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"Name: Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA)\nBig Idea: IAVA is the first and largest non-profit for returning veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.\nWhy It's Working: The organization provides more than 2.3 million men and women returning from tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan with education, job, health care and community-building opportunities \u2014 an immensely valuable tool for soldiers readjusting to civilian life.\nWhen Paul Rieckhoff came home after a tour of duty in Iraq, he realized that the services for recent veterans didn't meet his needs or or the needs of his military peers.\n\"I got pissed off,\" Rieckhoff says. \"I had commanded 38 guys in central Baghdad for a year, and when they came home there was nowhere for them to go.\"\nInstead of struggling through the system, Rieckhoff turned to the Internet. His first website, Operation Truth (which Rieckhoff describes as a \"glorified message board\"), eventually grew into the IAVA \u2014 a full-service 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that not only provides an online social network exclusively for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, but also offers health, education and employment services to help vets readjust to civilian life.\n\"We want be there for everyone who's an Iraq or Afghanistan vet,\" Rieckhoff says.\nIn running a major non-profit dedicated to the needs of more than 2.3 million men and women who've served the country in the Middle East (and more than 200,000 Member Veterans who are actively involved in the organization), Rieckhoff says that the hardest part is maintaining the funds necessary to provide top-quality services. He explains that the major funding organizations that give to non-profits don't always have veteran services in their list of causes, so there's no guaranteed cash flow to tap into.\n\"You're really carving out a entirely new space in philanthropy and in non-profit, a lot like AIDS 30 years ago,\" he says. \nRieckhoff explains that it's important to maximize the efforts of small donors to contribute to the programs that the IAVA provides, which are plentiful. From the social networks of vets to a GI bill calculator and career fairs, the non-profit is dedicated to serving the needs of veterans. The veteran care in America has faced many challenges as veterans are not only at risk for psychological disorders, like PTSD, but also struggle to get basic healthcare and jobs. Rieckhoff says that some of the biggest work the IAVA has done has been in employment, where the company has uncovered a staggering 17% unemployment rate among veterans. To put that in perspective, the average unemployment rate for American citizens is 8.2%.\n\"We know more than the Department of Labor does,\" Rieckhoff says. \"Data is essential to understanding the issues, to identifying the problems and creating the products that can help them.\"\nRight now, Rieckhoff says the future lies in supporting veterans where they need it. The non-profit is currently looking to sponsor veterans to go into Mixed Martial Arts and Ultimate Fighting Championship programs \u2014 an outlet for former soldiers that resonates deeply with the community. But in the short term, Rieckhoff says it's all about moving people to donate.\n\"Invest in this new generation of veterans,\" Rieckhoff says. \"It'll be the best dollar you've ever spent.\"\n"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2012/04/10/iava-video/>