Bridge veterans from renter to homeowner with down-payment assistance
Direct grants that close the gap between a veteran's savings and a VA-loan-approved down payment. Pairs with VA-loan zero-down financing to handle closing costs, earnest money, and bridge gaps that would otherwise force a veteran into a suboptimal loan or no loan at all.
The problem
Veterans qualify for VA loans but stall at closing-cost and earnest-money walls
The program model
How a dollar becomes an outcome
Typical use: Closing costs (lender fees + title + recording + prepaid taxes/insurance): $7,000-$20,000 · Earnest money deposit: $2,000-$10,000 · Appraisal gap: $0-$15,000
Disbursement speed: Wire to title company on closing day
Why fund through Wounded Warriors
✓ Three things that differentiate us
- Data-infrastructure moat. We operate a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for the US veteran-aid sector — 43 tools exposed to AI assistants (Claude, ChatGPT, Glean) at warriorsfund.org/mcp. Our 144,900-record veteran-resource directory is FIPS-tract geocoded to 75% of records, joined with US Census ACS, CDC PLACES, and HUD CHAS data.
- Machine-readable transparency. Every program reports through structured endpoints: /api/grantmaker/snapshot, /api/health-status, /api/impact-report. Foundation analytics teams can track outcomes programmatically — no PDF wrangling.
- Trust signals. Texas 501(c)(3), IRS ruling year 2021, EIN 86-1336741. Every Form 990 public on ProPublica. Candid Platinum Seal of Transparency (2026).
Verify directly with any of these third parties:
Funding levels & use of funds
Reporting & accountability
- Quarterly impact reports with anonymized case summaries, geographic breakdown, outcome metrics, and program-expense detail.
- Real-time machine-readable transparency: /api/impact-report, /api/grantmaker/snapshot, and /api/health-status.
- Financial documents: Read the filed FY2025 Form 990. A Form 990 is an information return, not an audit; contact us to request our financial statements (unaudited; Form 990 prepared by an outside CPA firm).
- Public 990s: Wounded Warriors files a public Form 990 every year; every return is on ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer: projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/861336741.
- Restricted-gift policy: donor restrictions honored per Gift Acceptance Policy + IRS regulations on charitable giving. Restricted gifts of $50,000+ require Board acknowledgment.
Common funder questions
How does this differ from VA-loan financing or HUD-VASH?
VA loans cover the mortgage; they do not cover closing costs, earnest money, or appraisal gaps. HUD-VASH provides housing vouchers for veterans experiencing homelessness; it is a rental program, not a homeownership program. Our grants sit upstream of HUD-VASH (preventing homelessness for veterans on the homeownership path) and downstream of VA-loan eligibility (turning eligibility into actual closings).
How do you prevent grants from going to veterans who would have closed anyway?
We require the loan estimate or closing disclosure showing the cash-at-closing requirement and the veteran's actual liquid savings (bank statements). Grant amount = gap, capped at $25,000 per household. Underwriting review by a HUD-certified housing counselor on the team.
What happens if the veteran sells the home within X years?
Per our Gift Acceptance Policy, grants are structured as outright (not recoverable) for grants under $15,000 to avoid creating a lien-like encumbrance on the title. Grants over $15,000 may be structured as a forgivable second mortgage with 5-year forgiveness. Funder can specify either structure.
Can we restrict to a specific state, MSA, or veteran-population segment?
Yes. Common restrictions: state, post-9/11 era, women veterans, formerly-homeless veterans, MST survivors, service-disabled. Restricted grants of $50,000+ require Board acknowledgment. We honor donor restrictions per Gift Acceptance Policy and IRS regulations.