The Call of Duty Endowment has begun its application process for the sixth annual “Seal of Distinction” Awards, recognising 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 UK beneficiaries include RFEA – The Forces Employment Charity, and Walking With the Wounded.

To be considered, organisations must complete an online application here.

Applications will be accepted until June 1st, 2018. Nominees for the ‘Seal of Distinction’ must meet a number of criteria, including:

  • applicants must be charitable/non-profit organisations
  • their mission must include directly assisting unemployed and underemployed ex-service personnel to find high quality jobs
  • they 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 organisational and financial health indicators
  • they must not be a previous Seal of Distinction winner

In the last year alone, organisations 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 60% increase in demand from ex-service personnel for help securing high quality careers and we’re committed to finding and funding the highest performing non-profits that successfully address this challenge.”

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.