Military Family Relief Fund — for Food, Housing, Utilities and Medical Costs During Mobilisation
A legislated fund for families of state Guard members, reservists and active duty personnel, aimed at the costs that bite when military pay falls short of a civilian salary. Open to members on overseas mobilisation orders for at least thirty days who are state residents for income tax purposes.
Verified August 23, 2026
What this benefit is
A legislated fund for families of state Guard members, reservists and active duty personnel, aimed at the costs that bite when military pay falls short of a civilian salary. Open to members on overseas mobilisation orders for at least thirty days who are state residents for income tax purposes.
What it's worth: Grants toward food, housing, utilities, medical services and other mobilisation costs
- The statutory purpose, quoted on the application page, is that grants from the fund are intended to help families defray the costs of food, housing, utilities, medical services and other expenses that are difficult to afford when a family member leaves civilian employment for active military duty, is on active duty in a hostile fire zone, or is called to state active duty by executive order of the governor.
- The three application requirements are: the member is currently on active military duty for a minimum of thirty days on overseas mobilisation orders; a complete application has been submitted by the member or a family member; and the member is a state resident for income tax purposes, evidenced by a current Leave and Earnings Statement.
- There are two application forms — one for deployment-related expenses and one for pay differential.
- No maximum grant is stated on the application page, so no ceiling is asserted here.
- The programme states expressly that it is NOT an emergency fund: applications are reviewed at a monthly meeting, roughly every thirty days.
Who is entitled to it
- The fund reaches members currently on active military duty.
- Your home is in this state.
Not sure whether that describes you?
Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.
How to claim it
Deadline: Reviewed at a monthly meeting- 1Do not use this for something due next week. The programme says in terms that it is not an emergency fund and that applications wait for a monthly meeting.
- 2Pick the right form. Deployment-related expenses and pay differential are separate applications addressing different losses.
- 3Attach a current Leave and Earnings Statement — that is the document the programme uses to prove residency for income tax purposes.
- 4A family member may submit the application; the service member does not have to do it from theatre.
- 5Send it through the family programme director for your component — Army Guard, Air Guard, Army Reserve, Marine Reserve or Navy Reserve — rather than to a general inbox.
- 6Include every required document the instructions list. The page warns that incomplete applications are delayed.
- Form
- MFRF Application — Deployment Related Expenses, or MFRF Application — Pay Differential
- File with
- Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, through your service’s family programme director
- Documents you will need
- dd214
- No renewal
- Once granted it does not need renewing.
Sources
This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.