Rebuild Hope and our donors appreciate how well the military serves our country and feel honored to both recognize and assist our wounded OIF/OEF veterans and their caregivers and children.

Welcome to Rebuild Hope!

If you are a U.S. veteran or service member who has suffered a life-altering, service-connected, disability during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan you MIGHT qualify to join the Rebuild Hope veterans financial support network and receive MODEST monthly grants and/or SMALL no-interest loans. Membership enables you and your family to receive transitional emergency financial assistance, budget counseling and referral services.

Please carefully read this entire page to ensure you understand what Rebuild Hope does, how it works and our eligibility requirements. Please note that Rebuild Hope cannot determine your eligibility for our financial assistance before you complete our entire evaluation process including the submission of a 12-month, household cash flow-based budget (We will help you!).

If you believe you might qualify for membership in Rebuild Hope, we encourage you to apply for our help. Our application can be downloaded from this website. But first, please read everything on this page.

Eligibility

Because Rebuild Hope is a young non-profit with a small donor base our mission is focused and limited to serving a small percentage of the disabled veterans who were injured during the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Rebuild Hope assists qualifying families during the first three years of their transition from military to civilian lives, starting with the date of a veteran's honorable discharge. Typically, the veteran is awaiting service-connected disability compensation from the Veterans Administration and/or the start of other certain sources of income like social security supplemental income, GI Bill benefits, and vocational rehabilitation income. Our financial assistance is designed to help families pay for their most basic living expenses during this often difficult transition period. Rebuild Hope funding is not a replacement for employment income.

Veterans who meet ALL the following eligibility requirements are encouraged to send us an application.

  1. You are either ...

    (a) an OIF/OEF veteran honorably discharged during the past 3 years, or

    (b) a service member in a warrior transition unit destined for a medical discharge.

  2. You have either ...

    (a) been issued a service-connected disability rating of at least 50% or

    (b) submitted a claim to the VA that merits such a rating.

    In the latter case, the claimed injuries and illnesses must be supported by medical evaluations performed or accepted by the VA, and the VA must provide evidence that a 50% rating is likely. For example, a veteran suffering from PTSD must have received a Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) score of 60 or less. Read an explanation of GAF scores. The VA also publishes its standard ratings for other service-connected disabilities on its website. Veterans must supply this information to Rebuild Hope to prove the nature and severity of claimed injuries and illnesses.

  3. You need funds only in the short term and only for the most basic of living expenses
  4. Your household can create a realistic budget that demonstrates you can achieve a sustainable positive monthly cash flow within 3 to 6 months. Future income sources must be either certain or highly probable. Typically, these sources are linked to work, SSDI, a VA disability, and the GI Bill.
  5. Rebuild Hope believes the veterans is committed to improving the financial well-being of his or her household and our assistance would significantly lessen the veteran's short term financial problems.
  6. You can provide two acceptable character references who know you well - including a VA case manager. These references cannot be either friends or family members.

 

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Application Requirements

Applicants must submit ALL the required documents - no exceptions. Budgeting tools and an application status report will be emailed to veterans after Rebuild Hope reviews their initial appication.

  • Rebuild Hope Application
  • Financial needs analysis including a projected 12-month cash flow budget
  • Copy of DD-214 or confirmation of Medical Hold status
  • Either a service-connected disability award letter or a VA claim and medical evaluations
  • VA case manager name and contact information
  • Veterans service officer name and contact information if there is an outstanding claim or appeal with the VA
  • Information and photos for an online family profile

Ineligible Items

Since Rebuild Hope is designed to help veterans pay for their most basic living expenses like food, utilities, gasoline and rent many other types of expenditures do not qualify. Here is a list of Ineligible Items. This list can change at any time.

Please note that Rebuild Hope does NOT pay-off loans, credit cards nor mortgages!

Application Process & Getting Started

View an overview of the individual steps in the Rebuild Hope application process and learn how to get started. Please read it carefully before you download, complete and submit an application. Most applicants complete the Rebuild Hope application process in about 5-7 business days.

Member Online Personal Profile

Once an applicant is accepted into the Rebuild Hope veterans financial support network we create a Personal Profile for them which is displayed on our website. Through your personal profile donors get to know you and your family, understand your need for financial assistance and make online donations. If for privacy reasons you prefer NOT to display your family name on Rebuild Hope, a pseudonym will be used. You can view the profiles of existing Rebuild Hope veterans and their families at Who You Can Help .