Pentagon Memorial Fund, Inc.

What Pentagon Memorial Fund, Inc. does

Pentagon Memorial Fund, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation established in 2003 by families of the 184 victims killed in the September 11, 2001 attack on the Pentagon. The organization built and now operates the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial — a 1.93-acre outdoor commemorative site of 184 illuminated benches arranged chronologically by birth year, located on a 50-year land lease from the U.S. Department of Defense adjacent to the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. The memorial opened to the public on September 11, 2008 and receives approximately one million visitors per year at no charge.

The Fund's mission is commemoration and education: it preserves the memorial, hosts an annual remembrance ceremony each September 11, and operates outreach programs including the "Don't Forget" initiative, K-12 educator toolkits, and student travel grants. The organization is preparing to construct a $35 million Visitor Education Center (VEC) on the site, with groundbreaking scheduled for September 10, 2026 and projected opening in 2029; the VEC is intended to expand visitation capacity and add five-fold programming space for school groups.

The Fund's revenue model is non-commercial, consisting of individual and corporate donations, merchandise sales through its online store, and federal appropriations; it charges no admission and generates no ticket revenue. Approximately $15 million has been raised to date against the $35 million VEC campaign, supplemented by a $12 million federal appropriation secured through the FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act signed in early February 2026. Leadership comprises Executive Director Joseph A. Kornhoff and Chairman Sean P. Connaughton, and the organization is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia.

Name

Pentagon Memorial Fund, Inc.

Legal name

Pentagon Memorial Fund, Inc.

Website

https://pentagonmemorial.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Pentagon Memorial Fund, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that built and operates the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial in Arlington, Virginia, serving approximately one million annual visitors free of charge and preparing to open a $35 million Visitor Education Center in 2029.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Memorial Services

NAICS

Museums (712110), Historical Sites (712120)

akta.pro primary industry

Museums & Heritage Sites (History, Science, Specialty) (BPAGAHAA)

Keywords

• 9/11 memorial services
• Nonprofit memorial operations
• Educational programming
• Heritage preservation
• Visitor education center

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Pentagon Memorial Fund, Inc. operates and maintains the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial, an outdoor memorial at the Pentagon site honoring the 184 victims of the September 11, 2001 attack. The memorial is open 24/7 to the public free of charge and serves nearly one million visitors annually. The organization is developing a Visitor Education Center (VEC) — a $35 million facility featuring permanent exhibits, survivor and family testimonials, interactive displays, and educational programming — with groundbreaking scheduled for September 10, 2026 and opening expected in 2029.

Product overview

The Pentagon Memorial Fund operates the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial as its core offering—an outdoor memorial open 24/7 to nearly one million annual visitors. The organization is developing a Visitor Education Center (VEC), a two-story facility with permanent exhibitions, artifacts, and educational programming expected to open in 2029. Supporting digital resources include an interactive map for locating memorial benches, hero biographies for all 184 victims, a 9/11 timeline covering all three attack sites, and educator resources for teaching about 9/11.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial An outdoor memorial located at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, honoring the 184 victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack. Features 184 illuminated benches arranged in age order over water, with an age wall displaying victim birth years. Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, free to the public; serves nearly one million visitors annually.
• Visitor Education Center (VEC) A future two-story, $35 million state-of-the-art facility adjacent to the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial. Will feature permanent exhibition space, historic artifacts, personal narratives from survivors and families, interactive displays on themes of service, resilience, and national unity, educational programming, event space, dedicated parking and drop-off areas, and improved pedestrian access connecting the VEC to the Memorial. Expected to open in 2029.
• Interactive Bench Map An online interactive map allowing visitors and families to locate each of the 184 memorial benches at the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial, with the ability to search by name and view benches for Flight 77 passengers and Pentagon workers separately.
• Hero Biographies Detailed biographical profiles for each of the 184 heroes of the September 11, 2001 attack on the Pentagon, including personal stories, professional and military backgrounds, family information, and links to interactive map locations of each memorial bench.
• 9/11 Timeline An interactive timeline covering the events of September 11, 2001 at the World Trade Center in New York City, Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and at the Pentagon, providing cross-site historical context for visitors and educators.
• Educator Resources Teaching materials, lesson resources, and a petition designed to help K-12 and higher-education educators teach about 9/11 events. Includes content suitable for students of various ages and supports the organization's broader educational mission.
• Pentagon Memorial Online Store Online merchandise store selling commemorative products related to the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial, accessible to the general public via shop.app. Merchandise sales support the organization's mission and operations.

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• America250.orgminorOthersPartner organization with logo displayed on the Pentagon Memorial website, suggesting collaboration for commemorative events.
• Pentagon Renovation & Construction Program Office (PENREN)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerServed as the construction agent and provided overall project management support for the Pentagon Memorial construction. Washington Headquarters Service (WHS) had overall responsibility for memorial construction. The contract to design and build was awarded to Centex-Lee, LLC in August 2003.
• Balfour Beatty (formerly Centex-Lee, LLC)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCentex-Lee, LLC was awarded the contract to design and build the Pentagon Memorial in August 2003. During the contract, Centex-Lee was acquired by Balfour Beatty, PLC. Chris Hartzler, Senior Project Manager for Balfour Beatty, provided photographs for the construction timeline.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund: VVMF operates the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the National Mall and develops educational programming for a national memorial. It is a direct peer in operating a federally significant memorial, running visitor education efforts, and maintaining a nonprofit donor-supported operating model.
• National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund: Operates the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C. and runs visitor education and commemorative programming. Comparable as a direct peer in national memorial stewardship, victim commemoration, and nonprofit-funded educational outreach.
• Flight 93 National Memorial: The Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania is one of the three 9/11 attack sites and operates as a federally administered memorial for the same event. It is a direct peer in mission, visitor experience model, and educational mandate, with a comparable visitor center structure.
• National September 11 Memorial & Museum: The 9/11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center site in New York City is the most direct peer: it operates a national memorial for the same September 11, 2001 attacks, serves millions of visitors annually, runs a museum with permanent exhibitions, and develops educational programming — directly comparable in mission, scale, and offerings.

Emerging players

• Tribute WTC Visitor Center: Tribute WTC operated a visitor center near the World Trade Center site focused on 9/11 education and storytelling before closing in 2021. It is an emerging peer in the specific niche of off-site 9/11 educational facilities adjacent to the memorial sites.
• Intrepid Museum: The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum is a New York-based museum that combines historical commemoration, military heritage, and visitor education programming. It is comparable as a thematic peer in combining military/defense history with visitor education and donor-supported museum operations.

Broad incumbents

• United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM): USHMM is a federally chartered, high-traffic memorial museum in Washington, D.C. that combines a permanent memorial with extensive educational programming and visitor center operations. It is a broad incumbent peer in terms of mission structure, federal funding model, and educational center design — operating at significantly larger scale.
• National Museum of American History (Smithsonian): As a Smithsonian institution on the National Mall, this museum provides a benchmark for federally supported historical interpretation and visitor education programming. It is a broad incumbent peer in terms of government-affiliated museum operations and educational content production.
• National WWII Museum: Located in New Orleans, the National WWII Museum is a major federally designated museum with paid admissions, large-scale visitor education centers, and significant educational programming. It is comparable as a broad incumbent peer in the national memorial museum category with a strong educational infrastructure.

Others

• America250.org: America250 is the congressionally chartered organization coordinating the United States Semiquincentennial (250th anniversary) celebrations. It is listed as a commemorative partner on the Pentagon Memorial website and serves as an adjacent peer in coordinating national commemorative programming around American historical milestones.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sept11pmfund
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCnQtju-MsxkkWrxQDTet_bA
• Facebookfacebook.com/PentagonMemorialFundInc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pentagon-memorial-fund-inc
• Instagraminstagram.com/pentagonmemorialfund
• TikToktiktok.com/@pentagonmemorialfund

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Pentagon Memorial Fund, Inc.