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People and Pop Culture

Plugged In: Michael Focareto, Veteran Tickets Foundation

Michael Focareto is CEO and founder of the Veteran Tickets Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides sports and concert tickets for both active and nonactive military personnel and family members of servicemen and women killed in action. With more than 2.1 million tickets given away since the group’s start in 2008, Focareto points to an occasion when someone didn’t get tickets as a reason why the group came into being.


People often think that we just give away tickets, but when you sit back and think about what those tickets actually do — like reducing stress, strengthening family bonds, getting them involved back in the community, especially letting them know that the sports and entertainment industries are thinking about them — we’re helping bring people to those games who otherwise would have not gone to those games.

Photo by: TARA NICHOLS

On the beginning of VetTix: Me and my buddy were at [Super Bowl XLII], and we had a buddy who was on the field doing the color guard. We had seen a news story that as soon as the game starts, there’s no seats for those guys. They’re told they have to go stand in the lobby and watch or they’re escorted out. The whole game, the two seats next to us were empty. I had already started the process of figuring out how to provide veterans with tickets, but then when I sat there at the Super Bowl and saw that seat empty the whole game, I said, “Someone should be able to do this.” … I like to say we want to become the Goodwill of tickets where if you’re not going to use them and you can’t sell them … give them to us, and we’ll give you that in-kind gift receipt.

On growth of the organization: We just hired our 12th employee. … We all did this on a voluntary basis from 2008 until halfway through 2011. I noticed that the way the world works is if you don’t treat what you’re doing as a business and not as a hobby, no one really takes you seriously. We noticed we weren’t getting grants, we were struggling on donations because everyone asks you, “Let me see your numbers; let us see your audited financials.” That’s when we said, “If we’re going to do this, we need to start taking it seriously.”

On extended benefits of the donations: We did a survey online and we asked, “What is the average that you spend when you or your family receive a donated ticket in the community or at the event?” — buying souvenirs, sodas, anything. We had about 42,000 responses and over 70 percent said around $100.

— Drew Nantais

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