Housing, Jobs, and Mental-Health Counseling Top Veterans’ Needs
mental traumas. And we have a
responsibility to come together
as a community to help them
continue to contribute to our
communities after their ser-
vice.”
The topic was front and cen-
ter in October at a meeting of
donors and veterans charities
organized by the San Antonio
Area Foundation and will be
spotlighted again next month at
a conference in Arlington, Va.,
organized by the Philanthropy
Roundtable, a group of grant
makers and philanthropists.
James Carafano, a security
and defense expert at the Heritage Foundation, a Washington
think tank, says the key message the Philanthropy Roundtable hopes to send to donors is
that helping service members
make a smooth transition to civilian life will benefit not only
the veterans and their families
themselves but also the whole
country.
“Investing in veterans is investing in America,” Mr. Carafano says. “If you look back into
the generations, veterans are
some of our country’s greatest
leaders and innovators. This
is not about handouts, this is
about philanthropy recognizing
that it has the opportunity here
to serve veterans and to serve
America.”
Continued from Page 1
Greater Awareness
In recent years, a handful of
foundations have taken on veterans affairs as a new grant-making priority, and at least a
couple of brand-new grant makers have been created that focus
on military causes.
More commonly, though,
grant makers that support or-
ganizations fighting an array
of social problems, like home-
lessness or domestic violence,
are starting to recognize that
service members, veterans, and
their families are often a criti-
cal and distinct part of the pop-
ulations they serve.
HOMES FOR OUR TROOPS
Homes for Our Troops, which adapts housing for disabled
military veterans, is one of several veterans charities
supported by the McCormick Foundation.
their families, and it has sought
to persuade other grant makers
to undertake similar work. (See
article below.)
Special Grants
Philanthropy leaders aren’t
the only ones hopeful that more
donor organizations and charities will step up to better serve
members of the military, veterans, and their families.
Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
has been making the rounds
this year, including at the Council on Foundations annual conference in Denver last spring,
asking Americans to help create
educational and job opportunities for veterans of the Iraq and
Afghanistan wars. And the first
lady, Michelle Obama, often
makes a point in her speeches of
championing veterans causes.
But despite the growing con-
cern about the needs of mili-
tary members and their fami-
lies, many grant makers simply
do not have veterans affairs on
their radar screens or have pur-
posely steered clear of giving
money to support such efforts.
Some grant makers say they
are confounded by the alpha-
bet soup of new and old chari-
ties working with or in a mili-
tary culture not always easily
understood by civilians.
Collaboration Is a New Mission for Some Supporters of Veterans
SOME GRANT MAKERS that support charities that aid military veterans’ causes
are working to help weave a
broader safety net for service
members and their families.
Last year, the Iraq Afghanistan Deployment Impact Fund,
a program of the California
Community Foundation, in Los
Angeles, released a report detailing the challenges that the
roughly two million troops who
have served in Iraq or Afghanistan face or will face at home,
offering guidance to grant makers that want to help.
Among the top suggestions:
Invest in efforts that tackle issues at a regional level, bringing local government and private organizations together to
create a network of care for veterans, especially in regions far
from military bases and established government services.
“Warriors don’t come home to
federal agencies,” says Nancy
Berglass, director of the fund.
“They come home to commu-
nities and families, and that’s
where philanthropy can make a
difference.”
Chicago’s McCormick Founda-
tion, which two years ago creat-
ed a separate program area for
making grants to charities that
aid veterans, has been gather-
ing grant makers in its met-
ropolitan area to talk about a
regional response to veterans
issues and potentially to pool
some grant making.
n The Lilly Endowment, in
Indianapolis, wants to build a
statewide network of charities
that serve military personnel
and their families. Already it
has spent $30-million to help
such groups in the past few
years.
n The Dallas Foundation
and the Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice, in
Florida, are each looking into
the feasibility of creating statewide groups of donors and
grant makers, with the goal of
focus ing together on veterans
issues.
n The Lincoln Community
Foundation, in Nebraska, has
applied to the Council on Foundations for a $20,000 “Idea Lab”
grant.
The grant would enable the
fund to explore ways to get more
grant makers involved in supporting military-related giving.
—DEBRA E. BLUM
Learning to Tell Stories
Charities that serve service
members, veterans, and their
families have to do their part,
too, to identify and reach out
to grant makers, says Sandie
Palomo-Gonzalez, a program
officer at the San Antonio Area
Foundation.
Her group’s Center for Non-profit Support is helping to
train local charities to raise
money and improve their business skills.
“Nonprofits have to learn
where to look and how to tell
their stories,” Ms. Palomo-
Gonzalez says. “Even though
they are serving vets, they
are part of a larger communi-
ty. Which means, for example,
if you provide family retreats,
look at the funders who support
stronger families, not just those
that support vets.”
Over the past three years,
the San Antonio Area Founda-
tion has awarded $12-million
from the Iraq Afghanistan De-
ployment Impact Fund to lo-
cal groups, including the Child
Crisis Center of El Paso. Nearly
one-third of the kids who receive
emergency shelter at the center
are from military families.
“This is one of our major justifications for support,” says Mr.
Velarde, the Child Crisis Center’s leader. “We include a narrative in every grant application about it, and while we don’t
always know for sure, we think
that more than before, this is
what is catching the attention
of funders. We think they understand what we are doing for
these families at Fort Bliss, and
they want to help.”
