HONOR GUARD GRANT PROGRAM DETAILS

Any group that provides veteran honor guard services for a veteran interned within the State of Oklahoma, or whose funeral services are held within the State of Oklahoma.  This includes honor guards associated with the VFW, American Legion, tribal groups, or any other groups providing these services.  However, the group applying must have its own E.I.N. as grant payments will be made to the group and WILL NOT be made to any individual.

Go to the Oklahoma VFW Foundation website (www.okvfwfoundation.org) and click on the link for Honor Guard Grants.  At the top of the website, on the right side there is a drop down menu that says “MORE”, the Honor Guard Grants page can be access from that drop down menu.  (APPLICATION IS AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS WEB PAGE.)  All information in the application should be filled out completely, including:

 • Organization Name:  The name of the organization providing the service, this will be who the Grant is paid to.

 • Organization Address, Phone and Email:  The full mailing address where the grant should be sent.  Also, the name, phone number and email address of the contact person applying for the grant must be provided should the OK VFW Foundation have additional questions.

 • Organization EIN:  Only organizations with an E.I.N. number are eligible for the Grant.  Grants will NOT be issued to private individuals. 

• Location and Date of Service:  The specific location of the service provided by the Honor Guard, such as the name of the funeral home or other facility, the name of the cemetery, and the city that it is located.  Only services provided within the State of Oklahoma are eligible.  Also, the service must have been provided within thirty (30) days of the of the application being submitted to be considered.  (Applications can only be submitted AFTER the service has been provided.) 

• Name of Veteran:  The name of the departed veteran for whom the services were provided. 

• Services Provided:  List all of the specific service provided, including (but not limited to) rifle salute, flag folding, playing of Taps, etc. 

• Names of Participants:  Provide the first and last name of all those who participated in the services listed in the Services Provided item. 

• OPTIONAL:  If the Honor Guard has pictures from the service, they can attach them to the application.  This is NOT a requirement.

The purpose of the grants is to help offset some of the costs that Honor Guards incur.  The Grant amounts were established to allow for the OK VFW Foundation to provide as many grants as possible with the resources available to it.  As resources available increase, the OK VFW Foundation Board will reconsider grant amounts.  

An Honor Guard will be awarded a grant of $10.00 per person who participated in an eligible service to a maximum of $50.00 per service. 

To ensure the Oklahoma VFW Foundation can fund as many services as possible, certain limitations have been put in place.  As funding availability increases, the Foundation Board may lift or change these limits.

 • Only one grant will be awarded for a specific service.  If multiple Honor Guards provide services at one service, only the first application submitted from that service will be considered. 

• Any one Honor Guard can only receive a maximum of ten (10) Grants during a calendar year.  

NOTE:  IF ALL FUNDING FOR THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN AWARDED, THE OK VFW FOUNDATION RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SUSPEND THIS GRANT PROGRAM UNTIL ADDITIONAL FUNDING IS AVAILABLE. 

Only funeral services which take place within the State of Oklahoma qualify for the OK VFW Foundation Honor Guard Grant, which does include services provided at funeral homes and cemeteries or other locations where the memorial service may be held.  To qualify, the Honor Guard must provide at least one of the following:  

   Rifle Salute

   Folding of the Flag

   Playing of Taps

The Original Grant Program started March 1, 2022.  The Grant Program has been revised increasing total grants from $25 to $50 per service and limits per year were increased from 6 to 10.  The Grant Program as stated above has an effective date of November 1, 2023, meaning Honor Guards can start applying as of November 1, 2023 for any services performed within the last thirty (30) days.  Any changes to the Grant Program will be clearly communicated.  Please email the Foundation at okvfwfoundation@outlook.com with additional questions on this Grant Program.

Since establishing an Honor Guard Grant Program in 2022, the OK VFW Foundation has issued 15 grants totaling $625 funding 75 volunteers providing Honor Guard services for veterans' funeral services in Oklahoma.

The following veterans were laid to rest with Honor Guard Services with the assistance of the OK VFW Foundation:

Adams, Kenneth

Clark, Donald

Cook, John

Dodson, Dustin

Foster, Morris

Ganger, Eugene

Holsten, Theodore

Leonard, Ronnie

Martinez, David M. 

Mikels, Danny

Mortimer, John

Musgrave, William

Nail, Ryan

Renner, Max Joseph

Underwood, Vernon