We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jason Graven. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jason below.

Jason, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What do you think it takes to be successful?

Being successful generally requires two things, belief in oneself and belief in the mission. If you believe in both yourself and the mission you can overcome most obstacles.

Jason, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I grew up in Northwest, OH and was raised by a single mother after my father, a US Army Veteran, committed suicide in 1987. Two weeks after the attacks of 9/11, I enlisted in the United States Army.

I attended Basic Training and Advanced Individualized Training at Ft. Leonardwood, MO and, upon completion of training, was stationed at Ft. Hood, TX as part of the 64th MP Company, 720th MP Battalion. I would be deployed as part of the initial invasion force into Iraq in March 2003 and would return to the United States in March 2004. I was awarded the Army Commendation Medal for my service in Iraq and was medically discharged in December of 2004.

After service, I attended the University of Toledo beginning in the fall of 2005. Here, I would become a founding member of the University of Toledo Campus Military Veterans organization and would later be elected twice as President of the organization from Fall 2006-Spring 2008. This organization would later become the University of Toledo Student Veterans of America chapter in 2009. The UTSVA would be one of the earliest chapters of this organization that now has almost 1,600 chapters nationwide. As President, I organized a collaboration between the chapter and local church to send care packages overseas to deployed troops still serving in the Middle East and hosted meetings with fellow student veterans to discuss the needs of student veterans on campus.

I achieved a Bachelor’s of Arts in History in 2009 and would return to the University of Toledo in 2010 to pursue a Master’s in Business Administration with a specialization in Marketing. After achieving my MBA in 2012, I would accept a position at The American Legion Department of Ohio state headquarters in Delaware, Oh as Internal Affairs Director, later becoming the Director of Membership & Marketing. During my time at The American Legion, I would win multiple awards from the National American Legion Press Association and would be co-founder of the University of Akron American Legion Post 808. This American Legion Post would be the first of its kind in that it was entirely student veteran led. Post 808 would be deemed the “future of The American Legion” in the national American Legion Magazine. The Post was featured multiple times and in 2014 was the fastest growing Post in the country having grown from the original 19 members to 160 in two years.

In 2016, I founded the nonprofit organization Task Force 20 with the goal of funding physical fitness for US Armed Forces Veterans as a healthy option in dealing with symptoms of PTSD and depression. Since 2016, Task Force 20 has assisted roughly 150 Veterans with paid-in-full gym memberships, personal training, camaraderie building events and intramural sports. Task Force 20 has won two Toledo ‘Addy’ Awards from the American Advertising Federation, Best of Show in 2020 and Best Mosaic in 2023. Multiple stories have been done on the organization that now hosts the Operation: Stronger Together 5k and Gaven A. Smith Veteran Resource Fair in Whitehouse, OH in recognition of PTSD Awareness Day every June, as well as, the Veteran Awards Banquet of NW Ohio and SE Michigan every September. Both events are intended to highlight what others are doing to help the Veteran community.

In 2019, I accepted the Military Program Coordinator position with Bowling Green State University, returning back to NW Ohio. In 3+ years, BGSU’s rank in the Military Times Best For Vets has risen from a high of 24th to 2nd in the nation as the 2nd best four year university in the nation for veterans to attend. However, I attribute much of this to the foundation laid by the others in the position before me. I was selected as the Chapter Advisor of the Year in 2021 by the Student Veterans of America organization bringing his SVA experience full circle from an early founder to the top award in the nation. In 2022, the BGSU SVA Chapter he advised was selected as a Chapter of the Year Finalist (top 5) out of almost 1,600 chapters nationally.

I attribute my passion for serving my fellow brothers and sisters-in-arms to my time with the University of Toledo Campus Military Veterans Organization during my undergraduate education. I have continued to use my experiences and platforms to try and better the lives of my fellow Veterans and make their service-to-student-to-civilian transitions easier. I continue to assist the UTSVA through Task Force 20 by funding a golf outing in 2018 for UT student veterans by and donating $2,000 in 2022 and 2023 each to help those students attend the SVA National Conference in Orlando, FL.

I am now the Assistant Director of a TRIO Veterans Upward Bound program that assists low-income first-generation veterans with career counseling and access to higher education.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I think what has best helped me to build a reputation in the veteran services market is raw authenticity. Veterans are routinely treated as cash cows in many ways. People know that many veterans come with benefits, whether it be VA education benefits, VA home loans, VA Disability, etc. and many times fall victim to being preyed upon. This has created an immediate distrust for veterans. By being authentic in who I am and the struggles I faced, it breaks down the ‘wall of vulnerability’ and allows the veteran to be open about their own struggles and we are more easily able to direct the veteran to the benefits and resources that can best serve them.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

In the nonprofit world, you have to work with a lot of volunteers, especially in the beginning, to host fundraisers and events. It is important to understand that these individuals are dedicating their time, efforts, and many times money, so making sure they both enjoy what they are doing and find value in their contribution is imperative. It is not always easy because many tasks are just simply not that much fun and that’s where you have to make sure that value in completing those tasks and how it impacts the organization and the beneficiaries is also understood.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.tf20.org
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TaskForce20/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-graven-mba-80526635/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqXANWzwhKjBpnSoc9hi9MQ

Image Credits
Asia Woodmancy-5k Photos Ruben Kappler-Banquet Photos