FFTC and Veterans Bridge Home team up to help vets and their families

Foundation For The Carolinas and Veterans Bridge Home, a local nonprofit and FFTC initiative in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, have combined forces to help veterans realize a beautiful part of the American Dream.  

Veterans Bridge Home honored Memorial Day by bringing together our community to pay tribute to the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.

“This partnership is a powerful example of innovative philanthropy,” said Jessie Hermann, the Foundation’s Vice President, Nonprofit Partnerships. “It combines Veterans Bridge Home’s deep understanding of the needs of veterans and their families with the Foundation For The Carolinas’ charitable expertise on strategies like real estate gifts and agency funds.” 

As a nod to Veterans Day (Nov. 11) and to honor men and women in service, Veterans Pathway to Home Ownership began awarding $10,000 grants in October 2024 to eligible veterans to help them afford their first home. The program is administered by Charlotte-based Veterans Bridge Home.  

Veterans Pathway to Home Ownership launched with $292,200 in a fund established at the Foundation. The catalyst for this initiative is the donation of a new home by True Homes. The company that helped plant the seed? Truist bank. 

“Having served in the U.S. Army for 20 years, I appreciate the importance of coming together to get the job done,” said Steven Cole, Vice President of Development for Veterans Bridge Home. 

Said Jeff Wagniere of True Homes, “It’s a thank you for everything our veterans have done for our country.” 

How does Veterans Pathway to Home Ownership work? 

The $10,000 grants are available to eligible veterans in counties served by VBH. The money is wired at closing to veterans whose grant applications have been approved. Grantees can use the money to help with any aspect of purchasing and moving into a home.

The idea, Cole said, is to help recipients build future wealth. As first-time home buyers, they haven’t earned equity from the sale of previous homes. That’s because many were doing their duty on military bases. Among key requirements: Recipients must live in the home for at least three years.  

True Homes, based in Monroe, N.C., builds semi-custom new homes – 2,000 a year in the Carolinas, 1,200 of which are in the Charlotte area. Giving back is in the company’s DNA, in the form of new homes donated to worthy causes. That includes a home that recently went to an area shelter for battered women.

Truist bank is a generous supporter of VBH – including $900,000 in grants provided by the Truist Charitable Fund since 2021 – and veterans, in general, including those who work for Truist. Those grants were earmarked to support workforce development. Among Truist-backed initiatives are providing veterans employment tools, training, coaching, connections and peer-to-peer mentoring centered around economic opportunities.  

Several Truist teammates volunteer with the organization, including Anthony Weekly, Truist’s chief community reinvestment act officer and community development director, who is on the VBH Board of Directors. 

A Baseball Connection 

Truist was hosting several clients in its suite one evening at a Charlotte Knights minor league baseball game. Representing the bank was Mark Case, senior vice president and area sales manager for the Charlotte and Asheville regions. Case’s father was a U.S. Army chaplain. Among the bank’s guests was Jeff Wagniere, managing partner of sales for True Homes. His father served in the U.S. Army. 

Case and Wagniere talked about their shared passion for veterans. Out of that and subsequent conversations came True Homes’ decision to donate a home to VBH – 2,200 square feet, four bedrooms and two baths on a two-acre wooded lot in Pageland, S.C., 45 miles southeast of Charlotte. 

Veterans Bridge Home joined the Charlotte Knights for “Military Appreciation Night,” where fans honored veterans by bidding on exclusive patriotic jerseys in an auction. All proceeds from the auction directly benefited Veterans Bridge Home’s mission to support veterans in our community!

That’s great, Cole of VBH thought, but he wondered, “What are we going to do with a house?” 

Then came the ingenious idea: Instead of giving that home to one veteran and his or her family, why not sell the home? Together, the Foundation and VBH used that money to establish the fund to help more veterans and their families secure their first home. 

“If this served one veteran, it would be worth it,” Wagniere said. “Now it will serve more than that.”

Before the donation of the house, VBH staffers had met with the Foundation’s Philanthropic Advancement team to explore the benefits of planned giving – securing the future through gifts from wills and estates. VBH still intends to expand its planned giving efforts. A month later, VBH received the house and turned to the Foundation to help execute the complicated deal. 

“This meant that VBH had more time to focus on serving veterans rather than learn about and implement real estate donations,” said FFTC’s Hermann. 

Hermann is part of the team that’s getting this initiative going. 

“It’s incredibly rewarding to support Veterans Bridge Home, the organization where I began my nonprofit career as an AmeriCorps volunteer,” she said. “It feels like coming full circle, using my experience and insights to help create sustainable financial solutions to support those who have served our country.” 

The initial $292,900 and the first round of grant awards are only the beginning. Based on the demand, VBH hopes to continue to show its appreciation – one home at a time. 

Veterans Bridge Home At a Glance

• Veterans Bridge Home was founded in 2011 thanks to support from the Foundation For The Carolinas. Inspiration came from the Foundation’s “Coming Home” report citing the need to do more for Charlotte-Mecklenburg veterans. Among the issues: Housing and financial instability that could lead to homelessness. Mecklenburg is home to 52,000 veterans. The Foundation continues to be an integral part of the success of Veterans Bridge Home.
  

  Veterans Bridge Home gathered to honor and remember at both the Carolina Field of Honor and Cedar Grove Cemetery on Memorial Day, bringing together our community to pay tribute to the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.

• VBH serves veterans in Mecklenburg and 52 other counties in the Charlotte, Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point, Raleigh/Durham and Aiken, S.C., areas. 

• The nonprofit served 3,246 families in 2023. A total of 7,864 requests for help were received that year. The No. 1 need – a third of all requests – is housing. 

• VBH connects veterans to services (housing, mental health, food and more), helps navigate employment, creates social connections and settles their families. The nonprofit also offers counseling and organizes special events. Its Salute To Service Lounge provides free gathering space for veterans’ groups. Its services are all free. 

• Vice President of Development Steven Cole, who helps oversee Veteran Pathway to Home Ownership, is a Charlotte native. He graduated from United State Military Academy West Point, where he later taught African History. He retired from the Army in 2015 at the rank of lieutenant colonel. His last assignment was as liaison to the TV and movie industry. His mission was to make sure the Army was portrayed fairly in Hollywood.  

• VBH (www.veteransbridgehome.org or 704-332-8802) is at 5260 Parkway Plaza Blvd. near Charlotte Douglas International Airport. Visit the website or call to learn more about programs and how VBH can help. 

• Having an emergency? Call 911 or 988 (press one).