DAV: Who We Are & What We Do...For You

What is the DAV?  Who Belongs?

• The DAV is a nonprofit association of nearly 1.2 million veterans who suffered some degree of disability while serving in time of war or armed conflict.
• Founded in 1920, the DAV is totally funded by dues and contributions, receiving no federal funding.
• With headquarters offices in Cincinnati and Washington, the DAV focuses strictly on serving veterans and their families.  A nonpolitical organization, it has no political action committees (PACs) and endorses no political candidates.
• More than 98% of the DAV's professional and management staff is made up of veterans disabled during or after the Vietnam War, so we'll be around as long as you and other veterans need our free service.

Services to Veterans and Their Families

• To help you and your family get all the benefits you earned, the DAV maintains a corps of approximately 250 National Service Officers (NSOs) in 69 offices across the United States.
• There's never any charge for the assistance these veterans' benefits experts provide to you and your family.
• DAV NSOs are all service-connected disabled veterans themselves, so they understand where you're coming from.
• DAV NSOs offer counseling on VA compensation, health care, pension, employment rights, education and more.
• They help folks like you assemble evidence to support benefit claims, building their cases and preparing claim forms and briefs.  They also present claims before government agencies, boards, and appellate bodies.
• The DAV extends disaster relief to disabled veterans affected by natural calamities like tornados or floods.
• A national magazine, chapter meetings, and other functions keep members up-to-date on issues affecting their rights.
• On the local level, DAV volunteers transport sick and disabled veterans to VA medical facilities for treatment.
• They annually donate 2.3 million hours to veterans at VA hospitals and another million hours to veterans hospitalized in non-VA facilities.
• Through a variety of local programs, they reach into their communities, seeking new ways to help disabled veterans and their families.

Representation Before Congress and the White House

• The DAV's Washington staff works for new legislation to benefit disabled veterans, their families and survivors.
• DAV legislative specialists also guard against cuts in current benefits.
• They concentrate on issues involving programs for disabled veterans and their families.
• These issues include disability compensation, pension, medical care, job and training programs, burial benefits, education and survivors' benefits, the fight against discrimination based on disability and more.
• DAV legislative goals are set by the organization's members in a process that begins in local DAV chapters.

Support the organization that does all this for you!