On September 8, 2017, Activision Blizzard announced that it would be expanding its Call of Duty Endowment program to the United Kingdom. The US-based charitable fund is designed to help veterans find high-quality employment. The private, non-profit organization was founded in 2009 by CEO of Activision Blizzard, Bobby Kotick. The fund was initially established in the United States with the intention of aiding organizations with the placement of 25,000 veterans in jobs by the end of 2018.
The fund managed to meet that goal two years early and set a revised goal of placing 50,000 veterans by 2019. The fund is providing more than £19 million pounds in funding and other support to other non-profit organizations. To date, the non-profit has helped to place more than 37,000 United States veterans into full-time positions with an average 2016 starting salary of £42,000.
The fund has aided veterans obtain more than £1.3 billion in first year salaries. It has also helped veterans prove their value in the civilian workplace. With the expansion to the UK, the non-profit will attempt to forge partnerships with several UK charities, which will be announced in the coming months.
To fund the programs, Activision has announced a new package for the Call of Duty: Black Ops III title. The Call of Duty Endowment Double Duty Calling Card has now been made available in the United Kingdom. All proceeds generated by Activision will go towards the Endowment program.