The Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA) announced that the 2023-24 Veterans' Trust Fund (VTF) is accepting grant applications for programs and services benefiting Pennsylvania veterans. DMVA will award grants to nonprofit organizations, veteran service organizations and county directors of veterans affairs across the state. Grant applications must be received no later than 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 8.

Grant funding is available for new, innovative or expanded programs or services operated by the county directors of veterans affairs or the Pennsylvania Association of County Directors of Veterans Affairs. The area of emphasis for applicants in this category is veterans' outreach.

Grant funding is also available to veteran service organizations with 501(c)(19) status and nonprofit organizations with a mission of serving Pennsylvania veterans granted 501(c)(3) status. Funding priorities for applicants in this category are transportation services; food insecurity; housing insecurity; behavioral health, mental health and suicide prevention initiatives; and legal assistance.

The VTF is funded by Pennsylvanians who voluntarily donate when applying for or renewing driver's licenses, photo IDs or motor vehicle registrations; purchase Honoring Our Veterans standard and motorcycle license plates; purchase Honoring our Women Veterans standard license plates; or make private donations. Since the program began in 2013, 285 grants totaling more than $7 million have been awarded to organizations providing services to veterans in Pennsylvania.

To learn more about the VTF and the grant application process, visit http://www.dmva.pa.gov/Veterans/SpecialInitiatives/Pages/VeteransTrustFund.aspx or http://www.facebook.com/padmva. To donate to the VTF, visit http://www.pa.gov/dmva/donate.