Project Got Your Back Serves Those Who Served

by Daniel Huss | Nov 2024

iStock/SDIProductions

Nonprofit helps veterans connect to programs.

“I think it’s the perfect name, and I wished I would have thought of it,” says Paul Davis, executive director of Project Got Your Back. “It’s descriptive and matches what we do.” The nonprofit, based in Bloomington, connects veterans with services with the mission of “connecting the unconnected.” As Davis says, “Resources are available, but not everyone knows what’s available.”

What are our Minnesota veterans looking for when it comes to resources? Employment opportunities top the list. Davis notes the topics of mental and physical health concerns are real, as are needs for legal services. Questions regarding navigating the Veterans Administration are commonplace. “We don’t have all the answers, but we’re really good at directing and navigating,” he says.

Project Got Your Back is a rebranding of the Veteran Small Business Foundation, an organization founded in 2013. “It started as an organization that helped veterans start their own businesses,” Davis says. Veterans seeking other types of help altered that focus. “We had to do more and rebranded in 2020–21, just before the pandemic,” he says.

Austin Timm, a former U.S. Army engineer officer, connected with Project Got Your Back through a military network. “My relationship with Paul was pivotal in my hiring at Boston Scientific,” Timm says. He, in turn, began giving back to the program—first as a navigator (volunteer) since 2021 and then serving as board member since 2023.

The Project Got Your Back model works by pairing navigators, like Timm, with clients (veterans), including some in the Lake Minnetonka area. This professional relationship lasts for a year. To date, over 50 navigators have served nearly 150 clients. “Connecting isn’t tough when you find your organization,” Timm says. “What’s tough is finding your organization.”

Funding has to come from somewhere to keep the nonprofit on its feet. Programming is funded by sponsors and fundraisers. “We’re self-supporting and don’t charge for services,” Davis says. Last year, Project Got Your Back’s primary fundraiser resulted in a Guinness World Record for the number of individuals simultaneously floating on pool noodles. The memorable event, proceeded by a boat parade, was held on Lake Minnetonka’s Browns Bay in front of a contributor’s home.

“We smashed the old record,” Davis says. “We needed 235 [floaters] and finished with 330. It was so much fun … We’re incredibly grateful to the Lake Minnetonka community for rallying together to break a Guinness World Record …”

This year’s main event, which happened in September, was billed as R&R on the Ramp. Held in south St. Paul, the day’s activities featured teams of four to six Project Got Your Back supporters, hand-pulling a B-25 bomber down a runway. This is not an easy feat—empty B-25 bombers weigh 21,100 pounds.

There are multiple donors from the lake area, and Davis is grateful for their contributions. “Support from the local community is the single most critical component in being able to provide our life-changing services to local veterans and their families for absolute zero cost,” he says. “We truly appreciate their participation and support.”