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Less than 1% of total U.S. charitable giving goes to charitable organizations dedicated to serving military members, veterans, their families and caregivers, landmark new research by the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy shows.
The inaugural Military & Veterans Community Index (MVCI) provides the a comprehensive landscape of charitable organizations serving this population. The MVCI is a new, data-driven resource for understanding trends and gaps in giving to these organizations.
The research shows that charitable organizations serving the military and veterans received $3.7 billion in charitable contributions in 2023 — up from $2.6 billion in 2013 (adjusted for inflation). Growth has been uneven, however, peaking in 2022. The MVCI subsector’s share of total annual U.S. charitable giving (as measured by Giving USA) remained steady at 0.6% to 0.7% throughout that decade.
“Donations to military and veterans’ organizations represent less than 1% of all giving, although they have grown at a steady but modest pace for about the last decade. That’s in line with overall philanthropic trends but lags other under-resourced sectors,” Jon Bergdoll, interim director of Data & Research Partnerships at the school, said via a statement. “Donors and nonprofits supporting service members and veterans can use this data to help decide where their resources are needed most, whether for mental health services, housing, education or other services.”
The MVCI illustrates key characteristics of organizations serving the military and veterans, including the total philanthropic support they receive from individuals, foundations and corporations. The report highlights giving in categories that include human services, mental health, and survivor care and memorializing. The Index focuses on data from 2013 to 2023, the most recent years for which data are available.
Additional key findings include:
- MVCI organizations operate on a smaller scale and with fewer financial resources compared to the broader nonprofit sector.
- Human services organizations receive the most giving within the MVCI, (nearly $450 million), followed by mental health ($398 million), survivor care and memorializing ($397 million) and housing services ($353 million). “General veteran services,” including uncategorized organizations, represented the largest overall category of giving at $815 million.
- Funding for mental health organizations grew by 178%, nearly tripling from 2013 to 2023, making it the MVCI’s second most funded sector.
- Survivor care and memorial services, and housing organizations, saw funding more than double over the 10-year period.
- Service animal and animal therapy organizations saw the fastest growth in giving, with a 445% increase from 2013 to 2023.
“Across the military and veterans community, we share a unified mission to improve the lives of service members, veterans, and their families. This data provides a baseline that allows organizations to assess how their efforts are making a difference. In recent years, we’ve seen a growing focus on mental health and suicide prevention, which is reflected in the increased giving,” Lindsay Knight, chief impact officer for Blue Star Families, said via a statement. “With this information organizations can better evaluate where their resources are going, identify gaps in support, and make more informed decisions to strengthen outcomes for those we serve.”
The full report and visual summary are available here. The MVCI database is available at MVCIndex.org.
