Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Call of Duty Endowment
The Call of Duty Endowment (C.O.D.E.) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation co-created by Bobby Kotick, the former CEO of Activision Blizzard, and General James L. Jones, Jr., a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general, to help U.S., and later, U.K. military veterans find high-quality careers. The Endowment funds non-profit organizations that help former service members transition to high quality civilian careers after their military service and raises awareness of the value veterans bring to the workplace. The name of the Endowment is a reference to the video game series Call of Duty.
Primary partners receiving Endowment funding today include AMVETS (since 2011), Vet Jobs (since 2013), Hire Heroes USA (since 2010), JVS SoCal (since 2014), Operation: Job Ready Veterans (since 2015), The Forces Employment Charity (since 2017), Still Serving Veterans (since 2011), US VETS (since 2013), Veterans Inc. (since 2013), and Walking With The Wounded (since 2017).
2009–2011
The Call of Duty Endowment was born in 2009 from a conversation between Activision Blizzard CEO, Bobby Kotick, and former VA Secretary, Jim Nicholson. Kotick mentioned that a philanthropic foundation was planning on building a performing arts center on the grounds of the VA facility in West Los Angeles, to which Secretary Nicholson replied: “That’s stupid. Our real priorities are finding jobs for veterans and improving their healthcare. I think if we could redirect people's energies and efforts for job creation, that would be a better use of capital and better for veterans.”
The conversation inspired Kotick to learn more about unemployment and underemployment among U.S. veterans, discovering that 50,000 of the 150,000 service members returning to civilian life at the time couldn’t find jobs. Kotick co-founded the Call of Duty Endowment with General Jones on Veteran’s Day in 2009, with the mission to place veterans into high-quality careers.
The Endowment made its first grant of $25,000 in 2010. From 2009 to 2011, the Endowment offered several small and medium-sized grants to nonprofit organizations, but the board became concerned that they could not measure the impact of the grants and slowed the organization’s grant-making.
2012
In 2012, the Endowment funded the placement of its 1,000th veteran into a high-quality job and the organization grew to include several more distinguished military officials as part of its Advisory Board and General James L. Jones was formally introduced as co-founder of the Call of Duty Endowment. A former National Security Advisor to the President of the United States, European Command/NATO Commander, and Commandant of the United States Marine Corps, General Jones brought over 40 years of experience in military and government affairs to the Call of Duty Endowment.
Hub AI
Call of Duty Endowment AI simulator
(@Call of Duty Endowment_simulator)
Call of Duty Endowment
The Call of Duty Endowment (C.O.D.E.) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation co-created by Bobby Kotick, the former CEO of Activision Blizzard, and General James L. Jones, Jr., a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general, to help U.S., and later, U.K. military veterans find high-quality careers. The Endowment funds non-profit organizations that help former service members transition to high quality civilian careers after their military service and raises awareness of the value veterans bring to the workplace. The name of the Endowment is a reference to the video game series Call of Duty.
Primary partners receiving Endowment funding today include AMVETS (since 2011), Vet Jobs (since 2013), Hire Heroes USA (since 2010), JVS SoCal (since 2014), Operation: Job Ready Veterans (since 2015), The Forces Employment Charity (since 2017), Still Serving Veterans (since 2011), US VETS (since 2013), Veterans Inc. (since 2013), and Walking With The Wounded (since 2017).
2009–2011
The Call of Duty Endowment was born in 2009 from a conversation between Activision Blizzard CEO, Bobby Kotick, and former VA Secretary, Jim Nicholson. Kotick mentioned that a philanthropic foundation was planning on building a performing arts center on the grounds of the VA facility in West Los Angeles, to which Secretary Nicholson replied: “That’s stupid. Our real priorities are finding jobs for veterans and improving their healthcare. I think if we could redirect people's energies and efforts for job creation, that would be a better use of capital and better for veterans.”
The conversation inspired Kotick to learn more about unemployment and underemployment among U.S. veterans, discovering that 50,000 of the 150,000 service members returning to civilian life at the time couldn’t find jobs. Kotick co-founded the Call of Duty Endowment with General Jones on Veteran’s Day in 2009, with the mission to place veterans into high-quality careers.
The Endowment made its first grant of $25,000 in 2010. From 2009 to 2011, the Endowment offered several small and medium-sized grants to nonprofit organizations, but the board became concerned that they could not measure the impact of the grants and slowed the organization’s grant-making.
2012
In 2012, the Endowment funded the placement of its 1,000th veteran into a high-quality job and the organization grew to include several more distinguished military officials as part of its Advisory Board and General James L. Jones was formally introduced as co-founder of the Call of Duty Endowment. A former National Security Advisor to the President of the United States, European Command/NATO Commander, and Commandant of the United States Marine Corps, General Jones brought over 40 years of experience in military and government affairs to the Call of Duty Endowment.