Regional Summits

Yes, SVA National Headquarters encourages all SVA Chapters to network with other SVA Chapters in their regional network.

Yes, we recommend reaching out to any prospective members, including members of the ROTC.

Start with encouraging the women in your chapter to encourage other women to get involved with the chapter. If there are no women in the chapter, continue to reach out to women on your campus and make a concerted effort to encourage them to join.

Most SVA Chapters with a large active membership have articulated and documented a solid succession plan to maintain uninterrupted chapter operations, even during transitional periods. Successful chapters also maintain a productive relationship with SVA National Headquarters and take full advantage of our corporate sponsor professional network.

Planning virtual events requires creative thinking; chapter members are more likely to attend events that they perceive to be meaningful and valuable. Including special guests, such as high-ranking administrators from the college or a local leader in your community, may peak your members' interests. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many students are experiencing "Zoom fatigue" if possible, consider doing events outdoors where social distancing is possible.

All popular social media platforms can be useful tools for fundraising, keeping your chapter connected, promoting your events, and providing information about resources and programs. You can also link to your “Go Fund Me” or “Patreon” pages via your social media accounts.

One of the things we recommend is to have a Vice President of Recruitment and Member Engagement. This individual can focus on gauging members' interest and determining the type of programming that they are more likely to engage in, or the reasons for the lack of engagement. At SVA National Headquarters, we often use surveys to collect feedback from our members to ensure we meet their needs.

SVA National Headquarters encourages the inclusion of all students who want to join an SVA Chapter. That said, it’s best to target student veterans and military-connected students. Military-connected students are often non-veterans but can be some of the most dedicated members of your chapter. Regarding non-military connected students, the potential benefit they bring to your chapter is the ability to bridge the military-civilian divide that exists on many college campuses.

Start by ensuring veteran dependents understand they are welcome to join an SVA Chapter. Don’t just assume they know. If you welcome dependents of veterans, some are likely to express interest. You may want to consider an event honoring the families of veterans and invite them.

Programming events that involve the entire family is the best way to promote family inclusiveness. Providing childcare is a great way to show that you are thinking about student veterans with families.

Sure, business cards can be effective and add a professional touch to your chapter outreach.

We recommend targeting local business when seeking support, and veteran-owned business should be at the top of your list.

Partnering with veteran organizations is always a good idea, your chapter could use the support and they could use your young energy and perspective.

We do not provide a mission statement template, but you are welcome to use the official mission statement of SVA National Headquarters or contact our team for assistance when drafting your mission statement.

Using the .edu domain of your school would be ideal, but a generic domain will suffice.

If your school already has military/veteran organizations, you should consider approaching each organization and discuss combining forces to form an SVA Chapter.

SVA's unique mission distinguishes us from other veteran serving organizations because we focus on veterans' success and avoid the deficit model. We stay true to our mission by providing programs such as NatCon, SVA Regional Summits, Leadership Institute, and Washington Week that provide a leadership continuum addressing the to, though, and beyond component of our mission statement.

Starting an SVA Chapter is relatively easy: Step 1: Form an organization of student veterans and military-connected students on your campus. Step 2: Follow the required steps to become a recognized student organization. Step 3: Apply for SVA Chapter Status and register your student organization with SVA National Headquarters. You can apply for chapter status on the SVA website. Step 4: Update your chapter information with SVA National Headquarters by following the link above.

It is always a good idea to have a chapter member/leader assume a role or position among the student government on your campus. This will not only give your SVA Chapter a seat at the table, but it will also ensure that your chapter has access to critical information that could have an impact on your chapter.

Staying connected to the campus can be difficult during COVID-19, even with the advancement of virtual platforms. Start with engaging whatever platform your school uses to communicate with students and partner with other student organizations on campus to host virtual events. At SVA National Headquarters, we’ve learned that virtual programming provides additional opportunities compared to in-person programming. For example, it’s much easier to get people to dial into an event than physically show up.

After applying to become an SVA Chapter, if approved, you will receive an email with an official SVA Welcome Letter and Logo Usage Policy.

Currently, SVA Chapters are permitted to create their own swag using the SVA logo. We are currently working on establishing an SVA store where chapters can purchase SVA promotional merchandise.

We encourage SVA Chapters to provide a platform for members who can’t be in attendance to events, meetings and other chapter gatherings. Encourage your chapter to provide access if they don’t already do so.

When ordering promotional items, we recommend obtaining price quotes from at least three vendors to choose the best value for your specific needs. SVA regularly obtains competitive quotes for promotional items to ensure we are finding the best value.

There are a few ways SVA Chapters can go about obtaining corporate sponsorship. Firstly, maintain a healthy and productive relationship with SVA National Headquarters. Our corporate partners are vested in the idea of supporting and hiring talented student veterans. Attending events such as SVA’s annual national conference (NatCon) and the SVA Regional Summit is a great way to connect with corporate sponsors, many of whom work for national companies that may have a local branch near your campus. The other way to obtain corporate sponsorship is to contact local companies directly but be sure to check with your University administrators on your school’s official policy of soliciting third-party partners as a registered student organization. Keep them updated on the great things your chapter is doing in the community, invite them to your events as a special guest speaker, invite them to a meeting, or ask them for advice with your strategic planning and fundraising. If you know that a company is ready and willing to fund a worthy student veteran organization, you should make the ask; be sure to practice your elevator pitch and request a meeting. Sometimes it may be more appropriate and strategically sound to build your way up to asking for money; in this case, requesting smaller, non-monetary commitments may be the way to go. Once you build up a positive rapport, then ask for money.

For keeping records for your SVA chapter, utilizing cloud-based systems like Microsoft OneDrive, Google Cloud, or iCloud is important for accessing your chapter’s documents and folders. Types of documents like chapter bylaws, budgets, paid invoices, up-to-date membership rosters, meeting notes, strategic plans, project and event plans, officer position descriptions, and other historical files are great things to have for effective operations and leadership continuity. Here are some helpful tools for your chapter to keep and maintain a budget and assist with financial planning:

• SVA’s Chapter Budget Worksheet
• SVA’s Virtual Chapter Toolkit
• Intuit and QuickBooks

We do not recommend paying for marketing. The creation and management of a Facebook page and other social media platforms should suffice. That said, chapters are free to make these types of decisions autonomously, be sure to evaluate your chapter budget and discuss if this is the best use of funds.

While it’s appropriate to anticipate future funding, the budget should only reflect funds that have been received and are in hand.

We do not provide graduation regalia; however, chapters are encouraged to work with school administrators to approve graduation regalia for student veterans and/or SVA Chapter members.

Unfortunately, there is no magic bullet to throwing an event. The best thing to do is start small, manage your expectations, and gather as much information form chapter members regarding the types of events they would like to attend. After action reviews will help you understand what went wrong and how to correct these mistakes when planning future events.

Maintaining an alumni program is challenging because alumni live very different lives than students. Many SVA Alumni have relocated, and most have taken on professional positions within their respective careers that demand much of their time. The first step to gaining alumni engagement is understanding this fact and working around it. For example, instead of expecting alumni to attend an in-person meeting, provide a way for them to dial in virtually. Invite SVA Alumni to happy hour events that take place after regular work hours. It’s likely easier to encourage alumni to attend a weekend event when they most likely are not working. Be sure to include and articulate the description of “Alumni Members” to establish a culture among the chapter, so they see their affiliation to the SVA Chapter as a lifetime membership.

Poor event planning is a common mistake made by many chapters. Event planning mistakes include not allowing enough time to plan an event, underestimating the cost, and one person trying to plan everything by themselves instead of delegating responsibility among chapter members. Sometimes chapters will plan events that the President thinks is a good idea. Just because the President believes it's a good idea doesn't mean it's a good idea. Chapter leaders need to seek advice from the membership base and the broader campus community.

The planning timeframe for an event depends on the size of the event. It’s best to reverse engineer by envisioning what the event will look like, and then think about how much time it will take to make each component come to fruition. It’s best to allow yourself more time than you think you need first and then tweak this timeframe during the after-action review.

It’s up to the chapter to determine an appropriate number of regular meetings held each semester and establish a meeting schedule. Have a discussion among the leadership and consider polling chapter members.

The best way to get local leaders to attend your event is to keep them informed of all the positive things your chapter is doing. Set up a meeting with them; you may have to go to them a few times before they come to you. Do your homework, research what that individual stands for, feels strongly about, or regularly advocates for, and show them how you can support their cause.

In most cases, being a registered student organization (RSO) provides coverage of the school's 501 C3 status for fundraising purposes. Before forming outside entity status, be sure to connect with SVA National Headquarters and your school.

SVA National Headquarters provides tools to assist student veterans with professional development. Leverage SVA’s Professional Development Community to introduce, develop, and connect student veterans and Student Veterans of America chapters to career and professional development opportunities provided by alumni, mentors, sponsors, industry experts, and employers. In addition to the Virtual Chapter Operations Toolkit, LinkedIn’s Veteran & Military Programs provide access to the LinkedIn Learning library. A few recommended LinkedIn Learning courses are “Translating Your Military Skills to Civilian Workplace”, Transition from Military to Civilian Employment, and the Transition from Military to Student Life learning paths.   Indeed’s Veterans & Military Resources is a powerful job search engine. Indeed is the world’s #1 job site. It is working with SVA to connect student veterans to a suite of resources and available opportunities. Indeed’s Military & Veterans Programs has put together a comprehensive resource guide on job seeker info and options amidst the COVID-19 pandemic for veteran job seekers.   VMock is an online resume review tool that leverages technologies like data science, machine learning, and natural language processing to provides instant personalized feedback on your resume.   Veterati is a free mentorship platform for Service Members, Veterans, and Military Spouses to access unlimited mentors.

There is currently no legislation that addresses this issue. That said, SVA supports equalizing the Post-9/11 GI Bill and VR&E subsistence rates. We provided the following testimony on the issue during a Joint Hearing before the House and Senate Committees on Veterans Affairs on March 3, 2020: Currently, VR&E has two different housing rates. One is the rate of the Post-9/11 GI Bill MHA benefit and one that is substantially lower and based on several factors, such as the rate of attendance, number of dependents, and training type. Many student veterans have shared concerns about not being able to afford basic necessities while pursuing their VR&E individualized training and education plans. These concerns are echoed in the 2014 GAO report on VR&E, which acknowledges veterans may discontinue their education plans because of financial pressures. Moving the subsistence rate to one rate reduces bureaucracy, eliminates confusion, and creates better parity for service members and veterans with service-connected disabilities using VR&E.

A Better Decision Process: The Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB) was a premier veterans education benefit for years, but today the Post-9/11 GI Bill is typically the more generous benefit for most veterans. The MGIB, nevertheless, continues to enroll tens of thousands of service members each year, ultimately costing them 12 months of reduced pay. Most service members never use the benefit, and many never receive refunds for what they pay in. Service members continue to participate in the MGIB largely because they are forced to decide whether to opt-out within just the first few days of their service. SVA strongly believes, that given the appropriate time and information, most service members will easily conclude that the Post-9/11 GI Bill is the better benefit. That is why we support H.R.7952, the Veterans Benefit Enhancement and Expansion Act of 2020, which would delay the MGIB decision for service members until six months after they enter initial training and then provides them with up to 90 days to weigh the costs and benefits of participating in the MGIB. Potential Additional Benefits for some Veterans Veterans who are entitled to certain other VA education benefits must make an irrevocable decision to give up those benefits in order to use the Post-9/11 GI Bill. A new court case, Rudisill v. Wilkie, may change that requirement for individuals with multiple periods of qualifying service. The Plaintiff in the case, Rudisill, had multiple periods of service that qualified him for both the MGIB and Post-9/11 GI Bill. Rudisill used several months of his MGIB benefits prior to deciding to use his Post-9/11 GI Bill. When Rudisill chose to use his Post-9/11 GI Bill, VA only granted him benefits for the number of months he had remaining through his MGIB before he waived it. Rudisill argued that his separate periods of qualifying service made him eligible for full Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits. The court agreed concluding the law allows veterans with multiple periods of service to “receive entitlement under both programs subject to a 36-month cap on utilization of each of the two separate programs and a 48-month cap overall.” It further explained that the “statutes require neither relinquishment nor exhaustion” of MGIB benefits prior to using the Post-9/11 GI Bill. It is important to note this is not a fully resolved situation. VA has appealed the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. If the decision stands, only certain veterans – those with separate periods of qualifying service – will be able to use both the MGIB and Post-9/11 GI Bill up to each program’s individual cap of 36 months for a cumulative total of 48 months of GI Bill benefits. It is not clear at this time if or how the decision would apply to veterans with a single period of service or whether the VA has the capacity to administer the benefit in a way that is consistent with the lower court’s ruling.

The President signed H.R.8337 on Wednesday, October 1st. This legislation extends the current pandemic-related protections for military-affiliated students found in Public Law 116-140 (H.R.6322) and Public Law 116-128 (S.3503). This includes the protections that ensure students continue to receive their full their MHA even if their courses have been converted to online status. The protections have been extended for an additional year and are now set to expire on December 21, 2021.

Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E) subsistence allowances are paid much the same way that MHA is paid under the Post-9/11 GI Bill. Payments are based on the number of days a student is enrolled each month and prorated accordingly. Subsistence allowances, like Post-9/11 MHA, are not paid for breaks between terms (quarters, semesters, etc.).

The recent pandemic protections for student veterans authorized in bills S. 3503 and H.R.6322 allowed remedial courses converted from ‘in-residence’ to ‘distance’ to be certified as ‘in-residence’ until December 21st,2020. With the passage of the continuing resolution, H.R. 8337, on October 1st, these protections have been extended until December 21st, 2021. For more information on VA’s policy on this issue, please refer to their COVID-19 FAQs.

Veterans who were last discharged or released from active duty before January 1, 2013, must use their Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits within 15 years of their discharge or release. There is no time limit on the use of Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits for those last discharged on or after January 1, 2013.

Values-based leadership requires a well-rounded values set, but out of the ones we discussed, I think humility is the most foundational to success. Having a healthy sense of humility – and the ability to view others around you with respect and equality – is critical to both leading your peers and being open to growth and development in your own abilities.

Bring them along! The best thing you can do for potential future leaders is to include them in as much as possible: include them on planning calls, ask them to do tasks that help you plan and prepare for things, help them feel empowered to do take on a leadership role when you’re gone by showing them the ropes.

This can be tough, especially if you know your personality values that kind of appreciation. I've found it useful to establish personal and team goals and tying them to a celebration once you met the goal. For example, if your chapter meets its goal to hold at least two events this semester, include a way to intentionally celebrate this achievement. For example, host a chapter leader dinner or a virtual class you'd all enjoy. It gives you something to look forward to that isn't tied to external factors. Also, I'd encourage you to have a difficult but honest conversation with the individual that's making you feel that way. Pointing out specific examples and how it impacts your team's morale can help them understand how you are feeling. Most people want to be good leaders; we all need a little help in seeing our own weaknesses sometimes.