The Bob Woodruff Foundation Invests $2.8 Million In Programs Addressing Housing Insecurity, Mental Health, Other Urgent Needs
New York, November 30, 2023 – The Bob Woodruff Foundation is proud to announce investments of $2.8 million in 75 organizations that work to ensure veterans, service members, and their families can lead stable and successful lives. Overall, in 2023, the Foundation provided over $9 million in funding to more than 120 programs, 31 of which are first-time funding recipients.
Of the 75 investments announced today,
- six focus on programs that serve veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness,
- three target legal services that address issues that are harmful to veteran stability and wellbeing and that can contribute to homelessness.
- four continue to deliver on the Foundation’s November 2022 $1 million commitment to military children’s mental health–a commitment that the Foundation has exceeded,
- two promote social connection through community arts and by improving veterans’ academic wellbeing,
- one connects un- and under-insured veterans to access evidence-based mental health care, and
- fifty-nine enable organizations to assist service members, veterans, their families, and their caregivers with urgent needs that include housing and inter-related financial needs such as food, childcare, transportation, and employment
“Often veterans who are homeless or at risk of homelessness face other obstacles—health or legal issues, lack of social support—that make it so much more difficult for them to achieve housing and overall financial stability,” said Anne Marie Dougherty, CEO of the Bob Woodruff Foundation. “Currently, they’re also up against a nationwide shortage of affordable housing combined with the expiration of pandemic-era increases in funding and flexibility for federal programs that provide homeless services. It is for these reasons we prioritized investments in housing, and in complementary services that address underlying issues that contribute to veteran homelessness.”
Through the National Football League’s Salute to Service initiative, the Foundation funded seven organizations for a total of over $900,000. These programs expand military-connected individuals’ access to physical and mental health care, evidenced-based community arts programming, and education, employment, and support services.
Melissa Pardi, Senior Director of Social Responsibility at the NFL, said “Year round, we honor the men and women who bravely protect and serve our country. Since 2018, the Bob Woodruff Foundation has played an important role as they grant out NFL funding through our NFL-BWF Salute to Service grants. These investments reflect the League’s commitment to helping veterans and the organizations that support them across the country.”
The Foundation also invested over $1.5 million from longtime partner Craig Newmark Philanthropies in sixty six programs, one each in legal services, housing, and employment support, an additional four organizations that promote mental health treatment for military-connected children and families, as well as the fifty nine urgent needs awards.
“Service members have each other’s backs on the battlefield. It’s up to the rest of us to have their backs when they get home. Each of these grant recipients plays an important role in serving those who serve us,” said Craig Newmark, founder of craigslist and Craig Newmark Philanthropies.
Visit the fall 2023 investment highlights for information on the funded organizations and their work.
The Bob Woodruff Foundation is accepting applications for spring 2024. Learn more and apply here.
About the Bob Woodruff Foundation
The Bob Woodruff Foundation was founded in 2006 after reporter Bob Woodruff was wounded by a roadside bomb while covering the war in Iraq. Since then, the Bob Woodruff Foundation has raised awareness about the tough challenges veterans and military families are facing and invested in solutions to help support them in the next chapter of their lives. To date, the Bob Woodruff Foundation has invested over $157 million to ensure that our nation’s veterans, service members and their families—those who stood for us—have stable and successful futures. Visit the Bob Woodruff Foundation for more information: www.bobwoodrufffoundation.org
