The Farmer Veteran Coalition (FVC) recently received a generous grant from the Iraq Afghanistan Deployment Impact Fund of the California Community Foundation.
The Iraq Afghanistan Deployment Impact Fund (IADIF) was created in 2006 to address the unmet needs of men, women and families affected by deployment to Iraq, Afghanistan and the surrounding areas. It is a special initiative of the California Community Foundation, which was founded in 1915. The California Community Foundation is one of the largest philanthropic organizations in Los Angeles County, managing more than $1 billion in assets.
One of the benefits of receiving this grant from IADIF is membership in the Coalition of Iraq + Afghanistan Veterans (CIAV). This coalition was founded in 2008 with support from IADIF and consists of fifty other major veteran support groups from across the country. FVC became a member of the CIAV prior to the second annual national conference held in May 2009 in Washington, DC. As a result, Executive Director Michael O’Gorman and Board of Advisors Chair David Visher were invited to attend the conference.
Some of the other members in the CIAV are well-known veterans support organizations such as Iraq and Afghan Veterans of America (IAVA) and Disabled American Veterans (DAV) as well as the RAND Corporation and the Sesame Workshop, which entertains the children of deployed parents. The Coalition works as a unit, passing word amongst the groups electronically about veterans or their families that are in need. The national conference included numerous veterans speaking about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), two of the signature wounds of modern warfare.
FVC was welcomed into the coalition and found overwhelming support for our project, in large part because of the high level of unemployment and the general lack of services available to veterans from rural areas of the country. FVC is aware of studies showing disproportionate numbers of young men and women enlisting in the military from small towns across the country.
The Farmer-Veteran Coalition is grateful to the Iraq and Afghan Deployment Impact Fund and the California Community Foundation for giving our young project a chance to expand our reach among returning veterans and to tell them about the unique opportunities that now exist for beginning farmers. Each year CCF grants over $100 million as investments in the future of communities in and around Los Angeles. The foundation partners with individual donors and actively supports non-profit organizations to address the diverse and dynamic needs of the community. CCF makes grants in the area of health, education, affordable housing, the arts and human development.
