Initial investments to three local organizations signal the start to long-term support for the region’s veterans

Beverly, Mass, Nov. 7, 2025 – Eleven percent of the state’s 230,000 veterans live right here in Essex County. With Veterans Day around the corner, Essex County Community Foundation (ECCF) is proud to announce the launch of a new fund dedicated to supporting these local heroes and their families.

Through the Essex County Veterans Fund, ECCF commits to investing $300,000 over the next two years and to establishing a transformative grantmaking and capacity-building program that will strengthen nonprofits meeting the critical needs of local veterans.

“But our vision reaches further,” said ECCF President and CEO Stratton Lloyd. “The foundation is committed to raising $5 million by 2030. This fund will grow over time and ensure that veterans in Essex County have the support, resources and opportunities they deserve for generations to come.”

The official announcement of the fund launch came Nov. 7 at the North Shore Chamber of Commerce Salute to Veterans Breakfast, an annual event that honors local veterans and active members of the military.

“The Chamber has been hosting this breakfast for five years now and it’s always a privilege to recognize the selfless dedication of our local veterans and active-duty military members,” said Karen Andreas, president and CEO of the North Shore Chamber of Commerce. “ECCF’s announcement of a permanent fund to support the people who have made countless sacrifices for our country made this year’s Salute even more special.”

“Bringing us together as a community to ensure our veterans are taken care of is a testament to ECCF’s vision for a resilient Essex County where we all thrive,” she added.

The time is now for this type of local action. Across Massachusetts, not only are veterans facing issues with financial stability, access to health care, transportation and connection with community; 32 percent of the state’s veterans live with a disability, compared to nine percent of non-veterans. Massachusetts veterans also attain bachelor’s degrees at a significantly lower rate than non-veterans (38 percent vs. 48 percent), which can have impacts on earnings capability.

“We know that the current support infrastructure is not enough to meet the needs of all veterans in Massachusetts,” said Amy Moran Lowe, ECCF’s director of grants and programs. “And now it’s time for our community to come together to support the 25,000 people in Essex County who have who have served our country. We have the collective opportunity here to make a significant difference in the quality of life for veterans and their families.”

ECCF’s hope is that the Essex County Veterans Fund sparks new ways of thinking about how to connect and leverage existing resources for a more holistic approach to supporting local veterans.

“This could mean, for example, mobilizing transportation from various points in Essex County to get veterans to the sites where benefits are accessed,” said Lowe. “When we think of things through this “systems” lens, we have the potential to reach more people.”

Based on identified needs, ECCF will focus investments from the fund on:

• Honoring Our Veterans by supporting celebrations, community-building activities, memorials and public engagement.
• Serving Those Who Served Us by supporting nonprofits and programming that increase veterans’ access to necessities like food and shelter, economic opportunity, transportation and health and wellness services.

The foundation has already made three initial investments totaling $35,000 from the fund. They include support for:

• Challenge Unlimited at Ironstone Farm in Andover for therapeutic, horse-human programming for veterans
• Veterans programming at Clear Path New England in Methuen, a nonprofit that focuses on housing, food access and wellness for veterans.
• Operation Troop Support in Danvers for care packages and support groups for Essex County families.

Lt. Colonel (Ret.) Dick Moody founded Operation Troop Support with his wife, Christine Moody, and the couple was on hand at the breakfast to accept the Chamber’s 2025 Minuteman Service Award and hear the surprise grant announcement.

“Both Christine and I thought the ceremony was very well done today, but the addition of ECCF was unexpected and amazing,” Dick Moody wrote in a note to ECCF after the breakfast. “You have made our lives so much less stressful, and your actions have demonstrated that you really are there to help your community.”

ECCF was thrilled to announce these initial investments, which kick off grantmaking from the Essex County Veterans Fund.

“These incredible organizations do so much for veterans in Essex County,” said Heidi Ellard, ECCF’s director of philanthropic services. “And we are honored to support the work they do to ensure that our veterans have access to the services and resources they and their families need.”

ECCF will launch applications for the first open round of grants from the Essex County Veterans Fund in the spring of 2026, with awardees announced before Memorial Day. Potential grantees could include member-based organizations, regional veterans-focused nonprofits, and nonprofits serving a significant population of veterans. ECCF will also work closely with town-based Veterans Service Offices and the state Executive Office of Veterans Services on outreach and information sharing.

“I am thrilled to be part of an organization taking a step towards addressing the gaps in support that too many local veterans face,” said ECCF Board Member Jon Payson, a former Marine Corps Reserve officer and Gulf War veteran. “This kind of commitment will not only increase access to critical services for veterans, but the creation of the Essex County Veterans Fund is a way of saying, ‘We honor the sacrifice you’ve made for our country, and your community is here to support you.’”

For more information on the Essex County Veterans Fund, and to become part of our work to support Essex County veterans, please visit www.eccf.org/veterans-support/.