Supporting veterans on Veterans Day, Memorial Day, and other key occasions strengthens your company culture by showing respect and gratitude for service. This guide helps Culture, Social Impact, and ERG leaders create impactful initiatives that align with company values and boost employee engagement.
Why celebrate veterans?
- Cultural appreciation: Honoring veterans highlights your company’s respect for service, fostering a culture of gratitude and resilience.
- Employee engagement: Veteran support initiatives attract employees who value a workplace that recognizes contributions beyond the job, deepening ERG-led connections.
Benefits to companies
- Corporate culture: Veteran-focused initiatives foster unity and understanding, reinforcing values of respect.
- Brand reputation: Supporting veterans enhances your brand and positions your company as a leader in social responsibility.
How your company can celebrate Veterans Day
The following initiatives were curated by our team of social impact experts that execute thoughtful social impact efforts for our customers every day. All of these initiatives will be more successful and engage more employees with a social impact platform that easily conducts campaigns, like Percent Pledge. Not to mention we will save you time and relieve the planning burden.
[1] Top-rated veterans nonprofits
Supporting vetted nonprofits aligns with a company's social responsibility and boosts employee morale. But ERGs often face the challenge of vetting nonprofits, a process essential to ensuring their efforts align with the company’s values and truly impact the community.
Our team of Social Impact Managers have researched and vetted the following nonprofits to take the burden off you and your ERG leaders. Support these charities with trust and confidence.
Operations First Response
Operation First Response supports our nation’s Wounded Heroes, Disabled Veterans, Gold Star Families, and First Responders with personal and financial aid, including help with rent, utilities, and groceries throughout recovery and transition to civilian life.
Bunker Labs
Bunker Labs envisions a future where military service is a leading pathway to business ownership and entrepreneurship. They offer community programs and courses to help military veterans and spouses start and grow successful businesses and startups.
Blue Star Families
Blue Star Families is a national nonprofit dedicated to strengthening America’s military families through community-building initiatives that address the unique challenges they face.
TAPS
The Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) provides compassionate care and support for those grieving the loss of a military loved one. TAPS honors our military members by caring for the families they left behind.
Percent Pledge allows all companies and employees to donate to these nonprofits simultaneously through its Workplace Giving Platform.
[2] Veterans workplace giving
Donating to worthy causes reflects a company’s values and resonates deeply with employees and ERGs, enhancing their sense of purpose and connection to their workplace.
Employee engagement in giving
When our customers launch their programs with giving incentives, they see a 50-89% employee engagement rate compared to 13-20% engagement launching without.
Matching donations
Amplify your employees‘ contributions by matching their donations, effectively doubling the support directed towards veterans nonprofits.
Gift donations
Ignite participation and impact by gifting employees Cause Credits—gifted donations—to support top-rated veterans nonprofits.
Corporate grants
Enhance your support by offering corporate grants to veterans-focused nonprofits, providing substantial backing for initiatives that make a lasting impact on local and national levels.
We understand your employees want to give back but you have limited time and budget. Our Giving Platform empowers employees with choice to donate globally, automates impact reporting, and hosts campaigns for your ERGs.
[3] Veterans volunteer events
Volunteering enriches the community, boosts employee morale, and fosters team cohesion. ERGs can lead these opportunities for your employees to give back, reflecting positively on your corporate values and enhancing the impact on the community.
Send a message of hope
Organize employees to bring smiles to veterans in hospitals, schools, senior living, and rehab centers by writing letters through Cardz for Kidz.
Pack a bag
Support Operation First Response by assembling backpacks with clothing, hygiene items, and comforts for combat support hospitals worldwide.
Support a service member
Encourage employees to volunteer with Soldiers’ Angels, sending care packages, cards, and letters to deployed service members.
We streamline corporate volunteering with our Volunteering Platform, and organize Volunteer Events for your ERGs to give them programming that’s translatable to your broader community.
Campaigns and bonus ideas
Campaigns and bonus ideas are located in our Veterans Kit, the ultimate guide to engage employees while making a positive impact for Veterans Day. The guide also contains additional context on the nonprofit vetting, giving, and volunteer event.
As always, our mission is to make your corporate social responsibility easy. Lean on us to save time and relieve the burden of planning and implementing successful campaigns.
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