Veterans Benefits Information

With the government shutdown creating a critical need of monetary assistance for active-duty U.S. Coast Guard members, The American Legion is working with Coast Guard Mutual Assistance to provide immediate financial support through the Legion’s Temporary Financial Assistance (TFA) program.

American Legion TFA grants help minor children in the home of active-duty servicemembers or current American Legion members with assistance for the costs of shelter, food, utilities, clothing, and health expenses during times of financial need. The grants help keep the children in a more stable environment during a time of hardship. To provide expedited assistance to Coast Guards members during the government shutdown, American Legion National Headquarters has authorized the use of an abbreviated TFA application for use with active duty Coast Guard members only with minor children in the home, and only for the duration of the current government shutdown.

The Coast Guard Mutual Assistance has these abbreviated applications, as well as American Legion departments.

TFA provides one-time grants of up to $1,500 per eligible household. Once National Headquarters has received and approved a TFA application for a Coast Guard member, a check will be overnighted directly to the family in need.

If you are an active-duty Coast Guard member with a minor child in the home and are in need of an American Legion TFA grant during this shutdown, please contact Coast Guard Mutual Assistance or your American Legion department or local post. For a list of departments and posts, please click here.

Questions on eligibility or how to apply for a grant may be directed to (800) 504-4098.

The normal American Legion TFA application is available for the minor children of military and veteran families in need of financial assistance. For more information on how to receive assistance, please click here.

American Legion National Commander Brett Reistad will now award his "Membership Excellence: Team 100" incentive pin to any Legion Family member who renews six Legionnaires for the 2019 membership year.

“While it’s essential for all of us to continue recruiting, it’s just as important to renew our members,” Reistad said during his remarks to the Membership and Post Activities Committee in Indianapolis last Friday. To increase renewal rates, Reistad emphasized that “engagement is the key to renewals. Engagement is particularly important when we’re dealing with DMS members and members that have signed up through our website. If you are not engaged with them and put them into a local post, they are not going to renew."

The commander’s incentive pin also will continue to be awarded to any Legion Family member who obtains three new members into The American Legion. A new member is any eligible person joining for the 2019 membership year who was not a member of The American Legion during the 2018 membership year.

Download the renewal form here or at www.legion.org/commander/pin.

Leading candidate for national commander James W. “Bill” Oxford of North Carolina added that “we need to ensure the renewal of every member … can we do it? I know we can. The future of The American Legion depends on it. It depends on us.”