NEW YORK, NY (June 28, 2017) — Today, IAVA is proud to announce that the Craig Newmark Foundation has made a transformational $500,000 gift towards IAVA’s campaign to improve services and increase recognition for women veterans. In order to amplify impact, the Foundation is challenging Americans in advance of this July 4th holiday to match their generous gift to support IAVA’s critical work on behalf of women veterans. 

The Craig Newmark Foundation was founded by craigslist Founder, IAVA Board Member and longtime veterans advocate Craig Newmark. 

The Foundation’s gift will directly support She Who Borne The Battle, IAVA’s groundbreaking advocacy and support campaign to transform the landscape for America’s 2.2 million women veterans. The gift comes at a critical moment for IAVA’s bi-partisan efforts, after the introduction of the bipartisan Deborah Sampson Act, two Congressional testimonies, and a swell of national media coverage ranging from The Washington Post to CNN. 

As a Board Member, Newmark has been a longtime supporter of IAVA and numerous other leading organizations in the veteran community. With this gift, the Craig Newmark Foundation and the Craig Newmark Philanthropic Fund has now surpassed $1 million in support of IAVA and post-9/11 veterans and their families. IAVA is part of the Craig Newmark Foundation and the Craig Newmark Philanthropic Fund veterans grant portfolio that includes other leading organizations in the space. 

“The Craig Newmark Foundation is one of the greatest champions in America for our work to empower veterans. They understand better than most that veterans are an investment, not a charity. The Foundation’s enormous investment has and will continue to power real and meaningful change positively impacting millions of veterans across the nation,” said Paul Rieckhoff, Founder and CEO of IAVA. “Women veterans in particular are under-acknowledged and underappreciated, which is why we launched She Who Borne the Battle. The Foundation has acknowledged the service of women veterans, and has stepped up to support them in a massive way. Veterans everywhere should know that the Craig Newmark Foundation has their back.” 

“Veterans deserve a lot more from Americans, and a great way to give back is to support IAVA.  I stand with them on the mission to recognize and improve services in support of the She Who Borne The Battle campaign,” said Newmark. “The hard work that IAVA does on behalf of all veterans is inspirational.  IAVA’s focus on the issues most critical to veterans and their families is unparalleled. We challenge all Americans to stand with us and commit to women veterans by donating to IAVA today.”

She Who Borne The Battle:  More than 345,000 women have deployed since 9/11. Women are the fastest-growing segment of the veteran population and that trend will continue as the number of male veterans simultaneously declines over the next decades. However, many female veterans are left without the proper care to support their needs when they return from their service. She Who Borne the Battle will change this by providing a foundation of public awareness, local support and policy changes solely targeted at supporting and empowering female veterans. This includes changing the exclusionary VA motto, “To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and for his orphan”. Learn more at SheWhoBorneTheBattle.org. 

About Craig Newmark Foundation: The Craig Newmark Foundation is a private foundation created by craigslist founder Craig Newmark in 2016 to support and connect nonprofit communities and drive powerful civic engagement. 

Craig’s long devotion to “giving people a break” began with the founding of craigslist in the 1990s. The site made free classified advertising available to millions and to date has seen more than 5 billion ads posted. As Craig says, “craigslist evolved as a community that helps people put food on the table, get a table to put the food on, and find a roof to put the table under.” 

Long a practitioner of personal philanthropy, Craig in 2011 developed craigconnects.org, his personal online initiative, to bring all his causes under one umbrella and use his public profile and social capital to advance the people and grassroots organizations that are “getting stuff done” in the areas of veterans and military families, voting rights, government transparency, ethics in journalism, consumer protection, peer-to-peer giving, women in tech, and others. That work of “getting stuff done” continues with the Craig Newmark Foundation.