The Call of Duty Endowment today begins its application process for the sixth annual “Seal of Distinction” Awards, recognizing U.S. and U.K. based non-profits that demonstrate the highest levels of effectiveness, efficiency, and integrity in placing ex-service personnel into high-quality jobs.
The prestigious award for grantees is accompanied by a £23,000 unrestricted grant, as well as the opportunity to apply for future funding. Past beneficiaries include: Goodwill Southern California, Goodwill of the Olympics and Rainer Region, NextOp, RFEA – The Forces Employment Charity, and Walking With the Wounded.
To be considered, organizations must complete an online application at: www.callofdutyendowment.org/seal
Applications will be accepted now through June 1, 2018. Nominees for the “Seal of Distinction” must meet a number of criteria, including:
- Organization must be a charitable, non-profit, with 501©(3) status (or, in the case of the U.K., a charity determined to have the equivalent status of a U.S. non-profit with 501 ©(3) status);
- Mission must include directly assisting unemployed and underemployed ex-service personnel to find high quality jobs;
- Group must complete an application, provide requested documentation and be prepared to submit to verification procedures by Deloitte;
- Applicants will be assessed by metrics including, the number of ex-service personnel placed in jobs, the quality of those placements, average cost-per-placement, average starting salary, six- and twelve-month retention rate, key employee background checks, and a variety of organizational and financial health indicators; and
- Applicants must not be a previous Seal of Distinction winner.
The “Seal of Distinction” is the preeminent standard of excellence in the ex-service personnel employment sector. In the last year alone, organizations supported by the Endowment placed 11,974 ex-service personnel in jobs at an average cost-per-placement of $504.
“We are honored to continue the ‘Seal of Distinction’ program into its sixth year,” said Dan Goldenberg, Executive Director of the Call of Duty Endowment. “We’ve seen a growing demand from ex-service personnel for help securing high quality careers—a 60% increase last year alone—and we’re committed to finding and funding the highest performing non-profits that successfully address this challenge in both the U.S. and U.K.”
All applications will be reviewed and evaluated by the Call of Duty Endowment’s outside Board of Advisors. Semi-finalists will be independently assessed on a pro bono basis by Deloitte and ultimately approved by the Endowment’s Grants Committee.
The Call of Duty Endowment launched the Seal of Distinction in August 2013. In its sixth year of operation, the program has awarded $27.6 million in grants. With an ambitious goal of placing 50,000 ex-service personnel into high-quality jobs by 2019, the program has placed more than 46,000 ex-service personnel into full-time jobs with an average 2017 starting salary of $58,000. As a result, the Endowment has helped ex-service personnel capture more than $2.3 billion in first year salaries and demonstrated the value of ex-service personnel in the civilian workplace to companies across the U.S and the U.K.
About the Call of Duty Endowment
The Call of Duty Endowment is a non-profit organization founded by Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard. The Endowment seeks to help ex-service personnel find high-quality careers by supporting groups that prepare them for the job market and by raising awareness of the value ex-service personnel bring to the workplace. For more information about the Call of Duty Endowment, please visit www.callofdutyendowment.org .