Direct peers

• Stop Soldier Suicide: 501(c)(3) nonprofit focused specifically on reducing military and veteran suicide through peer-support, clinical, and family programs. Directly comparable to Objective Zero's mission and target population, with a different program mix (case management vs. mobile peer matching).
• 22Zero: Veteran-focused suicide-prevention nonprofit delivering peer support, resilience training, and transition programs to active-duty service members and veterans. Closely comparable mission and constituency with overlapping peer-support delivery model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/zerovetsuicides
• Facebookfacebook.com/objectivezeroapp
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/objective-zero/?viewAsMember=true
• Instagraminstagram.com/objectivezeroapp/?hl=en

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Objective Zero Foundation