Jake Newbold

Legendary Causes: Jake Newbold

No One Left Behind: Jake Newbold and the Mission of the SEAL Legacy Foundation

For Texas Business Hall of Fame (TBHF) Future Texas Legend Veteran Award Recipient Jake Newbold, service has never been confined to the battlefield—it is a lifelong commitment to the people who stood beside him.

A retired Navy SEAL, Jake is President and CEO of Trident 1, a cloud-based software provider for firearms retailers. He is also a co-founding board member of the SEAL Legacy Foundation, an organization born out of tragedy and built on an unshakable promise: no SEAL—and no SEAL family—will ever be left behind.

The foundation was established in 2011 following the devastating loss of 17 SEALs in Afghanistan when a Chinook helicopter was shot down. For Jake and his fellow SEALs, the loss was deeply personal. It also revealed a critical gap in long-term support for the families left behind. Determined to act, Jake and a small group of teammates came together to extend the SEAL ethos beyond active-duty service.

Since then, the impact has been extraordinary. The SEAL Legacy Foundation has distributed more than $15 million in direct support to SEALs and their families, with an impressive 94% of donations going straight to those in need. Their work spans immediate and long-term needs, providing mortgage assistance, funding life-saving medical treatments, awarding hundreds of education scholarships, and offering emergency financial aid when it matters most.

Specifically, the Foundation has served 30 Gold Star families to date and provided $3.5 million in college scholarships for 350 children of SEALs (many whose parents are deceased). Another significant funding priority has enabled 60+ SEALs to receive life-saving PTSD treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Home Base Program.

Despite its national reach, the organization remains intentionally lean. With a small board made of SEALs and just two staff members, every decision is personal, every dollar is deliberate, and every family is known.

“Our goal is to act quickly and make an immediate impact,” Jake emphasizes. “Our small grants committee can assemble and vote fast, so families are not left without support.”

For Jake, this mission is rooted in his own story. Raised in rural Ohio by a single mother, he learned the values that ultimately guided him and his two brothers to become Navy SEALs. Those same values now shape his work with the foundation.

Through many annual events held across the country, including a signature gala in Dallas around Veterans Day, the Foundation continues to grow its network of supporters who believe in the cause. Jake noted that Texans are especially patriotic and generous; he’s thankful for the support that enables the Foundation to deliver on its promise: “no one left behind.” Jake Newbold’s journey is a powerful reminder that leadership is not defined by title or tenure, but by action and impact. In carrying forward the SEAL creed, the SEAL Legacy Foundation is not only honoring the fallen—it is actively shaping a future where their families are supported, seen, and never forgotten.

To learn more about the SEAL Legacy Foundation here.