STORY 02 · CLOSED OCT 2024
Ryan Murphy, U.S. Army
Around Town Movers · Sterling, VA
Kept every one of the 10 employees he inherited and has since grown the team to 19.
THE 2026 YEAR-END MISSION
One Veteran.One Business.One Gift.
We prepare Veterans, Service Members and Military Families to buy an existing, profitable small business that strengthens local communities.
$10,000 gives one Veteran a full year of acquisition education and 1:1 counseling through the search for the right business, at no cost to the Veteran. Help us sponsor 21 more by December 31.
WHY THIS MATTERS NOW
We've raised $40,000. Let's finish the mission.
Thousands of profitable local businesses have no successor, which means that more local communities are at risk of losing these valuable community assets each year. Our Veterans are educated, professionally prepared and ready to lead them. By making a year-end gift you will help carry a Veteran from our Buyer Base Camp training through the business search process, all the way through to loan funding and acquisition.
11businesses acquired by OIH Veterans
400+Veterans enrolled in Buyer Base Camp
~2,000Veterans educated through webinars and 17 university partners
85¢of every dollar goes directly to Veterans through our programs
THE CHALLENGE
6MU.S. small businesses will face an ownership transition by 2035 as their owners retire. Today, more than 9 in 10 small businesses that exit simply close their doors.1
Over halfof Veteran business owners are 65 or older, and fewer than 1 in 10 are under 45. Their businesses need a next owner.2
11% → 8.1%Veteran ownership of U.S. businesses with employees fell from 11% to 8.1% in just six years, from 2014 to 2020.2
1 McKinsey Institute for Economic Mobility, The Great Ownership Transfer (2026). 2 U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy, Deconstructing the Change in Veteran Business Ownership (2023).
THE OIH ANSWER
Veteran ownership.
Our Veterans are professionally prepared and ready to lead these businesses into the future, strengthening communities by keeping local jobs, trusted services and hard-earned legacies in place.
- We prepare the next owners. Buyer Base Camp trains Veterans, Service Members and Military Families to find, finance and run an existing, profitable business. It is free, so their savings stay at the closing table.
- We connect them with sellers. We help owners, including aging Veteran owners, sell their business to a Veteran ready to lead it. Refer an owner
- We stay through the close. Advisors, lenders and acquisition experts carry each Veteran from the search to loan funding and acquisition.
WHAT YOUR GIFT BUILDS
The Veteran's path through Base Camp
Participants pay nothing for the program.
Your gift covers it.
Our programs are free for Veterans, Service Members and Military Families, so they can keep their savings for the closing table. Military service is verified with a DD214 or proof of service.
STEP 1
Get Trained
A buyer readiness assessment and 30 hours of Base Camp training.
STEP 2
Build Your Team
One-on-one time with an OIH M&A advisor and interviews with acquisition experts.
STEP 3
Get Search Ready
A defined acquisition target, refined and ready for an active search.
THE FINISH LINE
Search Readiness Certification
Trained, SBA-ready and searching for the right business, with a team behind them.
OPERATOR STORIES
11 Veterans. 11 Businesses.
Every one of them started at Buyer Base Camp, where over 400 Veterans have enrolled.
STORY 01 · 2025
"Owners In Honor gave me the resources, expert guidance, and genuine friendship I needed to turn an unaffordable ETA plan into successfully buying a franchise and owning my own business."
NICHOLAS BELLENBAUM
CHIEF PETTY OFFICER (SEAL), USN (RET.) · BUSINESS BUYER
HomeWell Care Services (two territories) · Alpharetta, GA · Closed September 2025
BASE CAMPFELLOWOPERATOR
STORY 03 · CLOSED NOV 2025
Alex Clark, U.S. Army
Maine Wood Concepts · New Vineyard, ME
"It offers Veterans like me a chance at the American dream we helped defend."
STORY 04 · CLOSED MAR 2026
Joe Coppo, U.S. Army
Sentry Consulting Group · Fairfax, VA
"The guidance was tailored to my specific situation. I kept waiting for the catch. There wasn't one."
STORY 05 · CLOSED MAY 2026
Josh Peters, U.S. Army
Communication Associates · Springfield, MO
"Do not go into the trenches alone. Let them help you secure the finish line."
THE NEXT STORY
The next Veteran owner starts with your gift.
More Operator stories are on the way. Your gift helps write the next one.
"I'm proud to support Owners In Honor because it turns military service into enduring economic opportunity: empowering veterans to become owners, preserve American businesses, and build resilient communities long after the uniform comes off."HON. PATRICK J. MURPHY
$10,000
Sponsors one Veteran for a full year
Business acquisition education
1:1 counseling through the search and evaluation of a business
Every gift, at any amount, goes toward the next Veteran's year.
OUR THANK-YOU TO YOU
Every donor is thanked by name on the Donor Wall and receives a special thank-you from Owners In Honor. Donors are recognized at these levels:
Veteran SponsorSponsors a Veteran's full year
$10,000+
Monthly SustainerGives every month
ANY MONTHLY GIFT
Mission DonorJoins the year-end mission
EVERY GIFT
Our thank-you is a token of appreciation of insubstantial value, so your full gift is tax-deductible as allowed by law.
Want to get involved as a corporate partner?
Our corporate, regional and allied partnerships put your company beside Veteran owners all year long.
EXPLORE PARTNERSHIPS →Giving by ACH, check or wire? Email leah@ownersinhonor.org.
THE DONOR WALL
Thank You to Our Donors
Every name here helped a Veteran get closer to ownership in 2026. 0 donors and counting.
Veteran Sponsors
$10,000 AND UP
Monthly Sustainers
EVERY MONTH
Mission Donors
EVERY GIFT
NOMINATE A VETERAN
Know a Veteran who'd like to buy a business?
Nominate a Veteran, Service Member or military family member who wants to own an existing business. We'll reach out, explain how Buyer Base Camp prepares them to acquire one, and invite them to apply.
Open to Veterans, Service Members and Military Families
Military service is verified with a DD214 or proof of service
No cost to apply and no program fees, so their savings stay at the closing table
REFER A BUSINESS OWNER
Know someone who wants to sell a business?
Most owners never plan for what comes next, and too many great businesses close for good. We help owners plan an exit that protects their legacy, their employees and their community, often by selling the business to a Veteran ready to lead it.
For Veteran owners and any owner who wants their business to go to a Veteran
We'll reach out and point them to the right next step
Every conversation is confidential
The road to December 31
OCT 1
The mission launches
Our year-end campaign begins: $250,000 to prepare the next Veterans for business ownership.
NOV 11
Veterans Day
Give in honor of a Veteran in your life.
DEC 1
Giving Tuesday
Join the global day of giving. Help us welcome new donors to the mission and share this page with someone who believes in Veteran ownership.
DEC 31
Mission complete
Last day for a 2026 tax-deductible gift.
OUR MISSION
To equip Veterans, Service Members, and Military Families to acquire, steward, and transition existing small businesses, preserving American legacy and building long-term economic strength for families and communities.
LEARN MORE AT OWNERSINHONOR.ORG