Project Got Your Back Helps Veterans Connect to Programs

by Daniel Huss | Dec 2024

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“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 (PGYB). “It’s descriptive and matches what we do.” The nonprofit, based in Bloomington, connects veterans with services. 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.

PGYB 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.

Plymouth resident Ben Eby, a former member of the U.S. Air Force and an active member of the Air Force Reserves, initially found out about PGYB online. “Just like any veteran that gets out of the military, the first thing that you miss is your military camaraderie, and I wanted an opportunity to give back,” Eby says. As a navigator since 2022, Eby says he felt like the position was an opportunity to continue to serve.

The PGYB model works by pairing navigators, like Eby, with clients (veterans), including some in the Plymouth area. This professional relationship lasts for an entire year, during which time the navigator connects clients with resources they might have otherwise been unaware of. You don’t know what you don’t know, which is why Eby finds PGYB so helpful. “It’s connected me to so many veterans that are outside of the military now and have found a way to be successful,” he says, adding that those connections expedite how quickly veterans joining the program can achieve success themselves.

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, PGYB’s primary fundraiser resulted in a Guinness World Record for the number of individuals simultaneously floating on pool noodles. The memorable event, preceded 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 … ”

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 PGYB 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 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.”