Call of Duty Endowment
Non-profit placing veterans into high-quality careers.
Call of Duty Endowment · via Wikipedia: Call of Duty Endowment · CC BY-SA 4.0
The Call of Duty Endowment (C.O.D.E.) is a nonprofit foundation classified as a 501(c)(3). It was co-founded by Bobby Kotick, who was then CEO of Activision Blizzard, and General James L. Jones, Jr., a retired four-star general in the U.S. Marine Corps. The foundation works to help military veterans in the U.S., and later the U.K., secure high-quality jobs. It does this by funding organizations that assist former service members in moving into civilian careers and by promoting the skills veterans bring to the workplace. Its name comes from the *Call of Duty* video game series.
The idea for the Endowment came from a 2009 discussion between Kotick and former VA Secretary Jim Nicholson. Nicholson argued that creating jobs for veterans was a better use of resources than building a performing arts center on VA grounds. Kotick then learned that at the time, 50,000 of the 150,000 service members returning to civilian life were unemployed. He and General Jones formally launched the Endowment on Veterans Day 2009. Its first grant, for $25,000, was made in 2010. Between 2009 and 2011, the Endowment gave out several small and medium grants but paused its grant-making after the board struggled to measure their impact.
In 2012, the Endowment funded its 1,000th veteran job placement. General Jones was formally introduced as co-founder, bringing decades of military and government experience. In 2013, the Endowment hired retired Navy Captain Dan Goldenberg as executive director and shifted its strategy to fund only organizations with proven success in placing veterans. That same year, it launched the "Seal of Distinction" grant program, which uses a rigorous assessment process developed with Deloitte to evaluate nonprofits. Organizations earning the Seal receive a $30,000 unrestricted grant and become eligible for larger future funding, typically over $500,000 annually.
By 2014, the Endowment had placed more than 20,000 veterans cumulatively, with over 10,000 placed in a single year for the first time. Its first in-game fundraiser, the Badass George Washington Xbox Theme, launched in August. In 2015, the Endowment partnered with Treyarch on the “Be a Zombie in Call of Duty” campaign, winning the Halo Award from Engage for Good. Treyarch also released the first in-game personalization pack for the Endowment, the *Call of Duty: Black Ops III* C.O.D.E. Warriors Pack.
Quick Facts
- Formation
- 2009
- Purpose
- Veterans services
- Headquarters
- Santa Monica, California
- Region Served
- United States, United Kingdom
- Key People
- Dan Goldenberg, executive director · Bobby Kotick, founder and co-chairman · General James L. Jones, USMC (Ret.), co-chairman
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The Call of Duty Endowment originated in 2009 from a conversation between Bobby Kotick and former VA Secretary Jim Nicholson, who redirected Kotick's focus from a performing arts center to veteran job creation. Kotick discovered that 50,000 of 150,000 returning service members were unemployed, leading him to co-found the Endowment with General Jones on Veteran's Day 2009. The first grant of $25,000 was made in 2010, but early grant-making slowed due to difficulty measuring impact.
In 2012, the Endowment funded its 1,000th veteran placement and formally introduced General Jones as co-founder. In 2013, CAPT Dan Goldenberg was hired as executive director, and the Endowment shifted strategy to support only proven organizations, launching the Seal of Distinction grant program with Deloitte to assess nonprofit effectiveness. By 2014, cumulative placements exceeded 20,000, with over 10,000 in a single year. The Endowment expanded to the United Kingdom in 2017, partnering with RFEA and Walking With The Wounded.
Throughout the 2010s, the Endowment raised funds through in-game content packs created by Activision studios such as Treyarch, Infinity Ward, and Sledgehammer Games, as well as through NFL My Cause, My Cleats partnerships. By 2021, cumulative placements exceeded 90,000 veterans.
Reader's Guide
The Call of Duty Endowment's significance lies in its direct, measurable impact on veteran unemployment and underemployment, a problem it addressed by funding only rigorously vetted non-profits through its Seal of Distinction program. Its legacy includes pioneering the use of video game in-game purchases—such as character packs and themes—as a fundraising mechanism, generating both revenue and awareness among a younger, gaming audience. The Endowment also expanded its model internationally to the United Kingdom, demonstrating scalability. By partnering with military officials, game developers, and sports figures, it normalized corporate and public engagement with veteran employment. Its policy papers, such as the 2017 collaboration with ZipRecruiter, contributed to public discourse on underemployment. The Endowment's approach—combining rigorous grant-making with popular culture—offers a replicable template for cause-related marketing and philanthropic impact in the entertainment industry.
Did You Know?
- The Endowment was inspired by a conversation between Bobby Kotick and former VA Secretary Jim Nicholson, who said building a performing arts center on VA grounds was 'stupid' compared to finding jobs for veterans.
- The first in-game fundraiser was the Badass George Washington Xbox Theme launched in August 2014, featuring art by Jason Heuser.
- In 2019, the Endowment partnered with the U.S. Army Esports team to launch the C.O.D.E. Bowl, the first transatlantic military esports tournament.
- By 2021, the Endowment had funded the placement of more than 90,000 veterans cumulatively.
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