LNVB Impact Report

PROVEN, NEXT-GENERATION

VETERAN NON-PROFIT

The Veteran Educational Debt Problem

Most Americans assume that the G.I. Bill guarantees U.S. Armed Forces personnel access to free post-secondary education.

The facts are:

• Active-duty personnel, reservists, and national guard have taken out student loans to pay for higher education because of loopholes in educational benefits.

• Majority of undergraduates and graduate school Veterans who are not covered by education benefits take out an average of $7,400 per year or nearly $30,000* in total.

• The Office of Servicemember Affairs within the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that rising levels of Veteran student debt may be a more serious problem for military families than originally believed, accounting for more economic hardships than mortgage and credit card debt combined.**

Most Americans assume that the G.I. Bill guarantees U.S. Armed Forces personnel access to free post-secondary education. They are surprised to learn that Veterans have had to take out student loans to pay for higher education. Shortfalls in the new Post 9/11 G.I. Bill, lingering exclusions from the old Montgomery G.I. Bill, and educational debt acquired prior to service compromise the lives of thousands. While there are military educational programs that help relieve this educational debt, not all Veterans are covered under these programs.

• One of the most prevalent reasons service members lose their security clearance is because of student loan debt.**

• Educational debt in the U.S. for active-duty military amounts to nearly $3 billion.***

• 46% of veterans default on their student loans – significantly higher than the default rate of non-veteran students.****

*Department of Education data

** Boston Globe

***National Military Family Association, 2019

****Center for American Progress, 2018

The Education Need

Despite the GI Bill, Student debt is a social issue among Veterans

• The majority of the education programs provided by the U.S. military and the Department of Veterans Affairs only provide education support after a Veteran’s original enlistment date during and after their service. Some Veterans have pre-enlistment debt because of education received before service.

• Another reoccurring reason that Veterans take on student debt results from the wait time required to process an education claim with the federal government during an extended claims process while they are in school.

• The military Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) does not cover private debt and has a complex payment process that does not always relieve education debt over the term of the service member’s enlistment.

LNVB Retroactive Scholarship Program

Leave No Veteran Behind addresses this issue by accepting private donations from individuals and corporations across the country.

LNVB then applies those funds directly to verified Veteran student loan accounts on behalf of our service members, paying off their debt in full.

To qualify, our Veteran beneficiaries must have:

(1) completed some form of higher education,

(2) currently suffer from an existing economic hardship, and

(3) have accumulated outstanding student debt because they were not fully covered by existing military education programs.

In return, all Veterans assisted by our program are required to give back through community service.

Each Veteran must commit to 100-400 hours of community service that leverages their military skills, civilian education, and new found lack of indebtedness so that they can continue to serve their nation as civilians.

LNVB Retroactive Scholarship Recipients

Criteria

• Completed Some Form of Higher Education (Technical – Doctorate)

• Debt Not Covered Under Current Educational Programs

• Served Honorably

• Has An Economic Hardship

• Commits to 100-400 Hours of Community Service

Profile of Veteran Enrollee

• Veterans serving in various conflicts: Iraq: 34%, Afghanistan: 11%, Dessert Storm: 4%, Vietnam 2%

• 29% Veterans With Medical Disability

• Veterans with PTSD: 8% and TBI: 3%

• 97% enrolled Veterans struggling to pay both college and other debt

• 29% Female

• 34% Minority

1000+

Veterans Across the Country

$41,000 Average Debt

TOP ECONOMIC HARDSHIPS:

40+ Veterans scholarships

$500K Veteran Educational Debt paid by Leave No Veteran Behind

Transitional Jobs

LNVB works as a cross-sector vender leveraging fee for service contracts to provide Veteran clients transitional jobs, training, and then helps to place them in long employment.

These Veteran clients work alongside community members and youth in contracts that are addressing some of the most pressing issues in their local communities.

Veteran Demographics

• Student Veterans

• Unemployed Veterans

• Underemployed Veterans

• Retired Veterans

Positive Community Outcomes

Transitional Jobs are solving community problems. Jobs provided are focused on:

• Youth Safety

• Community Resilience

• Emergency/Risk Management

• Mentoring around STEM

Delivering Real Impact: Transitional Jobs

Program:

• Veterans don’t come home to programs, they come home to communities. Leave No Veteran Behind supports Veteran success through transitional jobs focused on serving the communities in which they live. This program employs Veteran talent to solve issues in the most distressed communities.

Outcomes:

• Veterans are employed to improve violent outcomes with disinvested youth(over 10,000 youth served daily)

• Millions in transitional wages to military families

• Safer environments for young people in some of America’s toughest neighborhoods

• Thousands of youth mentorship hours

• Increased dignity, increased self-worth, and community connectivity

1000+ Transitional Jobs Provided

$10 million+ Wages Paid

70-90 Transitional Jobs Provided Daily

LNVB During COVID-19

Response- Transitional Jobs

• Contact Tracing- Trained and employed 40 Contact Tracers in partnership with the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership working to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 for 1000s of Chicagoans located in at risk neighborhoods.

• Direct education outreach to over 20,000 families to mitigate the spread of COVID 19.

• Distributed over 18,000 bags of PPE to economically distressed families.

• Worked with over 200 families to create safety plans.

• Provided over 70 Safe Passage jobs that supported student food distribution and safety at Chicago Public Schools

Emergency Aid and Food Security

• Supported weekly food distribution for 150 families and now has expanded bi-weekly to support over 300 families.

• Partnered with other VSOs to distribute $80k in direct emergency assistance that supported rental assistance, vehicle repair, childcare, utilities assistance and other basic needs.

• Supported over 200 families with critical home supplies to include clothing, furniture, cleaning, and hygiene supplies.

Dynamic Leadership Team

Culturally Competent (Social) Entrepreneurs

Eli Williamson, President

Eli Williamson is a nonprofit and philanthropy executive with over a decade of experience working to solve complex problems in distressed communities. Eli is also the co-founder of Leave No Veteran Behind, an Illinoisbased non-profit that invests in veterans to build more resilient communities. He was the former Director of Veterans Programs for the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. Eli served in Iraq and Afghanistan as a noncommissioned officer in the US Army, as a member of Psychological Operations (PSYOP), and as an Arabic linguist supporting special operations forces. Eli is a dedicated father who enjoys summer wilderness adventures in his camper with his standard poodle Starla.

Roy B. Sartin is a former food security/sourcing executive and the Co-Founder and Vice President of Leave No Veteran Behind. Sartin, a native of Chicago, Illinois, completed his Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration at Luther College. He completed eight years in the US Army Reserve as a heavy diesel machine operator and mechanic in the 389th Heavy Engineering Company, where he became a non-commissioned officer. He completed a year-anda-half-long combat tour in Iraq in 2003. He has worked as District Manager for Aldi Corporation in the Baltimore area. He was the Assistant to the Director of Budget Management for the Baltimore Department of Juvenile Services and has clerked for the law firm Smith Stag, LLC. He served as the Director of Community Development for AgroTrade America. Currently, he consults with multinational organizations on international talent development and trade. He enjoys world traveling with his children to teach them the value of multiculturalism.

Roy Sartin, Vice President

Sound Stewardship: Respected Board

Diverse and credentialed Board of Directors and Board of Advisors; include several general officers, a former Assistant Secretary of State, a former Deputy Under Secretary of Defence and Security, three flag officers, and other prominent individuals from various industries and sectors

Board Of Directors

• Darryl Rodgers, Board Chairman, U.S. Army Veteran, Executive Director Financial Advisor & Assistant Market Head UBS Financial Services

• Maynard Anderson, U.S. Army, Vietnam War Veteran, Deputy Under Secretary of Defence (Acting)

• Guy Nave, PhD, U.S. Army Veteran, Professor, Luther College

• Sid Kleinman, Attorney

• Col. (Ret.) Christine B. Knighton, U.S. Army

• William Edwards, U.S. Army, Boeing

• Professor Uwe Rudolf, Professor of Accounting and Management

Board of Advisors

• Gen. (Ret.) Richard B. Myers, 15th Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S. Air Force Veteran

• Gen. (Ret.) Michael E. Ryan, Vietnam War Veteran, Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force

• Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Velma Richardson, U.S. Army Veteran, VP of IT Programs, Lockheed Martin

• Col. (Ret.) Damon T. Arnold, MD, U.S. Army Veteran, Former Director of Public Health (IL)

• Daniel Greene, Iraq Veteran Purple Heart Recipient

• Dr. Ian O. Williamson, Dean, The UCI Paul Merage School of Business

• Spruiell D. White, retired from the MacArthur Foundation as a Senior Program Officer

“Leave No Veteran Behind

believes former service members are strategic assets. We leverage their skills to address some of America’s most pressing issues as we work to decrease youth violence, lower the Veteran unemployment rate and alleviate Veteran student debt. Join us in our mission.”

Maj. Gen (Ret.) Ronald L. Johnson U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Opportunities For Investment

LNVB is seeking:

• PHILANTHROPIC INVESTORS seeking a social ROI

• IMPACT INVESTORS seeking social and community ROI

Investors that demand:

• A non-profit commitment to both a financial and a social return

• Direct, measurable impact to Veterans

• Measurable social impact to challenging community challenges

• Real economic impact through wages, employment, and education

Creating Media Buzz

What’s in it for You?

There is no shortage of worthy causes to support. The challenge donors face is determining which organization can deliver the good in focused areas, producing results cost effectively. And do all this while providing the opportunity to have their brand connected to those good works in a tangible way. Leave No Veteran Behind provides all of this.

Delivers good in focused area

• Veterans

• Education

• Community

• Diversity

• In specific-target geographies

Produces cost effective results

• Changes the lives exponentially

• Veterans

• Military Families

• Children in at-risk neighbourhoods

• Communities

• Nationwide reach and results

• High impact with low administrative cost

Brand exposure

• LNVB’s tens of thousands social media followers

• Inclusion in media events

• Inclusion on LNVB website and collateral

• Novel media story in multiple target markets

Veterans are not victims, but community assets to empower