That’s precisely the issue. As a military reservist, it quickly became evident that many of the existing military-friendly awards are either deeply flawed in their methodology or, at worst, just pay-to-play schemes lacking real substance. Most of them are primarily focused on veteran hires, which, while important, do nothing to support those of us still actively serving in the Reserves.
As of June 2024, we’re a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization. We initially started as a private company, but as our mission evolved, it became clear that we aligned better with the nonprofit sector.
The National Guard and Reserve account for around 37% of the total military force. We are essential to maintaining military readiness and sustaining the All-Volunteer Force. Reservists also bring valuable civilian expertise to the military and vice versa. If financial strain forces Reservists to stop serving, it will create a significant national security issue that will affect everyone.
We use a variety of methods: open-source research, direct engagement with HR representatives, and leveraging our extensive network of Reservists. However, the process is more complex than it seems. The devil is in the details—we dig deep and ask critical clarifying questions to fully understand each organization’s policies. Policies can change, and sometimes we’re provided inaccurate information, so we encourage the community to contribute and help us keep the data up to date and accurate.
We built it from the ground up! Nothing like it existed before Friendly Forces. Drawing from our team’s collective experience of working at various organizations while serving as Reservists, we saw firsthand the wide range of support offered. This led us to develop a scale that distinguishes between employers, from those that are good to those that go above and beyond in supporting Reservists.