Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center

What Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center does

The Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center is a 501(c)-style non-profit corporation (legally "Charles H. Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center," governed under Tennessee law) that operates a single 19,000 sq ft physical museum at 2 W Aquarium Way in downtown Chattanooga's Aquarium Plaza, opened on February 22, 2020. The institution memorializes Medal of Honor recipients from 1863 to present and delivers character-education programming built on six traits — Patriotism, Sacrifice, Citizenship, Integrity, Courage, and Commitment. Core exhibit products include the immersive Coolidge Theater, the Hacksaw Ridge exhibit (with a hands-on butterfly-knot station), the Captain Larry Taylor Exhibit (anchored by a full-scale suspended AH-1G Cobra helicopter), six Character Kiosks, and the Heart of Valor statue. Education programs include K-12 field trips, summer camp, living-history presentations, the Teacher Fellowship Program (open to TN/GA/AL/MS educators), and the Character Development Program — originally developed by the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation and approved by the Tennessee State Education Commission as a statewide initiative in 2016.

The business model is a hybrid non-profit revenue stack combining transactional earned income with philanthropic support. Earned streams include ticket admission (including a $5 Museums for All rate), annual and monthly memberships with auto-renewal, Bricks of Honor commemorative pavers sold at $150/$500/$5,000, retail/café sales, and facility rentals for events of 20–200+ attendees. Philanthropic streams include one-time and recurring donations (NeonOne-powered), the annual Patriots Ball gala (relaunched in 2026 as an evening event at Erlanger Park), speaking engagements at a $150 suggested donation, education-specific giving tiers ($15 to $3,600), a Legacy Society planned-giving program, and targeted capital-fundraising campaigns — most notably the $6.25 million campaign closed in 2019 with a $500,000 state appropriation matched by Chattanooga city and Hamilton County governments. Distribution channels are physical (the museum), e-commerce (secure.mohhc.org, FareHarbor ticketing, Polar Engraving for bricks), and outreach (speaking engagements within a 75-mile radius plus virtual). The customer base spans K-12 schools, walk-in tourists, members, individual donors, corporate sponsors, and veterans organizations across the Southeast U.S.

Leadership is a small professional staff of 1–10 supported by volunteers, headed by Tom Mundell (President & CEO since August 4, 2025) and six functional directors covering Education, Philanthropy, Operations & Collections, Annual Giving & Special Events, and Retail & Café. Technology stack is conventional for a small museum: WordPress-based website, FareHarbor for ticketing, NeonOne for CRM/donations, reCAPTCHA, and standard video-conferencing tools for outreach. The Heritage Center has won regional industry recognition (2026 Tennessee Association of Museums Award of Excellence for the Captain Larry Taylor Exhibit) and operates partnership relationships with the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation, Hamilton County Schools, Tennessee State Education Commission, and veterans organizations.

Name

Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center

Legal name

Charles H. Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center

Website

https://mohhc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center is a Chattanooga-based non-profit museum that operates immersive exhibits and statewide-adopted character-education programming honoring Medal of Honor recipients, serving K-12 schools, tourists, members, donors, and veterans across the Southeast U.S.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural Heritage Museum

NAICS

Museums (712110)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYTHAJADAI

Cultural Heritage Institutions (Archives, Historic Houses, Monuments Foundations)

Travel & Hospitality/Tours, Attractions & Experiences/Museums, Galleries & Cultural Institutions

Keywords

• Military heritage museum
• Character education programs
• Educational field trips
• Memorial exhibits
• Veteran tribute exhibits

Headquarters

HQ city

Chattanooga

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Visitors purchase tickets to tour the museum and its exhibits. Standard admission and discounted rates available through Museums for All program for SNAP beneficiaries.
2. Memberships: Annual and monthly memberships offering discounts on admission, cafe, and store. Options include Individual, Dual, and Family tiers with military pricing available.
3. Bricks of Honor: Commemorative engraved pavers sold in various sizes ($150-$5000) as lasting tributes to veterans, family members, or individuals who performed extraordinary acts. Installed in the heritage center's plaza.
4. Donations: One-time and recurring donations supporting general operations, education programs, and specific campaigns. Includes general unrestricted donations and restricted donations for education initiatives.
5. Facility Rentals: Event space rentals for meetings, luncheons, wedding receptions, and holiday parties. Venue accommodates small to medium-sized groups with expandable event space.
6. Education Program Donations: Targeted donations supporting specific educational initiatives including books, supplies, living historians, transportation for school trips, and teacher fellowship programs.
7. Patriots Ball Sponsorships & Tickets: Annual gala event with VIP tables, corporate sponsorships, and individual tickets. Proceeds fund the heritage center's mission and character education programs.
8. Retail Sales: Sale of merchandise including books, replicas, and commemorative items in the on-site store.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center operates a 19,000-square-foot museum in downtown Chattanooga's Aquarium Plaza that preserves and presents Medal of Honor history through immersive permanent exhibits (Coolidge Theater, Hacksaw Ridge, Captain Larry Taylor, Character Kiosks, Heart of Valor) built around authentic artifacts, multimedia presentations, and interactive experiences. The center sells admissions and memberships to visitors, offers character education programs (Teacher Fellowship, Summer Camp, Field Trips, Living History, Character Development Program) for K-12 students and educators, commemorative Bricks of Honor pavers, facility rentals for private events, and accepts donations and sponsorships to fund operations.

Product overview

The Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center operates as a museum and educational institution in downtown Chattanooga, TN. The core experience consists of immersive permanent exhibits including The Coolidge Theater (an immersive WWII experience), the Hacksaw Ridge exhibit, Captain Larry Taylor Exhibit, Character Kiosk areas, and the Heart of Valor statue. Supporting offerings include educational programs (Teacher Fellowship, Summer Camp, Field Trips, Living History, Character Development Program), commemorative products (Bricks of Honor), facility rentals for events, membership program, Museums for All accessibility initiative, Speaking Engagement Program, and Legacy Society planned giving. The institution also hosts annual events including the Patriots Ball and Bricks of Honor dedication ceremonies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Coolidge Theater

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1,200 American prisoners protected from Nazi persecution at Stalag IX-A through Master Sergeant Roderick Edmonds' actions
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Congressional Medal of Honor FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Partnership to implement the Medal of Honor Character Development Program, which was originally developed by the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation. The program was adopted by Hamilton County School System and later approved by the Tennessee State Education Commission as a statewide initiative in 2016. The heritage center has also created a unique version of the program for elementary students in Chattanooga's Youth and Family Development Centers.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Regional players

• Tennessee State Museum: Tennessee's flagship state history museum in Nashville, focused on broader state and American history. Comparable as a Tennessee-based nonprofit heritage museum with educational programs, but broader in scope (general history vs. military valor) and state-funded.
• Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum: South Carolina-based military heritage museum featuring the aircraft carrier Yorktown and Medal of Honor-related programming. Comparable in mission (military storytelling, education, immersive exhibits, donor-supported) but with a different service branch focus and larger scale.

Direct peers

• National Veterans Memorial and Museum: Veteran-focused museum in Columbus, OH, dedicated to telling the stories of U.S. veterans across all service eras. Closely comparable in mission (veteran storytelling, character/values education, immersive exhibits) and operating model (nonprofit, donor-funded, education programs) to the Coolidge Center.
• National Medal of Honor Center for Leadership: Sister Medal of Honor organization previously led by incoming Coolidge Center CEO Tom Mundell, focused on character and leadership education drawn from Medal of Honor stories. Highly comparable mission and content library, but specializes in leadership curriculum rather than museum operations.
• National Infantry Museum: U.S. Army Infantry heritage museum at Fort Benning, GA, with immersive exhibits on infantry valor including Medal of Honor recipients. Closely comparable in content (soldier valor stories, character education) and operating model (nonprofit, donor-driven, education programs) though at larger scale.

Broad incumbents

• National Museum of the United States Army: Official U.S. Army museum at Fort Belvoir, VA, dedicated to preserving and interpreting U.S. Army history. Comparable as a federally-affiliated, donor-supported military heritage institution with immersive exhibits, education programs, and Medal of Honor storytelling as part of a broader military narrative.
• National WWII Museum: The flagship U.S. military heritage museum in New Orleans, focused on WWII narrative. Highly comparable as a large-scale immersive military heritage institution with strong educational programming, donor-driven funding, and award-winning exhibits, though broader in scope and substantially larger in endowment and visitation.
• Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum: New York-based military heritage museum aboard the aircraft carrier Intrepid, featuring immersive military exhibits and education programs. Comparable as a donor-supported military heritage attraction with immersive experiences, but with significantly larger scale, broader scope, and a national tourism footprint.

Emerging players

• Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation: National nonprofit that originated the Character Development Program adopted by the Coolidge Center, maintains the official Medal of Honor recipient database, and runs its own educational initiatives. Closely tied to the Coolidge Center through the curriculum partnership and is a logical comparison for educational programming.

Others

• Arlington National Cemetery Visitor Center / Army Historical Foundation: Visitor-facing memorial/education complex at Arlington National Cemetery, which is the resting place of many Medal of Honor recipients. Comparable as a federally-affiliated, donor-supported site that tells Medal of Honor stories alongside broader American military heritage narratives.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/thefirstmedals
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@TheFirstMedals
• Facebookfacebook.com/TheFirstMedals
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/charles-h.-coolidge-medal-of-honor-heritage-center-inc.
• Instagraminstagram.com/thefirstmedals

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center