42 MOAA Affiliates Receive Community Outreach Grants from The MOAA Foundation

By: Blair Drake

May 28, 2025

42 MOAA Affiliates Receive Community Outreach Grants from The MOAA Foundation — Middle Tennessee Chapter members distribute grocery store gift cards at Operation Stand Down Tennessee’s Holiday Market. The chapter is receiving a 2025 Community Outreach Grant to continue this effort to support veterans in need during the holiday season. (Courtesy photo)

The MOAA Foundation is awarding 55 Community Outreach Grants totaling more than $129,000 to 42 MOAA affiliates — once again surpassing the previous year’s record number of grants and funds awarded.

The grants support MOAA councils and chapters providing services to local military and veteran families — either directly or through partnerships with other community organizations — in one of 10 areas of critical military and veteran family need: housing, food assistance, employment, health (including behavioral health), family support, community reintegration, financial assistance, legal assistance, transportation, and crisis relief.

The 2025 grants will support Junior ROTC and ROTC programs, housing for veterans in need, food assistance, recovery and support services, Veterans Treatment Courts, a military transition seminar, and a camp for children of fallen servicemembers, among many other high-impact local programs.

The Middle Tennessee Chapter is again receiving a Community Outreach Grant to support Operation Stand Down Tennessee’s Holiday Market. Last year, the chapter provided grocery store gift cards to veterans living in transitional housing as well as to two veteran families in need to purchase food for the holidays. Chapter members distributed the gift cards during the annual Holiday Market. The 2025 grant will allow the chapter to continue this effort.

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“The impact our councils and chapters have on their local uniformed services community is nothing short of impressive,” said Amanda Centers, vice president of Development for MOAA. “They are the boots on the ground, volunteering countless hours to ensure servicemembers and veterans and their families are taken care of. The MOAA Foundation is proud to play a contributing role in their efforts by providing them grants to support these programs. We are also very grateful for the generosity of our donors. Without them, the Community Outreach Grant program would not be possible.”

Members of the Southeastern Wisconsin Chapter help in 2024 with facility improvements at Camp Hometown Heroes, a weeklong camp for children of fallen of U.S. servicemembers. A Community Outreach Grant from The MOAA Foundation will support the chapter’s work at the camp. (Courtesy photo)

To date, the program has awarded over 300 grants totaling more than $780,000 through its nine annual cycles. To learn more about The MOAA Foundation and its programs and how you can donate, visit charities.moaa.org.