The Call of Duty Endowment was created by Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick in 2009 after learning that nearly 30% of post 9/11 Veterans were facing challenges in finding civilian employment. Since then, the Endowment has funded the placement of 50,000 veterans in careers paying an average of $27,000 more than the national median. Activision Blizzard is the world’s largest and most profitable western interactive entertainment company.

Call of Duty Endowment Executive Director Dan Goldenberg joins us to share how his organization has achieved this milestone. Dan is a Naval Academy and Harvard Business School graduate. The Endowment’s focus is to seek out and evaluate non-profits that are effective in placing Veterans in successful careers and then providing them the financial resources to continue their programs. The Endowment applies the same business formula that has proven successful for Activision Blizzard; to go “Narrow and Deep” by focusing on a few objectives and doing them very well.

Dan notes that while Veteran unemployment has gone down in the past few years the demand for services at the organizations the Call of Duty Endowment funds has increased significantly. He believes that this is the result of Veterans who are under employed seeking more meaningful careers.

The Endowment reached their goal of placing 50,000 Veterans one year ahead of their projections so Dan announced they are “doubling down” and setting a goal of 100,000 placements by the year 2024.

One of their more unique fundraisers is the #CODnation challenge which brings “Gaming Personalities” and others together to compete in playing Call of Duty titles. Every cent they raise through this fundraiser goes directly to program grants. Some of our past military guests have even shared their appreciation for the game.

Veterans or organizations assisting Veteran employment can find out more about the Call of Duty Endowment by visiting their website www.callofdutyendowment.org