$3,000 available to Posts through Mission Blue Post

By Butch Miller

All Mission Blue Applications must be submitted before July 1, 2022 in order for those posts to be awarded grants. Internal Affairs (at National) will be unable to process any grant applications after this date.

Since Fall Meetings, the National Headquarters has made it easier than ever for posts to receive at least a portion of the maximum $2,000 available for these grants. If a post does not have either a current CPR on file or insurance with national listed as an additional insured, they could still be eligible to receive up to $1,000. If those posts are able to secure the proper insurance requirements afterwards, they may reapply for another $1,000 (or whatever amount meets the maximum amount for Mission Blue grant totals.) Posts that have previously received $1,000 under the former requirement restrictions can be eligible for the remaining amount of the $2,000 maximum so long as they have a certificate of insurance for a current policy at the time of the second/subsequent application(s).

Additionally, all recipient posts are required to submit a grant usage report within six months of the check issued date per the terms of the Mission Blue Grant program. Posts that do not report their grant usage could potentially be billed by finance for the entire amount of those funds. As of today, approximately 60% of all grants issued have been reported and 86 reports are overdue. Please reach out to all your overdue recipient posts and encourage them to submit their report to avoid an awkward situation. We do not require receipts and the form takes no more than 2 minutes to complete. Please see the attached files for reference and distribution.

The American Legion has distributed nearly $1 million in Mission Blue grant funds, and it is anticipate that it will easily surpass that amount before the program end date. Thank you all for your efforts and diligence in helping posts through this process.