Last year, we put out a call-to-action for people to spread the message that the DAV Charitable Service Trust had grant money available to eligible organizations. The needs of ill and injured veterans and their families are varied and numerous, and we wanted to make our ability to support known.

Well, people heard the call and they responded.

I’m pleased to report that 2023 was one for the Trust’s history books with grants totaling nearly $21.5 million going to deserving nonprofits that help veterans. That’s more than double what we granted in 2022 and is the most money we’ve ever distributed in one year to organizations outside of DAV.

There’s a team of us who are responsible for the stewardship and administration of the Trust’s funds, and we are deeply grateful of what this amount represents.

Foremost, it means that donors continue to trust us to ensure their contributions go where they’re most needed and to the most qualified organizations. The Trust has been around since 1986 and continues to exist because of our donors’ generosity.

Second, these grants demonstrate sincere commitment by many organizations to helping veterans and their families. Applicants only receive grants from the Trust after careful and thoughtful consideration through a rigorous application vetting process. It’s encouraging to see so many organizations receive grants. It means there’s a lot of good people doing good work that benefits our nations veterans.

Lastly, we’re grateful because we know that time, money and talents are finite resources that people must decide how they’ll share. These grants show that helping veterans is a priority for so many people—both donors and those in veteran-focused organizations.

The Trust remains healthy and is ready to accept grant applications from organizations looking for support in 2024. Our second of four annual award cycles opens on April 1 and closes at 4:30 p.m. Eastern on April 30. For more information about the application process and to apply visit cst.dav.org.

You can learn more about the organizations we supported in 2023 in our upcoming CST annual report that we’ll link to on our resource page. Also, here’s a detailed explainer article about the mission of the Trust, the grant application process, and the roles the Trust and the DAV National Service Foundation play in supporting DAV and veterans.