Changing the story for victims of violent crime and their families.
The mission of the MrBallen Foundation is to honor victims and support families of heinous crimes through education, training and financial support.
Building a stronger future for victims and their families
Click through the years to read the story!
A storyteller helping rewrite the future for victims and their families
Founded in 2022 by John Allen, better known to millions as MrBallen and one of the internet’s most popular storytellers of the Strange, Dark, and Mysterious, the MrBallen Foundation exists to recognize and support the real people behind the stories he tells.
“These are events that happened to real people and real families,” John says. “I try to tell each story from the victim’s perspective, knowing their loved ones might be listening or watching. For them, these stories are not entertainment. They are personal tragedies.”
Before launching MrBallen, John served as a Navy SEAL and was medically retired in 2017 after being wounded in Afghanistan. Storytelling began as a form of healing. Nicknamed “Shakespeare” during SEAL training, he started posting true crime stories online as a break from his work fundraising for a veterans nonprofit.
On February 29, 2020, he uploaded a one-minute TikTok video about the mysterious deaths of nine hikers in the Dyatlov Pass. Then he and his wife took their daughters to the water park. By the time he picked up his phone that evening, the video had gone viral—five million views in just four hours.
What began as a creative outlet quickly grew into one of the internet’s most-followed storytelling platforms, with more than six million YouTube subscribers and a top-ranked true crime podcast. But as the audience grew, so did the messages—from people asking how they could help the victims and families featured in his stories.
The MrBallen Foundation was created as a response to that question. It exists to change the story for victims of violent crime and their families through direct funding, trusted partnerships, and programs that offer lasting support and hope.
A lifelong advocate helping victims feel seen, heard, and supported
Laurie Gift began her nonprofit journey over 50 years ago, volunteering with her dad at a soup kitchen in Redmond, Oregon. That early experience taught her the value of showing up, listening well, and offering what you have—principles that have guided her ever since.
Her career has taken her from global disaster relief to supporting pregnant teens and teaching job skills to survivors of human trafficking, always centered on empathy and dignity. So when she heard that former Navy SEAL John Allen, better known as MrBallen, was launching a foundation to support victims of violent crime, she was intrigued—but cautious. Having a close family member who survived abuse, Laurie knew this work had to be handled with care and integrity.
What stood out to her was the way John told stories: respectful, well-researched, and victim-centered. “It was clear to him that if he was going to profit from these stories, he had a responsibility to give back,” she said.
John, in turn, saw in Laurie not only unmatched experience but a deep personal connection to the mission. “She had the best energy, the most experience, and truly understood the people we’re here to help.”
Now, as Executive Director of the MrBallen Foundation, Laurie leads with the same conviction that has shaped her life: that healing begins with being seen, heard, and supported—and that every story deserves to be met with empathy and action.
