Research Report Brief

Report on Veterans and 

Military Families 

Office of Research and Evaluation, Corporation for National and Community Service November 2015 

nationalservice.gov/research 1 

What was the research question? 

The purpose of this study was to understand how Corporation 

for National and Community Service (CNCS) grantees are 

engaging veterans and military families in national service. The 

research was focused on these CNCS-generated issue areas: (1) 

services and support to military families; (2) volunteer 

opportunities for veterans; (3) education and certifications; (4) 

employment; (5) access to benefits; (6) military children; (7) 

wounded warriors; and (8) wellness and other support services. 

What did the survey find?

Overall, the survey indicated: 

 In 2012, CNCS designated more than 1,000 AmeriCorps members to support veterans and military 

families and recruited more than 27,000 veterans to serve as AmeriCorps and Senior Corps members 

across 200 American communities. 

 In 2013, CNCS provided funding for more than 2,500 AmeriCorps members serving veterans and 

military families. 

 More than 500 Senior Corps projects and 8,000 Senior Corps volunteers serve at Veterans Affairs 

facilities each year. 

 More than 36,000 veterans benefitted from AmeriCorps assistance in 2013; in 2012 Senior Corps 

volunteers provided service to approximately 300,000 veterans. 

 CNCS launched a series of partnerships in 2012-13 to support veterans and their families. These 

include: working with the National Guard Bureau to improve services, launching the Vet Corps 

initiative with the National Guard and the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America, and 

beginning the VA’s VetSuccess on Campus Counselors project with AmeriCorps members to help ease 

veterans’ transition to campus life. 

 AmeriCorps funded more than 1.2 million volunteer hours in support of veterans and military 

families in 2011-2012. The economic benefit 

of CNCS programs for veterans and 

military families is estimated to exceed $28 

million. 

 CNCS implemented a variety of 

organizational changes to improve its 

engagement of veterans and military 

families. For example, CNCS established 

veterans and military families-focused 

projects as a Tier 1 funding priority, as 

explicitly noted in new CNCS Notices of 

Funding Opportunities.
Research Report Brief

Report on Veterans and 

Military Families 

Office of Research and Evaluation, Corporation for National and Community Service November 2015 

nationalservice.gov/research 2 

Research Methodology

This report was a synthesis of various sources and studies to illuminate and illustrate CNCS’ relationship with 

and service to veterans and military families in America. The report is a component of the CNCS effort to 

evaluate its adherence to its 2011-2015 Strategic Plan, which establishes objectives specifically related to better 

integrate the veterans and military families community in national service. 

How is CNCS using the findings to improve? 

CNCS is using this report to better address the challenges programs face when engaging and recruiting 

veterans into national service opportunities. Shortly after the report was completed, the CNCS CEO assembled 

a Veterans and Military Families Steering Committee and charged them with developing recommendations 

that would increase CNCS’s ability to serve more veterans and the ability of more veterans to serve. The 

findings of the report also led CNCS to offer training workshops, materials, and special initiatives aimed at 

establishing best practices for engaging and serving the veterans community. Lastly, this report highlighted 

for the field CNCS programs and grantees that were using national service to improve their support of 

veterans and military families. 

Study At-a-Glance

Study Design: Synthesis Report

Research Partner: National Academy 

of Public Administration 

The content of this brief was drawn from the full research report submitted to CNCS by National Academy of Public Administration. The brief was 

written by staff in the Office of Research and Evaluation at CNCS. All original content from the full report is attributable to its authors.

AmeriCorps engages more than 75,000 Americans in intensive service each year at nonprofits, schools, public agencies, and community and 

faith-based groups across the country. Since the program’s founding in 1994, more than 900,000 AmeriCorps members have contributed over

1.2 billion hours in service across America while tackling pressing problems and mobilizing millions of volunteers for the organizations they serve.

Senior Corps connects today’s 55+ with the people and organizations that need them most. We help them become mentors, coaches or 

companions to people in need, or contribute their job skills and expertise to community projects and organizations. Volunteers receive guidance 

and training so they can make a contribution that suits their talents, interests, and availability.