Our commitment to you
At Walmart, we are grateful for the sacrifice our nation’s veterans, military men and women and their families have made in service to our country. It is our duty and our honor to support our military not only when they are in uniform, but also when they transition to civilian life. We are committed to helping them as they face this important period through job opportunities as well as support for programs that provide job training, reintegration support and education.
To strengthen our support of veterans as they reintegrate into their local communities, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation have invested more than $44 million since 2011, in job training, education and innovative public/private community-based initiatives.
Walmart also offers a wide range of programs that are available to veteran organizations, such as our local community grants program, as well as programs designed to engage both associates and customers.
Walmart and the Walmart Foundation have supported numerous veterans and military organizations including Manufacturing Institute, Education Design Lab, Hire Heroes USA, Wreaths Across America, Institute for Veterans and Military Families and the Doughboy Foundation.
In 2011, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation recognized that opportunity sometimes isn’t the only challenge facing transitioning military families. Therefore, the company committed $20 million by 2015 to support veterans and their families with assistance for programs that provide job training, transition help and education. With the early completion of the commitment in May of 2014, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation renewed the commitment, announcing an additional $20 million through 2019 to support job training, education and innovative public/private community-based initiatives that address challenges many veterans face when returning to civilian life.
Our partners in support
Goodwill Industries International
The Walmart Foundation awarded $6 million to support Goodwill’s Operation: GoodJobs program. Because of the success of the $1 million pilot program, in 2013 the Walmart Foundation expanded its support of the Operation: GoodJobs program with an additional $5 million grant. With our support, Goodwill will serve more than 4,800 veterans and military families.
A longtime supporter of Goodwill, the Walmart Foundation is funding the next iteration of Operation: GoodJobs programming which places a special emphasis on resources and job training for female veterans.
Women Veterans Network
In 2017, the Walmart Foundation awarded a $469,000 grant to the Boston University School of Medicine (BU) to support the establishment of the WoVeN initiative. Through WoVeN, BU clinicians and researchers are leading a five-year initiative to establish a nationwide network of structured, trained peer-facilitated, 10-week support groups for women veterans to enhance wellness, quality of life, family relationships and referrals for additional services. Today, the Walmart Foundation is building on the existing grant to BU and is bringing its total commitment to WoVeN to nearly $720,000 with the announcement of an additional $250,782 grant. The program is projected to reach approximately 2,500 women veterans by the end of 2022.
Boston University School of Medicine - In May 2018, the Walmart Foundation granted over $250,000 to the Women Veterans Network building upon a 2017 grant which helped launch the program. WoVeN at Boston University is a program where BU clinicians and researchers are leading a 5-year initiative to establish a nationwide network of structured, trained peer-facilited, 10-week support groups for female veterans to enhance wellness, quality of life, family relationships and referrals for additional services.
The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc.
Center for Public-Private Partnerships (CP3): The Walmart Foundation awarded a $500,000 grant to support The Veterans Metrics Initiative (TVMI): Linking Program Components to Post-Military Well-Being study. This five-year study will assess the well-being of 7,500 veterans within 90 days immediately following their separation from military service to within three years thereafter, and document and analyze the components of the transition and reintegration programs the veterans report that they use.
Center for Public-Private Partnerships (CP3): The Walmart Foundation awarded a $500,000 grant to support The Veterans Metrics Initiative (TVMI): Linking Program Components to Post-Military Well-Being study. This five-year study will assess the well-being of 7,500 veterans within 90 days immediately following their separation from military service to within three years thereafter, and document and analyze the components of the transition and reintegration programs the veterans report that they use.
Center for Public-Private Partnerships (CP3): In 2015, the Walmart Foundation awarded a $500K grant to support The Veterans Metrics Initiative (TVMI): Linking Program Components to Post-Military Well-Being study. This five-year study will assess the well-being of 9,500 veterans 0-90 days post separation from military service to within three years thereafter, and document and analyze the components of the transition and reintegration programs the veterans report that they use.
Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University
The Walmart Foundation awarded a $1 million grant to support a three-year initiative to pilot new ways in which non-profit, public, and private sectors can better work together to serve veterans.
Walmart and the Walmart Foundation proudly support the Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF)'s AmericaServes initiative. Launched in 2013, this inititaive streamlines and digitally connects veteran services to those who are in need of them.
Hire Heroes USA
– In November 2020, Walmart Foundation awarded nearly $1,000,000 to support the Hire Heroes' program response to COVID. In partnership with Operation Homefront, they provided critical employment assistance and barrier removal for those impacted by the pandemic in rural communities. In addition, this grant enabled both organizations to put a critical lens on racial equity within their own organizations, and in how they support those seeking services.
In May 2019, the Walmart Foundation awarded a $1 million grant to Hire Heroes USA to support the expansion of their employment programs and improve data collection and reporting. Hire Heroes USA is a veteran service organization dedicated to empowering US Military members, veterans and their spouses as they seek civilian employment.
Operation Homefront
Walmart has been a proud supporter of Operation Homefront since 2006. They have provided cash and in-kind support for Operation Homefront’s Critical Financial Assistance, Back-to-School Brigade, Holiday Meals for Military programs, and more. Thanks to the support of partners like Walmart and their customers, Operation Homefront is able to serve tens of thousands of military families each year.
In 2018, the Walmart Foundation announced a $250,000 grant to Operation Homefront for Critical Financial Assistance (CFA). The CFA program supports caseworkers who help create stability plans, provide counseling and make referrals to resources in order to build strong, stable and secure military families. In response to the 2017 hurricane season, the Walmart Foundation granted $500,000 to the organization's CFA program to help meet the urgent needs for military families affected by disaster or deployed to help with relief and recovery.
