Texas 501(c)(3) Nonprofit · EIN 87-3590490

About True Grit Federation

Healing Should Feel Human.

True Grit Federation is a Texas-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit creating trauma-informed, nature-based community support for veterans, adolescents, and families navigating PTSD, TBI/CTE, grief, and life-altering transitions. We make room for the whole person—without shame, pressure, or a one-size-fits-all path.

Find Support Explore Our Healing Model
Jenn Anderson and Joel Anderson, whose lived family experience helped shape True Grit Federation.
Jenn and Joel Anderson • True Grit Federation
  • Veterans, adolescents, and families
  • Nature, connection, community, and practical support
  • Dignity, choice, privacy, and respect

Our story

This Work Began With Lived Experience.

True Grit Federation was founded in 2021 by people who did not learn about trauma from a textbook. Jenn and Joel Anderson experienced firsthand how trauma reaches into everything—sleep, health, relationships, trust, identity, purpose—and how it changes life for the entire family, not just one person.

Joel is an Army 101st Airborne veteran. His own experience with PTSD and TBI keeps this work grounded in what veterans and their families actually face—not in assumptions about what they should feel or how quickly they should recover.

TGF grew from a simple conviction: people deserve support that sees the whole person, and they deserve to move forward at a pace that feels safe. That conviction shapes everything on this page, from our healing model to the way we run our programs and community events.

A chalkboard sign reading True Grit Federation, with a handwritten memorial dedication to Conner Dean Rice.
A handwritten chalkboard message in Conner’s memory.

A Mission That Became Even More Urgent.

In 2024, Jenn’s son, Conner Dean Rice, passed in what our family calls an Unsolicited Transition (UT). His loss deepened the urgency of a mission that already existed.

It is Conner’s life—not only his loss—that continues to shape True Grit Federation’s commitment to earlier, compassionate, whole-person support for adolescents and the families who love them.

Why we do it this way

Because Healing Shouldn’t Require Hiding.

Too many people are told to be strong, move on, or carry their pain quietly.

Trauma, however, rarely stays inside one diagnosis or one part of life. It reaches into sleep, work, relationships, and the quiet moments in between.

True Grit Federation creates steady, respectful spaces where people can breathe, reconnect, and feel understood without having to prove how much they are hurting. We believe people are more than a diagnosis—and more than their hardest day.

Our philosophy

A Holistic Approach for a Soulful Problem.

For TGF, holistic means seeing a person in the context of their body, relationships, daily life, identity, environment, and goals. Soulful recognizes that grief, meaning, belief, identity, and purpose can matter too. No spiritual belief is required, and whole-person support does not replace appropriate professional care.

Conner riding a horse with his brother Ethan standing beside him in a wooded setting.
Conner riding with his brother Ethan standing beside him—part of the family story behind True Grit Federation.

Our approach

What Whole-Person Support Means Here

Whole-person support is not a promise of a quick fix. It is a commitment to recognize the different parts of life trauma can affect and build support around the person—not force the person into a preset path.

  • Safety before disclosure

    No one has to share their story to be welcome here. Trust is built first, and people decide what they share—and when.

  • Choice and personal pace

    There are no forced timelines and no expectation to “be okay.” Participation is always a choice, never a condition of belonging.

  • Nature, movement, nourishment, and rest

    The body carries trauma too. Time outdoors, gentle rhythm, real food, and genuine rest can support steadiness again.

  • Family and community

    Trauma rarely affects one person alone. We make room for parents, partners, siblings, and caregivers—the people carrying the weight alongside.

  • Purpose, creativity, skills, and belonging

    Healing includes having somewhere to contribute. Practical skills, creative work, and steady community give people a place to stand.

Explore Our Healing Model

Honest about where we are

What We Do Today—and What We Are Building Toward

We keep these two things clearly separate: what is available now, and what remains a plan for the future.

Available today

What We Do Today

True Grit Federation offers trauma-informed community programming and support pathways—steady, low-pressure ways to connect without having to perform or explain your story. Availability may vary by season, location, and capacity.

  • Confidential intake, next-step guidance, and referrals to aligned providers through Get Support—for individuals, families, and caregivers
  • Practical grounding tools people can use right away
  • Community events, service opportunities, and gatherings, as listed on our Programs & Events page

We are honest about scope: TGF is not a crisis-response service and not a substitute for licensed treatment or emergency care. We help people find the next right step. In an emergency, call 911. For crisis support, call or text 988.

Future vision · Not yet operating

What We Are Building Toward

Our long-term vision is a healing ranch where nature, animals, gardens, movement, creativity, nourishment, practical skills, and trusted community come together in one place. It depends on funding, partners, responsible development, and operational readiness.

We are building toward it carefully, transparently, and with the community beside us.

Concept visualization of True Grit Federation's future nature-based healing ranch.
Concept image: True Grit Federation’s future healing-ranch vision. This is not a currently operating facility.
Help Build What Comes Next Explore the Future Vision

Our commitments

How We Put Our Values Into Practice

  • Dignity first. We meet people with dignity, not judgment.
  • Choice and consent. We respect choice, privacy, boundaries, and consent.
  • No forced disclosure. No one has to share their story or participate to belong.
  • Families included. We recognize the needs of both individuals and families.
  • Clear about today. We distinguish current services from future plans.
  • Honest about scope. We are honest about what TGF can and cannot provide.
  • Not emergency care. We do not present community support as emergency or medical care.
  • Responsible stewardship. We treat donor trust and careful stewardship as part of the mission.

Leadership

Meet the People Behind the Mission

Founder & President

Jenn Anderson

Jenn is a mother, a caregiver, an advocate, and the builder of True Grit Federation’s whole-person vision. She founded TGF out of lived family experience with trauma and grief, and she carries that experience into every decision about how the organization treats the people it serves—with patience, privacy, and respect for each person’s pace.

Founding Board Member

Joel Anderson

Joel is an Army 101st Airborne veteran with lived experience of PTSD and TBI. He brings an understanding of military service and of what those realities mean for the families who live alongside them. His perspective keeps TGF’s work anchored in what veterans and their families actually need, rather than what programs assume they need.

Accountability

Trust Is Part of the Work.

Asking a community for its trust means being clear about who we are, what we do now, and what remains a plan for the future.

Contact True Grit Federation

Visit the Donor Hub Privacy Policy

Founded
2021
Status
Recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit
EIN
87-3590490
Based in
Kemah, Texas
Leadership
Jenn Anderson, Founder & President · Joel Anderson, Founding Board Member
How we operate
Privacy-first and trauma-informed
Current programs
Community support pathways, grounding tools, and community events and gatherings offered now
Future plans
The healing ranch remains a future vision, kept clearly separate from today’s programs
Contact
832-820-7991 · truegritfederation@gmail.com

You Don’t Have to Know the Entire Path Yet.

Whether you are looking for support, hoping to volunteer, considering a partnership, or wanting to help build the future vision, begin with the step that fits today. We will be honest about what True Grit Federation can offer and help you identify the appropriate next path.

Healing should feel human. Start where you are.

Get Support Volunteer or Partner Support the Mission

Our Healing Model · Volunteer · Donate

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