The Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) – Veterans Experience Office (VEO) is hosting an award recognizing non-profit Veteran community-serving organizations for innovative solutions to reach and support underserved Veterans, their families, caregivers, and/or survivors. Despite efforts by both community-based organizations and the VA, gaps remain in Veterans’ access to and utilization of both VA and non-VA services. VA relies on community engagement and outreach with Veteran community-serving organizations to bridge gaps in services and reach those with unmet needs. By having innovative community engagement strategies, Veterans, their families, caregivers, and/or survivors can more readily access the benefits and services available to them.
As such, VEO is seeking submissions for the VetResources Community Network (VRCN) Catalyst Award. The top 10 non-profit organizations/teams will each receive a monetary award to plan and implement community-based outreach event(s) or activation(s) to reach over 5,000 underserved Veterans across four priority categories: Transitioning Veterans, Rural Veterans, Minority Veterans, and the Veteran Gaming community.
Those who receive a catalyst award will be recognized for their outstanding achievement in the development of innovative, scalable, community-based solutions to improve customer experience, Veteran community outreach, and ultimately increase access to VA and non-VA services. Awardees must demonstrate innovative methods for Veteran community engagement, coalition building, creating a community-connected support system, and implementing modernized solutions to fuel a model which can be customized to meet the needs of any community.
Award Categories:
Organizations and teams may be considered for more than one of the four award categories. However, only one award will be issued per organization.
1. Transitioning Veterans – Outreach efforts to the approximately 200,000 service members transitioning from military service to civilian life each year to increase access to VA and mental health support. Efforts should include transitioning Veterans, their families, caregivers, and/or survivors.
2. Rural Veterans – Outreach efforts to the approximately 4.4 million Veterans living in rural and highly rural areas and their families, caregivers, and/or survivors to increase access to VA and mental health support. Specific outreach efforts to tribal communities will fall into this category.
3. Minority Veterans – Outreach efforts to the Black, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, Women, LGBTQ+, and other minority Veterans and their families, caregivers, and and/or survivors to increase access to VA and mental health support.
4. Veteran Gaming Community – Outreach efforts to the Veteran gaming community, their families, caregivers, and/or survivors to help reduce isolation, provide recreational therapy support, and increase access to VA and mental health support. Efforts must include an outreach and marketing component to transitioning service members and Veteran youth.
The award is organized in two phases:
Phase 1: Open Submissions
In the first phase, VEO invites all non-governmental Veteran community-serving non-profit organizations to submit a detailed application describing their existing program, process, and idea(s), demonstrating excellence in improving customer experience, outreach, and improvement in access to VA and non-VA services.
Phase 1 submissions will be accepted beginning 1/20/2025. The phase 1 webinar will take place 1/14/2025 at 2 pm ET and a Q&A session will take place 2/19/2025 at 2 pm ET.
Each Veteran community-serving non-profit organization will submit a 3-page application which describes your organization/team, how your organization/team meets outlined characteristics, how it is sustainable/scalable, and how the award will be utilized to implement your idea for an event(s)/activation(s).
All submissions for Phase 1 must be submitted by 3/3/2025 at 7:00 PM EST.
An expert panel of judges (both internal and external to VA) will assess submissions according to the outlined Phase 1 evaluation criteria and the top 20 scoring submissions will advance to Phase 2.
The Phase 1 winners will not receive cash prizes but will be extended an invitation to participate in the Phase 2 live presentations.
Phase 2: Live Presentation
During Phase 2, the top 20 scoring non-profit organizations/teams will be invited to present their idea(s) during a live presentation to judges and other VA and non-VA stakeholders.
Phase 2 will begin with a webinar on 3/26/2025 which will include a deeper discussion of the Phase 2 details and resources for effective communication and presentation delivery.
Organizations/teams will be provided with open office hours to practice their presentation and to receive actionable feedback for improvement before the demonstration.
During the week of 4/9/2025, organizations/teams will present their idea(s) to a panel of judges. Once all organizations/teams have presented their idea(s), judges will award the highest 10-scoring teams.
Phase 2 will award a total of $100,000 in prizes: The 10 highest-scoring teams from the Phase 2 presentations will each receive $10,000 to implement their idea(s).
Ideas must…
Demonstrate local coordination with the Department of Veterans Affairs to meet the needs of the local community and implement the event(s)/activation(s).
Demonstrate proven and/or promising practices for community engagement and outreach that are feasible and scalable.
Improve customer experiences and access to and navigation of VA and/or non-VA services and benefits.
Leverage coalition-building and innovative outreach strategies to increase awareness of services and encourage collaboration between VA and community-based organizations to reach underserved Veterans (i.e., Veterans without sufficient services).
Demonstrate a scalable technology-based system which tracks organizational processes and outcomes (i.e., referrals, contacts, challenges, and resolutions).
Demonstrate peer support, mentoring, and/or ‘buddy system’ approaches to improve social, mental, and whole health experiences.
Support community efforts that address the pain points and moments that matter in the Veterans journey from transition through burial. (Reference: Journeys of Veterans Map located in the resources section).
Awards:- $100,000
Deadline:- 20-01-2025
