Career Learning and Employment Center for Veterans, Inc., d/b/a Operation: Job Ready Veterans

Our goals are both to grow this program so that it serves and benefits more military-connected individuals and to strengthen our organization as a whole in the following service areas:

• Comprehensive, targeted employment transition seminars that include complete skills inventories, career interest, and work values assessments, individualized resume services, networking strategies, tools, and employer introductions as well as interview preparation and rehearsal sessions. Our veteran employment transition services are available and can be delivered on a regular, consistent basis statewide (and beyond).
• One-on-one life coaching that concentrates on identifying and resolving the transitional issues affecting all facets of veterans, service members, and military families’ lives. This coaching provides linkage to applicable resources and benefits for housing, health care, income support, and sustenance.
• Support for veterans with disabilities, ensuring that appropriate workplace accommodations are in place.
• One-on-one and group career coaching of veterans, service members, and military families, providing ongoing assistance with clarification of occupational, career, and educational goals; introduction to appropriate employment opportunities; follow-on customized job placement services.
• Direct support services and resources to assist program participants in overcoming barriers that prevent access to the training and employment opportunities otherwise available to them.
• Connection to government and commercial hiring managers, educators, mentors, and service providers via our networking connections on the federal, state, and local levels.
• Tracking qualified candidates to provide qualified job seekers to employers.
• Providing individualized job placement assistance via internal job boards as well as through partnerships with career placement providers.
• Guidance and assistance to employer management teams, college and university career counselors, and other stakeholders regarding the unique skills, abilities, experiences, and attributes that veterans, service members, and military families contribute to the employer and the workforce.
• Education of veterans regarding their veteran benefits, both federal and state.
• Preparation, presentation, and prosecution of clients’ disability claims to the Veterans Administration (VA).

Our growth strategy moving forward is one of diversification. While grants and endowments will continue to play an important role in our programs, we have learned the importance of having multiple streams of revenue to ensure long-term viability and sustainability.
We have implemented a strategic marketing plan that focuses on corporate engagement and provides companies with a whole spectrum of sponsorship opportunities. We have rolled out a social media plan that reaches both prospective participants to our programs and potential donors. We created a targeted Day of Giving Campaign and are looking at crowdfunding possibilities year-round as well.
Standard operating procedures (SOP) have been implemented to allow for standardization of procedures among the Employment Transition Team. This is a significant implementation that will allow our organization to provide standardized services within all service areas. These SOPs have also provided an avenue for virtual management and oversight that will act as a tool to ensure our organization is staying on goals target.
We have also created guidelines for expectations of our Board of Directors in terms of participation and personal contributions. Moving forward, incoming board members will be aware from the onset that the role requires a personal investment of time and resources.
We know that a multipronged approach to fundraising is integral, and we are excited about the new revenue streams we are creating for OJRV. Those funds will mean a better quality of life for the military-connected individuals we serve.

We use our strategic plan to guide our organization, and we have highlighted several focuses for the year ahead.
Our Board of Directors has strong ties to the military-connected community and to our community at large. Our staff works with local businesses and corporations, community groups, and other service providers to connect employers with veteran, service member, and military family job seekers and to provide high-quality services and wraparound support to the individuals we serve as well as to their families. We see every introduction as an opportunity to educate, engage, and involve others in the work that we do.
OJRV has letters of support from the Indiana National Guard Relief Fund, the Military Family Research Institute at Purdue, the Indiana Chapter of AUSA, the Indiana Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army for Indiana, the Indianapolis Veterans Court, Grow Southwest Indiana Workforce, Hoosier Veterans Assistance Foundation of Indiana, and the State of Indiana House of Representatives District 92. We work with the American Legion of Indiana, who trains and financially assists our staff to become accredited Veteran Service Officers. We have established new relationships with Carvana, National Construction Workforce, and Regions Bank, and we have strengthened relationships with Indiana-based employers, such as Department of Defense, Entrepreneur, Walmart, Ecommerce, Lowe’s Home Improvement, and Sitel Group. During this same reporting period, we have continued to maintain relationships with Hines VAMC, Jesse Brown VAMC, Veterans Benefits Regional Office, St. Vincent Hospital, FedEx, UPS, and Amazon, among others, so that we can provide additional services and resources to all of our clients.
We are always seeking out and welcoming partnerships with individuals, community groups, and other organizations to broaden the reach and scope of our mission.

Grants Awarded
Renewed funding from the Call of Duty Endowment ($400,000) and the Lilly Endowment ($450,000) demonstrates that as funders see our program in action, they know that we deliver on what we promise and that military-connected lives are better as a result of our kept promises.
We are also honored to be grant recipients of the Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs ($65,499), the Judd Leighton Foundation ($15,000), the Greater Green Bay Foundation ($12,000), and the Alliant Energy Foundation ($2,500) in their most recent round of funding.

Organizational Growth
Through earmarked funding, we were able to hire two new recruiting and training managers, allowing us to expand and provide employment transition services to serve veterans, service members, and their families in Kentucky and Mississippi. Moreover, OJRV retained Powerhouse Planning, LLC for a third year to help with grant writing. OJRV has also continued with Gigabytes Guys a second year for IT support and technical consulting and with Circle City Digital to develop a digital marketing strategy.

Significant Partnerships
OJRV has created strong partnerships with MilitaryHire, RecruitMilitary – MOU, Loyal Veterans Battalion, Develop Indy, and Hamilton County Workforce Innovation Network (HCWIN). By fostering partnerships with reputable organizations in our community, we continue to build increased opportunities for veteran, service member, and military family job placement and awareness of our mission and services in the community at large.