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Advancing The Line for Veterans & Families
2025 Impact Report | ATLVets
Advancing The Line for Veterans

Impact Report

2025

Inspiring veterans to build the foundation of success — and empowering them to become the backbone of society after the uniform.

ATLVETS
▲ Advancing The Line for Veterans ▲

A Word From the Founder

2025 Was the Year the Line Moved.


When I started ATLVets, I wasn't trying to build another veteran charity. I was trying to build the development system the military forgot to create for the day after you take the uniform off — the one I went looking for, and couldn't find.

2025 was the year that vision stopped being a promise and became an institution. We brought more than 16,000 veterans, family members, and supporters into our rooms — at workshops, summits, speaker events, and sessions across the country. We placed our first veteran into ownership of a multimillion-dollar company. We launched our mobile platform, putting the full Leadership Institute in the pocket of every veteran with a phone, including the rural veteran a hundred miles from the nearest resource.

We also did the unglamorous work that real institutions require: we built a board with teeth, formalized our governance, stood up a development engine, and started laying the groundwork for a permanent home — a Center of Excellence that will outlast all of us.

Twenty-two veterans a day still take their own lives. That number does not move because of awareness. It moves when organizations grow fast enough, fund well enough, and lead well enough to meet the scale of the problem. That is the standard we hold ourselves to.

This report is the account of what your belief made possible in 2025 — and an invitation to what comes next. The line is moving. Help us keep advancing it.

Zack A. Knight
Founder & Chair, ATLVets  |  U.S. Army Veteran, Bronze Star Recipient

The Year in Numbers

A Year of Scale and Standard.


16,000+
Veterans, family members, and supporters engaged in 2025 across every ATLVets workshop, summit, speaker event, and session — in person and nationwide.
Programs Operating
6
Distinct programs under the ATLVets Leadership Institute — entrepreneurship, workforce, women's leadership, men's development, and spiritual resilience.
Of Every Dollar Raised
89%
Of all funds raised in 2025 went directly to programs supporting veterans' professional development and growth.
First-of-Its-Kind
$11M
Revenue of the company a veteran was placed into as owner/operator — our first ownership placement through Patriot Growth Capital.
Single-Event Reach
1,000+
Attendees at our largest speaker events, headlined by four-star generals and nationally recognized authors and leaders.
Now Live
1
National mobile platform on the Apple App Store and Google Play — extending the full Institute to veterans anywhere, including rural communities.
Markets With Presence
3 + national
Atlanta, Tampa, and Dallas anchored physical programming, with nationwide reach through virtual delivery, podcast, and app.

Figures reflect total 2025 engagement across all ATLVets programs, events, and community activity. Financial figures are drawn from ATLVets' 2025 fiscal year (Jan 1–Dec 31, 2025). "89% of every dollar raised" reflects program expenditures measured against total funds raised in 2025.

Who We Are

Built for the Veteran Who Led at the Highest Level.


ATLVets is a 501(c)(3) veteran leadership development organization — designed by a veteran, for veterans. We are purpose-built for the mid-management and executive-level veteran: the one who wore rank, led teams, and executed complex operations, and is now navigating a civilian landscape that routinely underestimates them.

We are not a food pantry. We do not process benefits claims. We build leaders. Where most transition resources are designed for the 22-year-old leaving a four-year enlistment, ATLVets serves the veteran who gave 15 years or more — and still has decades of high-performance leadership left to give.

Our Mission

To empower veterans, first responders, and their families to achieve professional success, build businesses, develop whole-person resilience, and advance the line — in their careers, their communities, and their lives.

The Operating Architecture

Built on Five Pillars

Every program, cohort, and event maps back to one or more of these five foundational pillars — the framework for whole-person development.

M
Marketing
Own your story without the uniform
M
Mindset
Lead yourself before you lead others
M
Movement
Discipline built into daily life
M
Money
Financial intelligence for operators
M
Ministry
Heal the head-and-heart connection

The Leadership Institute

Six Programs. One Standard.


In 2025, all ATLVets programming consolidated under the ATLVets Leadership Institute — a single, scalable identity that delivers a consistent experience whether a veteran engages in Atlanta, Tampa, Dallas, or remotely by phone. Every program is built on one principle: give veterans the operating system to lead at the executive level — in business, at home, and in community.

Flagship · Entrepreneurship

Senior Leader Track

Our most senior tier — a cohort-based ownership-readiness program for founders scaling companies and veterans pursuing business acquisition through Patriot Growth Capital. This is where leadership experience becomes equity.

Workforce Development

VetOPS

Veterans Optimizing Professional Success — the flagship career-acceleration program for mid-management and executive veterans. Individualized roadmaps and direct employer connections. Built for veterans done competing for entry-level roles.

Women Veterans Cohort

Beyond The Uniform

A dedicated cohort for women veterans building leadership, community, and career momentum — purpose-built, not a modified men's program. For the woman who refuses to be invisible, underpaid, or underestimated. Under licensed clinical oversight.

Men's Development

Heroic Forge

A structured, accountability-driven cohort for male veterans — not a support group. Faith-integrated growth, brotherhood, and the deliberate work of rebuilding identity, discipline, and purpose. Tackles moral injury head-on, under licensed clinical oversight.

Spiritual Development

Resilience & Reflection

A chaplain-model spiritual resilience program — inclusive of all faiths, modeled on the military chaplaincy. Healing, reflection, and reconnection for veterans carrying the moral and emotional weight of service. Voluntary and never conditioned on belief.

Sector Workforce

AMP — Advanced Manufacturing

A sector-specific pathway connecting high-performing veterans with manufacturing employers who value military operational discipline. Blended, modular delivery structured as an operational system — not a traditional training class.

From Workforce Readiness to Wealth Creation

We Don't Just Train Veterans. We Make Owners.


The defining difference of the ATLVets model is what happens at the top of the pipeline. Through our partnership with Patriot Growth Capital (PGC), we don't just prepare veterans for jobs — we place them into ownership of established, revenue-generating businesses.

$11M
In November 2025, ATLVets completed its first placement — a veteran family member stepped in as owner/operator of an $11 million revenue company. A landmark proof point for the Senior Leader Track model.

This is the difference between workforce readiness and genuine economic mobility — one of the most powerful and underfunded gaps in the entire veteran-services ecosystem. ATLVets is closing it.

2025 Milestone: The Patriot Growth Accelerator

On October 28, 2025, the City of Roswell signed a Letter of Intent with Patriot Growth Capital and ATLVets to explore a veteran-led innovation accelerator — a hub for veteran leadership, defense technology, cybersecurity, and healthcare innovation. It builds directly toward the shared vision of a Veteran Center of Excellence.

The partnership also returns a recurring revenue share to ATLVets each quarter — a sustainable, earned-income engine that grows with the work, reinvesting the success of veteran ownership directly back into the mission.

2025 In Action

The Line Moving, Quarter by Quarter.


From intimate retreats to thousand-person events with four-star generals, 2025 was a year of consistent, visible momentum across our markets and our community.

Throughout 2025
VETLANTA Summits & Speaker Series
Quarterly summits and a monthly speaker series across Atlanta and Tampa convened veterans, employers, and community leaders — including a Q3 summit spotlighting women veteran leaders and a PACT Act & Wellness seminar.
Year-Round
Sweat With a Vet
Monthly community workouts — including activations at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and with Lululemon — drew veterans willing to drive three-plus hours just to be in the room.
Spring 2025
Spartan Race Activation
An activation day and competitive race connecting participants to operational fitness culture and team cohesion that mirrors the discipline of military training.
2025
BATL Biz Summit & First Annual Retreat
Our flagship business conference brought entrepreneurs and corporate partners under one roof; the inaugural ATLVets Retreat delivered a full weekend of deliberate development to a founding cohort.
Nov 2025
First PGC Ownership Placement
A veteran family member placed as owner/operator of an $11M revenue company — proof of the Senior Leader Track model in action.
Oct 28, 2025
Roswell Accelerator Letter of Intent
The City of Roswell formalized a Letter of Intent with PGC and ATLVets to explore the Patriot Growth Accelerator — a major step toward a permanent Veteran Center of Excellence.
2025
ATLVets App Goes Live
Launched on the Apple App Store and Google Play — program enrollment, community, events, career board, and the 22 a Day dashboard, accessible to any veteran with a phone.
2nd Annual Soiree
Erik Williams Launches Breach the Darkness
At the ATLVets Soiree, Purple Heart and Bronze Star recipient Erik Williams launched the Breach the Darkness Initiative — a foundation built to reach veterans in crisis. He didn't just attend an event; he changed the trajectory of his mission.
ATLVets gave me the platform, the community, and the push I needed to launch what I'd been carrying for years.
Erik WilliamsU.S. Army Special Forces · Purple Heart & Bronze Star Recipient · Founder, Breach the Darkness Initiative
The team put together an awesome production. I can't wait to come back to Atlanta and keep Advancing The Line.
Jack CarrRetired Navy SEAL · New York Times Bestselling Author

Stewardship

Where Every Dollar Goes.


We hold ourselves to the same standard we ask of the veterans we serve: discipline, accountability, and results. In 2025, 89 cents of every dollar raised went directly to programs that develop veterans.

89% — Direct Program Support
Program delivery, events, mentorship, and veteran development
Operations & administration

Total funds raised grew significantly year over year as ATLVets transitioned from episodic, event-driven fundraising toward a systematic, pipeline-managed development operation — supported by a restructured board, a dedicated Development Committee, and a CRM-based donor engine built in 2025.

Institutional Validation

2025 Grant Funders

ATLVets secured grant support in 2025 from institutional funders whose confidence reflects the rigor of our model and the credibility of our leadership:

Goldman SachsLeadership Institute & Veteran Entrepreneurship
CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen)Leadership Institute & Veteran Entrepreneurship
A Differentiator Few Can Match

Our men's and women's cohorts operate under licensed clinical oversight, qualifying them for behavioral-wellness funding streams. Paired with a private-equity placement partnership, a national career board, and a mobile-first rural-access platform, ATLVets offers layers of fundability most veteran nonprofits cannot touch.

Financial figures reflect ATLVets' 2025 fiscal year. "89 cents of every dollar raised" reflects 2025 program expenditures measured against total funds raised in the same period. Grant funders listed reflect 2025 institutional support; amounts not disclosed.

The Ecosystem

We Don't Do This Alone.


ATLVets is a node in a deliberately built veteran ecosystem. Our partners, supporters, and collaborators expand the entire sector's impact — not just our own metrics. This is the difference between a program and a movement.

Corporate & Institutional

  • Patriot Growth Capital — placement partner
  • Goldman Sachs — grant funder
  • CLA — grant funder
  • Natson Hotel Group — Soiree host partner
  • Invited Clubs — speaker series
  • UPS — corporate partner & venue
  • Daniel Defense — corporate partner
  • BENS Southeast — executive network
  • Comcast Military — supporter

Community & Mission

  • VETLANTA — co-venture & summits
  • Merging Vets & Players
  • Grey Bull Rescue — operational partner
  • Shepherd Center — wellness partner
  • Georgia Tech VET2 — academic
  • Georgia Dept. of Veterans Service
  • CareerServe / Brandywine Cares
  • Metro Atlanta Chamber
  • VFW Atlanta · Vets 2 Industry

On Our Stage in 2025

Featured Leaders & Speakers

From four-star generals to bestselling authors, ATLVets curates conversations that matter: Gen. David Petraeus (USA, Ret.), Adm. James Stavridis (USN, Ret.), Jack Carr (Navy SEAL / author), Michael J. Coles (founder, Great American Cookie Co.), MG Bill Gayler (USA, Ret.), Ryan Hendrickson (Special Forces, Purple Heart), and Lindsey Streeter (Bank of America) — among many others across Atlanta and Tampa.

What Comes Next

The Mission Deserves a Permanent Home.


In the military, there is always another schoolhouse — boot camp, AIT, Ranger School, War College. The institution always exists. ATLVets is building the civilian equivalent: a permanent Center of Excellence that houses every Leadership Institute program under one roof, generates earned revenue, and makes this mission institutional rather than organizational.

The building is the commitment made concrete. In 2026, we open the campaign to bring it to life — and we are inviting the partners who believe in what veterans become next to build it with us.

$22 / month
Join the 22 Initiative · Hero Tree
One dollar for every veteran lost to suicide each day. 100% funds veteran programs. Cancel anytime.
Corporate & Foundation Partnership
Sponsorship, program funding, and Center of Excellence naming opportunities — direct access to a national veteran leadership network.
Major & Legacy Giving
Be among the first to shape the Center of Excellence and a permanent home for the mission. Conversations welcome now.
ATLVETS.ORG  ·  INFO@ATLVETS.ORG  ·  (404) 494-0557  ·  EIN 92-0351235

Stay tuned for more and let us know how we can assist you!

Are you ready to Advance The Line?