The MOAA Foundation (TMF, EIN 46-4219250), a 501(c)(3) charitable subsidiary of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), offers grants to MOAA, its councils and its chapters in support of career development and community outreach programs and services. These programs and services benefit more than 50,000 currently serving uniformed service members and veterans of all ranks, their families and their survivors each year.
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Since the onset of COVID-19, The MOAA Foundation disbursed grants to support veteran housing, food assistance, employment, family support, (including behavioral health), and more. Check out the map below (Not loading? Click here) for where these grants have made a difference:
Grants include Community Outreach Grants (shown in blue) and COVID-19 Chapter Grants (red/maroon), which are disbursed to MOAA councils and chapters across the country. Emergency Financial Relief Grants (yellow) are awarded to currently serving, veterans with honorable discharges or caregivers of the same, and surviving spouses who prove negative financial impact from the COVID-19 crisis. Scholarship Senior Grant Awardees are marked in green; locations with multiple grant types have markings incorporating the applicable grant colors.
By TMF Board direction, TMF grants support to programs and services focusing on four categories of critical military and veteran family need aligning with particular MOAA expertise:
MOAA's career development and community outreach programs are very highly regarded. In 2012 and again in 2015, MOAA received two, highly prestigious “Summit Awards” from the American Society of Association Executives, the nation's premier professional body for associations. Only two members of the 9,200-member organization have ever received two Summit Awards. MOAA received a Summit Award in 2012 for its Career Transition program and a second award in 2015 for its Military Caregiver Program. Both programs are part of the portfolio of programs supported by funding from the MOAA Foundation.
The MOAA Foundation creates, enhances, expands, or supports high-impact, proven-successful programs and services that enable the nation's uniformed servicemembers and veterans of all ranks and their families to maintain a quality of life reflective of their selfless service to America. The foundation funds these programs and services through philanthropic contributions from the American people and organizations that support our mission.
Since the all-volunteer force was created in 1973, the nation has endured approximately 150 military deployments. Prior to that, between 1946 and 1973 during the draft years, there were just 19. That's a seven-fold increase in operations tempo. Of the 2.5 million service members who have deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, over 400,000 have had at least three combat tours.
Sequestration, continuation of the two longest wars in American history and protracted systemic change continue to place enormous pressures on military families.
Through the MOAA Foundation Career Transition and Professional Education Outreach tracks, MOAA delivers “best-in-class” career development programs, including the unique MOAA Military and Veteran Networking Forum held each year at the Smithsonian Institute's National Air and Space Museum, a virtual career fair series and subject-specific, “deep-dive” webinars. Many of these are held on military installations across the nation.
Our Military Spouse Professional Development track addresses a largely unmet military family need. In many ways, the military spouse is the glue that binds the modern military family together through repeated deployments and constant upheaval. Yet military spouses face significant career development challenges. Military spouses have a 20 percent unemployment rate (among those seeking jobs), and more than 90 percent of military spouses are underemployed. TMF has developed a range of programs specifically designed to help. Through a partnership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's “Hiring Our Heroes” program, MOAA conducts a series of training seminars at not less than ten military installations each year specifically designed to provide military spouses with the professional development skills they need to succeed.
Finally, the MOAA Foundation Community Outreach program supports MOAA councils and chapters delivering to their local communities vital programs and support services in eight areas of critical military and veteran family need. A number of MOAA councils and chapters nationwide are engaged in this type of very real, high-impact, community work. Through this work, MOAA council and chapters are reaching out to currently serving military families and veterans of all ranks and providing assistance in critical areas like housing, employment, financial assistance, behavioral health and more.
