DAV Charitable Service Trust Grants

Amount

$10,000–$30,000 typical (renewable annually; some awards reach $50,000 for established partners).

Deadlines

Quarterly cycles. Upcoming LOI: January 30 2026, with additional deadlines April 30, July 31, and October 31.

Effort & Priority

Effort: 5 | Priority: Must Pursue
Success probability: Medium.

Match

No cost share required.

Program Snapshot

What they fund: Programs that fill gaps for disabled veterans, caregivers, and their families—including education and training that leads to self-sufficiency.
Why FOH fits: Scholarships relieve financial stress on households of disabled veterans, supporting rehabilitation and long-term stability.
Typical turnaround: Approximately 60–90 days after each deadline; annual reapplication is allowed.
Staff contact: Grants team at grants@dav.org or 877‑426‑2838 ext. 6-2. They welcome pre-submission questions.

Eligibility & Requirements

FOH qualifies as a national 501(c)(3) serving disabled veterans’ families.
Grants favor established, scalable programs—frame the request as expanding proven scholarship demand rather than piloting something new.
Application includes narrative responses (need, objectives, activities, evaluation), budget, audited financials/990, and proof of nonprofit status.
Letters of support are optional but helpful if secured from DAV partners or chapters.
Plan for roughly 20 staff hours in total (~12 hours on narrative/data entry and another ~8 hours compiling financial attachments and internal reviews).

Strategic Fit

The Trust exists to fill unmet needs of disabled veterans and their families. FOH’s scholarships directly address that gap—covering education costs for spouses and children who often lose income because of the veteran’s injuries. The program’s scale (62,000+ scholarships since 2007) and financial efficiency (81% program ratio) align with DAV expectations for impactful, well-managed partners.

Emphasize the unmet demand: more than 7,700 eligible families went unfunded last year, including many tied to disabled veterans. Highlight FOH’s ability to convert a $25K grant into five life-changing scholarships with measurable outcomes (degree completion, improved financial resilience).

Success Factors

Provide data on how many FOH scholarship recipients are dependents of disabled veterans, including geographic spread and demographic detail.
Share testimonials illustrating how scholarships stabilize households coping with service-connected injuries.
Outline collaboration with DAV chapters (referrals, outreach, events) to reinforce relationship strength.
Offer a clear evaluation plan—tracking retention, graduation, and financial outcomes for scholarship recipients.

Risks & Mitigation

Competition: 50–80 awards per year across many service categories. Counter with precise alignment to disabled veteran families—an area with fewer direct competitors.
Perception of FOH scale: Stress unmet need and clarify that donations go directly to scholarships; include budget breakdown showing limited administrative overhead.
Preference for established programs: Present multi-year results and show how funding scales proven outcomes rather than launching something new.

ROI & Action Items

$25,000 ÷ 20 hours ≈ $1,250/hour (calendar budgets ~12 writing hours; include the additional ~8 hours of documentation prep to reflect the full effort). Even a $10,000 award yields $500/hour, and the grant is renewable. Submit the Q1 2026 application by January 30; keep materials ready to reuse for later cycles if needed.

Compile disabled-veteran scholarship metrics by December 10.
Email the Grants team with a brief program overview to introduce FOH before submission.
Prepare a short endorsement from a DAV-affiliated supporter to include as optional backup.