Wading in the Sea of Goodwill

“How we touch people throughout our country [in] this sea of goodwill, who want to help our people and their families…we have got to figure out a way to do that.” – Admiral Michael Mullen, United States Navy

Before there was the CAN Portal, there was the Yellow Ribbon Network or YRN. Established in 2011, The Yellow Ribbon Network (YRN) was a collaborative platform supporting the transformation of the military and Veteran experience through information and technology. As a mission-driven nonprofit, the YRN offered a unique depth and breadth of expertise in financial innovation, multiple counseling channels, housing solutions, workforce development, healthcare information, and education tools. Each YRN pillar informed research and analytics to advise leaders, stakeholders, and influencers on best practices through the advancement of technology.

Throughout the history of the YRN, the network delivered key insights, metrics and measures to nonprofit partners, for-profit services providers, employers, and government officials. With the committed partnership of Prudential, MetLife, NTT Global, and others, the YRN served as the access point for community providers who focused operations on military & Veteran families through all phases of deployments and transition to civilian life. The YRN included thousands of individual users, nonprofit partner organizations and community service providers across the United States and 9 countries.

How the pandemic exposed the need for a new way forward

As a result of the COVID-19 national crisis, the YRN partnered with several organizations that had little to do with the military community. Tens of thousands of organizations were forced to close, many of whom would never open their doors again due to the lack of preparation for remote management. By offering a remote access workspace to better suit employees for work from home, the YRN answered the call for many organizations. There was an obvious need for a new way forward. The Coordinated Assistance Network was born out of that new inclusive strategy.