WASHINGTON — The Elizabeth Dole Foundation has received a $7.5 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to expand its support for military and veteran caregivers. Over three years, the money will help more caregivers identify themselves as caregivers, connect with trusted peers in their own communities and receive services and support measured against improvements in their quality of life.
Those caregivers — spouses, parents, siblings, family members and friends of wounded, ill and injured service members and veterans — number 14.3 million in the United States. Too many of them carry that responsibility with limited recognition, support and financial security.
“Too many military and veteran caregivers still don’t know that help exists or where to find it,” said Steve Schwab, the foundation’s chief executive. Lilly Endowment, he noted, made possible the research that first showed the nation who these caregivers are. “This grant lets us build the organization they need now: one that is easy to find, present in their communities and able to provide support services to help them navigate the roadblocks to care.”
The grant will strengthen four connected parts of the foundation’s work: making it easier to find through expanded brand and digital reach; building community engagement through its national network of Dole Caregiver Fellows and alumni; modernizing the technology and data it uses to understand caregivers’ needs and measure improvements in their quality of life; and broadening its base of support so the gains last beyond the grant period.
At Lilly Endowment, vice president for community development Ronni Kloth said military families and caregivers often need assistance with housing, childcare, food insecurity, mental and physical health, employment and case management. “We are pleased to be able to help organizations that provide crucial support that promotes the resiliency of those in the military and our nation’s veterans and their families,” Kloth said.
Senator Elizabeth Dole founded the foundation in 2012. It has since engaged nearly 22,000 caregivers through its programs and events, provided direct financial assistance to more than 1,500 individuals and trained more than 12,000 health care providers in caregiver-integrated care.
Lilly Endowment has supported the foundation since its founding. Its early funding made possible the RAND Corporation’s first nationwide study of military and veteran caregivers, and it later funded RAND’s 10-year update, released in 2024, along with Mathematica’s research on children and youth in military caregiving families.
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