Veterans’ Service Organization
Developing a Policy Agenda
The Challenge:
Since 2019, we have been the go-to government relations team for a veterans’ service organization (VSO) founded to empower veterans. The VSO came to us with many policy ideas, backed by their experience delivering services and evaluating various programs. But at the outset, they lacked focus; the “brief” they aimed to deliver exceeded 50 pages.
We helped them hone their messaging and to realize all their priorities fit into two major policy areas: (1) transition from active duty and (2) the social determinants of health. This laser focus helped them to identify which committees of jurisdiction held the keys to making significant and meaningful policy changes.
The first concrete policy win for the VSO came with the passage of the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program (SSG Fox SPGP) that enabled the Veterans Administration (VA) to provide resources toward community-based suicide prevention efforts.
The VSO’s research team helped guide the implementation of the program, working directly with the first round of grantees. They provided concrete guidance to Congressional staff and the VA on what is working and what changes might make the program more successful. This experience helped to prove that the VSO’s unique combination of data, coupled with program knowledge and on-the-ground expertise, was invaluable for policymakers.
The VSO’s experts are now regularly consulted by Congressional staff regarding veterans’ issues. They have testified before relevant committees on multiple occasions.
Highlighting Grantee Successes to Influence Policy: Private Foundation
Broadening Foundations' Engagement Beyond Taxes: Regional Association of Grantmakers
