McKinsey on veterans

We collaborated with The American College of Financial Services and the American College Center for Military and Veterans Affairs to enhance its scholarship pipeline, helping to boost program completion and positive outcomes for student veterans. Our combined efforts laid a foundation within the college for initiatives that are now being scaled across affinity groups.

We worked with American Corporate Partners to help returning veterans and active-duty spouses find their next career paths by providing one-on-one coaching and mentoring. Since 2020, more than 100 McKinsey colleagues have mentored 249 veterans or active-duty spouses in their transition from military to civilian life. Our team is dedicated to ensuring veterans and their spouses find meaningful employment opportunities and develop long-term careers to address unemployment and underemployment within the veteran community.

We collaborated with Avalon Action Alliance to evaluate and better understand the population size of veterans and first responders receiving life-changing care for traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress, and substance abuse. Together, we developed a strategic roadmap to help Avalon effectively reach more veterans and first responders and connect them to care at no cost. Avalon has the tools it needs to implement this roadmap, meet its growth aspirations, and achieve continued success.

Over the past five years, we have worked with the Bob Woodruff Foundation to identify and prioritize support for causes that benefit both current and future generations of veterans. Our joint efforts have helped accelerate the Foundation’s journey to become the preeminent “fund of funds” for not-for-profit veteran impact, while also more than doubling its annual revenue. The Foundation’s efforts to being the quickest veteran’s charity in the United States in terms of turning donations into action was recognized with a $15 million MacKenzie Scott grant in 2022, and $28 million from Craig Newmark Philanthropies in 2023. These are the largest annual gifts the organization has ever received. We are currently working with the Foundation to convene a group of leading veteran CEOs based in the United States.

We have collaborated with Combined Arms to analyze how the needs of the veteran community will evolve over the coming decades. By comparing these needs to available resources, our partnership identified potential challenges to supporting veterans, including the ability to address the increasing demand for career transition services and mental health support. The findings were shared at an industry conference of 20 veteran support organizations from 13 states and key federal, state, and corporate leaders to help prepare them to connect US veterans with the resources they will need to thrive in the coming decades.

McKinsey has collaborated with The COMMIT Foundation annually to host a two-day career transition workshop for service members departing the military. The workshops aim to immerse participants in corporate America, facilitating introspection and purposeful post-service life design exercises and exposing them to experienced professionals from various industries. Participants are supported by McKinsey mentors (and other professionals), who serve as sounding boards and sources of insight. Our partnership strives to create a purposeful and fulfilling career transition for service members.

We partnered with the Elizabeth Dole Foundation to refine their strategic approach as they embark on their second decade, focusing on the evolving complexities faced by veteran caregivers and their families. We analyzed their peer landscape, conducted a branding study, and interviewed key stakeholders to inform the strategy refresh. This effort enabled us to map the foundation’s programs with their strategic goals using a data-driven evaluation of revenue, impact, and cost efficiency. We also supported their drive to strengthen the organization's overall health and governance, increasing their ability to make a wider impact and support the growing community of veteran caregivers and their families.

We are currently partnering with The Honor Flight Network, to enhance their strategic vision, identify opportunities to grow their supporter base, and increase brand awareness, aiming to better serve the next generation of eligible veterans for Honor Flights. Our joint efforts have included conducting market research to expand the organization’s reach, identifying opportunities to improve their governance structure, and implementing a scholarship program for young veterans. The Honor Flight Network is a nationally recognized organization that provides veterans with the opportunity to travel to the National War Memorials in Washington, DC, to honor their service, commemorate the fallen, and re-experience the camaraderie from their wartime experiences.

We worked with Military Officers Association of America to plan their inaugural people-focused conference. This was dedicated to addressing workforce, talent, and personnel-related issues across the full servicemember life cycle—from recruitment through veteran support and care. Intended to be an annual, immersive event, MOAA’s conference connects key decision makers from the military community with industry and not-for-profit organizations to share expertise, forge partnerships, and find solutions to the community’s toughest challenges.

Our partnership with Project Healing Waters identified operational priorities and developed a five-year strategic plan to broaden the organization’s reach and deepen the impact on veterans. The strategy aims to provide veterans with the resources they need to heal and thrive while expanding to support them throughout their resilience journeys. We continue to collaborate and support the implementation of the plan, helping Project Healing Waters achieve its mission and make a positive impact in communities across the nation.

We worked with Team Red, White & Blue to develop a long-term strategy for growth and outreach. Together, we conducted fundamental research to understand the differing needs of various segments within the veteran community. Insights from this research enabled our partnership to prioritize support for specific needs tailored to these segments. Our team reoriented the organization around the plan, developing a scaling strategy and funding model to support successful implementation. Our partnership has helped Team Red, White & Blue continue to deliver on its mission: help veterans live healthier lives.

As the primary point of contact for veterans in the southeast United States, The Warrior Alliance partnered with McKinsey to define its vision and a long-term plan. In a recent collaboration, we developed a five-year strategy to build The Warrior Alliance’s internal capabilities and expand its external outreach. The organization plans to pursue more than 15 opportunities (for example, outreach to veterans and development of a tech platform) identified as part of this collaboration. With a road map to support implementation, The Warrior Alliance continues to deliver on its mission: improving the quality of life for service members, veterans, and their families through a total care network of VSOs.

We partnered with Warrior-Scholar Project to develop their outreach strategy and assess the needs of service members and veterans pursuing higher education. Together, we led a market analysis and consumer insights survey to identify veterans who could best benefit from the Project’s resources. To expand services, our combined team evaluated ways to accelerate the deployment of digital, on-demand learning, including partnership opportunities with institutions capable of providing veterans immediate access to learning curriculums. We proudly support Warrior-Scholar Project’s mission of propelling enlisted veterans and service members toward success in higher education and beyond.

We support With Honor, an organization dedicated to training and electing veterans committed to cross-partisan efforts and national service. Through our partnership, we actively contribute to their mission of encouraging dialogue and advancing political civility with veteran leadership. Together, we believe in the power of bridging divides and working towards a more united and productive government.

McKinsey partnered with The Honor Foundation to host active military members at McKinsey’s Chicago office to introduce them to consulting, potential career paths, and opportunities at our firm. Our colleagues shared what a day in the life of a consultant consisted of and how various military skills can be translated and used to help serve clients across a variety of industries. Our firm understands the potential that veterans bring to an organization and looks forward to continued collaborations with The Honor Foundation.

McKinsey worked with the Pat Tillman Foundation to conduct their annual strategic planning and collaborate on top priorities for the foundation. Our collaboration led to the framework for the Tillman Leadership Institute (TLI), a program that delivers leadership training to businesses in our communities and Tillman Scholars alike. What sets TLI apart is its distinct perspective on human-centered impact leadership, which is spread throughout the veteran community by its accomplished Tillman Scholars. Future collaborations could help shape the direction of this great VSO.

McKinsey joined forces with the National Ability Center, a leading not-for-profit renowned for its excellence in the adaptive recreation industry. Our mission? To craft a forward-looking strategy geared toward enhancing growth and scalability. Together, we evaluated the organization’s operational health, analyzing managerial practices to uncover areas with the prospect for improvement. From this assessment, we identified key opportunities poised to bolster efficiency and foster a more vibrant organizational culture. In response, we tailored bespoke leadership training to ignite innovation and instill fresh approaches to drive operational excellence. Through our collaborative efforts, we have helped empower the National Ability Center to maintain its legacy of excellence while broadening its impact, particularly in providing essential programs designed to support our nation’s deserving veterans, who constitute more than 30 percent of their participant population.

We collaborated with Hire Heroes USA on a strategy to scale their operation as a direct response to the challenges highlighted in McKinsey’s 2023 veteran underemployment analysis. This collaboration has positioned Hire Heroes USA to exceed its original service targets and enhance its personalized employment offerings. Our ongoing commitment ensures that veterans and their spouses are empowered to secure fulfilling careers, reflecting our shared vision for comprehensive support and meaningful employment transitions for the military community.