SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Call of Duty Endowment is proud to announce the selection of ForcesUnited, as well as the partnership between Upstate Warrior Solution and Goodwill Industries of Upstate/Midlands South Carolina, as the 2019 recipients of the Call of Duty Endowment Seal of Distinction, the standard of excellence in the veterans’ employment sector.
Now in its seventh year, the Call of Duty Endowment’s Seal of Distinction awards nonprofit organizations that demonstrate the highest level of effectiveness, efficiency and integrity in placing veterans in quality jobs. Each winner will receive a $30,000 grant, with the opportunity to apply for additional restricted funding, advice and support.
“It’s truly an honor to recognize such fantastic organizations in veteran employment,” said Dan Goldenberg, Executive Director of the Call of Duty Endowment. “Forces United, as well as the unique partnership between Upstate Warrior Solution and Goodwill Industries of Upstate/Midlands South Carolina, have cleared a high bar for efficiency and hard work in connecting veterans with meaningful jobs. Their work is core to what we do at the Endowment and I can’t wait to see them continue to thrive.”
More information about this year’s winners:
- ForcesUnited is a Georgia and South Carolina-based nonprofit that connects veterans across 33 counties with resources that improve their employment prospects. They provide an in-person learning platform to direct effective transition from the military, in addition to providing networking opportunities with corporate executives who are often also military veterans. 30% of their placements are women veterans and 60% of their placed veterans have a service-connected disability.
- Upstate Warrior Solution, in partnership with Goodwill Industries of Upstate/Midlands South Carolina, provides robust employment-focused services from the point of intake and continuing through post-placement follow-up to ensure an 83% 6-month retention rate.
Since its inception seven years ago, the Seal of Distinction program has proven to be the most effective non-profit evaluation approach in the veteran community. It is the result of a phenomenal collaboration between Deloitte and the Endowment that systematically evaluates and identifies the highest performing non-profits in the veteran employment space.
“The Seal of Distinction program would not be possible without Deloitte’s work in thoroughly assessing the participating organizations,” Goldenberg added. “We are proud to collaborate with them again and are beyond grateful for their contribution to the program’s success year after year.”
This year’s Seal of Distinction recipients join an elite list of non-profit organizations to receive this recognition. Previous recipients of the Seal of Distinction who continue to make a major difference in the lives of U.S. and U.K. veterans are:
- Able-Disabled Advocacy - San Diego, California
- American Red Cross of Southern Nevada - Las Vegas, Nevada
- AMVETS - Lanham, Maryland
- Career Source Broward - Oakland Park, Florida
- Career Source Palm Beach County - West Palm Beach, Florida
- CASY - St. Louis, Missouri
- Easter Seals of DC, MD and VA’s Veteran Staffing Network - Silver Spring, Maryland
- FourBlock – New York, New York
- Goodwill of the Olympics and Rainier Region - Tacoma, Washington
- Goodwill Southern California - Los Angeles, California
- Hire Heroes USA - Alpharetta, Georgia
- Hiring Our Heroes - Washington, D.C.
- JVS - Los Angeles, California
- National Able Network - Chicago, Illinois
- NextOp, Inc. - Houston, Texas
- Operation: Job Ready Veterans - Indianapolis, Indiana
- Project Renewal - New York, New York
- Salvation Army Haven - Los Angeles, California
- Still Serving Veterans - Huntsville, Alabama
- RFEA, The Forces Employment Charity - London, United Kingdom
- Thresholds - Chicago, Illinois
- US Vets - Los Angeles, California
- USC School of Social Work’s Center for Innovation and Research for Veterans and Military Families - Los Angeles, California
- Veterans Inc. - Worcester, Massachusetts
- Veterans Leadership Program - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Walking with the Wounded - Melton Constable, United Kingdom
- Weingart Center for the Homeless - Los Angeles, California
- Workshops for Warriors – San Diego, California
Applicants for the Call of Duty Endowment’s Seal of Distinction must meet rigorous criteria to be considered, including full transparency when opening their books to provide extensive documentation about their job placement results. The metrics assessed include number of placements made, average cost per placement, average starting salary, six-month retention rate, key employee background checks, and a variety of organizational financial health indicators. All qualified applications were initially reviewed and evaluated by the Endowment’s outside Board of Advisors. Semi-finalists are then independently assessed on a pro bono basis by Deloitte and ultimately approved by the Endowment’s Board of Directors.
The Call of Duty Endowment has funded the placement of more than 63,000 vets in meaningful employment since its inception and aims to place 100,000 veterans in meaningful jobs by 2024. The Endowment’s 2018 cost to place a veteran was $522 – providing meaningful employment at 1/6 the cost of US Department of Labor efforts. Nationally, American veterans make an average salary of $49,945, while those placed through the Endowment’s grantees, with their focus on high-quality placements, made an average of $60,750, or 21% more.
Help get veterans back to work: www.callofdutyendowment.org/help.
About the Call of Duty Endowment
The Call of Duty Endowment is a non-profit organization co-founded by Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard. The Endowment seeks to help veterans find high-quality careers by supporting groups that prepare them for the job market and by raising awareness of the value vets bring to the workplace. For more information about the Call of Duty Endowment, please visit www.callofdutyendowment.org.
ACTIVISION and CALL OF DUTY are trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners.
