Awards and Recognition
Since The Mission Continues opened in 2007, the organization has been consistently recognized as a highly innovative and effective organization. Our Fellows, volunteers and donors have made a significant investment of their time and resources in The Mission Continues, working to fundamentally change the way our nation welcomes home our veterans. Thanks to these dedicated individuals, the following awards and honors have been bestowed on the organization over the past two years:
Civilian Job News "Top 40 Under 40 Military
Associate Development Director of Individual and Corporate Giving, 
Tony Bryan was named as one of Civilian Job News' "Top 40 Under 40" service members.
Civilian Jobs News (CJN) is a bi-monthly multi-media publication featuring information for military job seekers and advice from transition experts. CJN is distributed to military bases worldwide.
Business Civic Leadership Center's Best Partnership Award Finalist
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Business Civic Leadership Center named Target and The Mission Continues finalists for the Best Partnership Award, as part of their Corporate Citizenship Awards program. Target and The Mission Continues were recognized for their collaboration to strengthen the connection between the military and civilian communities through 15 community service projects on Veterans Day 2010.
Splashlife "30 Under 30 Civic Leader"
Mission Continues Chief Strategy Officer, Mary Yonkman, was named one of Splashlife's "30 Under 30: Civic Leader". Splashlife's award recognizes the 30 most prolific civic leaders under the age of 30 across the nation. These leaders fight to ensure that this country and its citizens are the best they can be.
Splashlife serves as a resource group for rising young Americans. They offer content to rising leaders that help improve their lives and the lives of others.
St. Louis Business Journal "30 Under 30"
In 2009 and in 2011 the St. Louis Business Journal awarded two of our staff members the "30 Under30"award. The award recognizes top young community news makers in the St. Louis area. Our Chief Operating Officer, Paul Eisenstein, won the award in 2009 and our Director of Special Projects, Lyndsey Hodges, won the award in 2011.
Social Venture Network
In 2011, Social Venture Network, a leading netwo
rk of entrepreneurs and investors, announced Eric Greitens and The Mission Continues as one of its 2011 Innovation Award winners. This award recognizes the most promising social ventures and innovative entrepreneurs working to build a more just and sustainable world.
"SVN's 2011 Innovation Award Winners clearly demonstrate that business can solve our most pressing social and environmental problems. We are thrilled to be honoring these incredible leaders," said Deb Nelson, SVN’s Executive Director.
New Profit Inc. 
In March 2011, New Profit, a highly selective venture philanthropy fund, announced a significant investment of funding and strategic support in The Mission Continues. New Profit exists to help innovative social entrepreneurs and their organizations dramatically improve opportunities for children, families, and communities. Since 1998, with the support of individual investors and its signature partner, Monitor Group, New Profit has helped a portfolio of social entrepreneurs build their organizations and scale their social impact.
With this investment, The Mission Continues joins some of the most innovative social organizations in the country that have expanded significantly with New Profit’s support, including Teach For America, KIPP Schools, Year Up and Health Leads (formerly Project HEALTH). The Mission Continues is the first veteran’s organization to join the New Profit portfolio.
Target's Best of Bullseye Award for Collaboration
In 2011, The Mission Continues received Target's Best of Bullseye Award for Collaboration. Target awards the Best of Bullseye to recognize partner organizations that champion collaboration on marketing initiatives, skillfully adapt their understanding to fit the situation, and go above and beyond to make the working relationship transparent to Target.
During the award presentation, our partners at Target stated, “Eric and The Mission Continues have helped Target build stronger and more meaningful relationships with military leaders and communities, and for that, we are extremely grateful." The Mission Continues looks forward to further collaboration with Target in the coming months.
Manhattan Institute's Social Entrepreneurship Award
In November 2010, The Mission Continues was honored with the prestigious MISE award, which recognizes the organization as one of the five most socially innovative organizations in the country. The Mission Continues was nominated by supporter Jim McCausland, father of Fellow Casey McCausland.
In Jim's application, he stated, "The Mission Continues allows our nation to actively do something more than just pray or post a bumper sticker for our military and veterans. This organization is actively transitioning our post-9/11 veterans' lives from a mission of war to one of hope and strength through service."
Major League Baseball and PEOPLE Magazine "All-Stars Among Us" Award
Mission Continues CEO Eric Greitens was recognized as an "All-Star Among Us" at the 2010 MLB All-Star Game. One American was chosen to represent each MLB team, recognizing his/her incredible contributions to their communities. Because of the incredible work and support of Mission Continues volunteers, Eric was chosen as the awardee for his hometown team, the St. Louis Cardinals.
Watch a video featuring Eric and The Mission Continues shown at the All-Star Game.
Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation
In 2009, The Mission Continues was recognized with a highly selective Draper Richards Fellowship. The Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation provides selected non-profit organizations with funding of $100,000 annually for three years. The Foundation only awards six fellowships per year so they can fully engage with their portfolio of grantee organizations. A Draper Richards Fellowship recognizes The Mission Continues' ability to create significant social change in a sustainable and scalable way.
National Conference on Citizenship HOOAH Award
As part of the NCoC's ongoing efforts to support and promote the importance of service in all of its forms, the organization annually recognizes a veteran who defines citizenship through service to our country, both in uniform and beyond. CEO Eric Grietens was the first recipient of this award in 2009.
Better Business Bureau Accredited Charity
The Mission Continues has met all 20 Better Business Bureau Standards for Charity Accountability. The BBB Seal ensure donors that The Mission Continues has demonstrated excellence in how we govern the organization, how we spend our money, the truthfulness of their representations and our willingness to disclose basic information to the public.
