National Veterans Network

What National Veterans Network does

National Veterans Network (NVN) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established in 2010 to educate current and future generations about the legacy of Japanese American soldiers — the Nisei — who served in the U.S. Army's 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, and Military Intelligence Service during World War II. The organization operates from a P.O. Box in Torrance, California, with 1–10 employees, and is fiscally sponsored by the Tides Center (Federal Tax ID #94-3213100). Its mission centers on promoting equality and justice by surfacing the lesser-known history of Nisei service alongside the wartime incarceration of Japanese American families.

NVN's core products are educational and commemorative rather than technological. The portfolio includes: (i) the 'I Am An American: The Nisei Soldier Experience' — a 1,800-square-foot traveling exhibit launched in San Francisco in February 2026 that will tour 11 U.S. cities over five years, featuring approximately 40 historical objects, 120 historical photos, 70 personal stories, three interactive programs, and two audio-visual kiosks; (ii) the permanent Nisei Soldier Experience exhibit at the National Museum of the U.S. Army in Fort Belvoir, VA; (iii) the Smithsonian Nisei Soldier Congressional Gold Medal digital exhibition, produced with the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center and the National Museum of American History; and (iv) a K-8 curriculum developed with the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center and Teaching Tolerance, which has reached roughly 360,000 readers. Supporting programs include the NextGen video series, the #IAmAmerican social media campaign, and community presentations at schools, veteran organizations, and cultural institutions.

The business model is donation- and grant-driven rather than commercial. Funding sources named include individual donations (processed via Classy), the National Park Service Japanese American Confinement Sites Grant, and corporate sponsorships. Go-to-market is event-driven: NVN secures anchor partnerships with premier museums (Smithsonian, National Museum of the U.S. Army, JANM) and then leverages community presentations, traveling exhibits, teacher training institutes, and earned media to scale reach. The organization does not license commercial products and has no public revenue disclosure. NVN's primary audiences are general public visitors, K-12 educators, museums and cultural institutions serving as exhibition hosts, and the Japanese American veteran and descendant community whose stories anchor the programming.

Name

National Veterans Network

Legal name

National Veterans Network

Website

https://nvnvets.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

National Veterans Network (NVN) is a Torrance, CA-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that educates the public about Japanese American Nisei soldiers who served in WWII via a Smithsonian digital exhibition, an 11-city traveling exhibit, a K-8 curriculum, and museum partnerships with the National Museum of the U.S. Army and JANM.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Historical Education and Commemoration (Nonprofit)

NAICS

Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Veterans Affairs & Military Family Services (BPAIAHAL)

Keywords

• Historical education programs
• Museum traveling exhibits
• K-12 history curriculum
• Veterans commemoration services
• Nonprofit educational outreach

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: The National Veterans Network operates as a non-profit organization funded primarily through donations and grants. The organization is fiscally sponsored by the Tides Center, a 501(C)(3) nonprofit organization with Federal Tax ID #94-3213100.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The National Veterans Network is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization that develops and disseminates educational content about Japanese American WWII Nisei soldiers. Its core offerings include a national traveling exhibition ('I Am An American: The Nisei Soldier Experience'), a permanent exhibit at the National Museum of the United States Army, the Smithsonian digital exhibition, K-8 classroom curriculum with teacher training, and commemorative programs tied to the Congressional Gold Medal. The organization is fiscally sponsored by the Tides Center and funded through donations, grants, and sponsorships.

Product overview

The National Veterans Network operates a portfolio of educational and commemorative products focused on preserving and sharing the legacy of Japanese American WWII Nisei soldiers. The core offerings include the 'I Am An American: The Nisei Soldier Experience' traveling exhibit (an 11-city national tour), the Nisei Soldier Experience special exhibit at the National Museum of the U.S. Army, the Smithsonian Digital Exhibition featuring soldier stories, and K-8 curriculum with teacher training developed in partnership with the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center. Supporting products include the Congressional Gold Medal program and its national tour, the NextGen video series for youth engagement, and the #IAmAmerican social media campaign. These products work together to educate the public about the service of the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, and Military Intelligence Service.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• I Am An American: The Nisei Soldier Experience Traveling Exhibit An 11-city national traveling exhibition presenting the extraordinary heroism of Japanese American WWII Nisei Soldiers. The exhibit visits partner museums across the U.S. over a five-year period starting from San Francisco in February 2026, with stops planned in Honolulu, Los Angeles, Portland, and other cities. It is targeted at museums and cultural institutions and their visitors.
• Nisei Soldier Experience at National Museum of the U.S. Army A special exhibit at the National Museum of the United States Army in Fort Belvoir, VA showcasing education and public programs highlighting Nisei Soldiers and the Congressional Gold Medal, featuring objects and artifacts from the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, and Military Intelligence Service. The museum reached 750,000 visitors at the Nisei Soldier Exhibit.
• Smithsonian Nisei Soldier Congressional Gold Medal Digital Exhibition An object-based educational digital exhibition created in partnership with the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center and Smithsonian National Museum of American History, featuring life stories of twelve Nisei soldiers who served while their families were incarcerated. The digital exhibition has received 2,000,000 views and is hosted at cgm.smithsonianapa.org.
• Teacher Training and K-8 Curriculum Elementary and middle school curriculum developed in partnership with the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, including teacher training institutes for educators to incorporate Japanese American WWII Nisei Soldier stories into classroom lessons. Targeted at K-12 teachers and school districts.
• Congressional Gold Medal National Tour A seven-city tour of the Congressional Gold Medal featuring original medals, wartime photos, and objects displayed at prominent history museums nationwide, including the National World War II Museum, Bishop Museum, and Japanese American National Museum. Targeted at museums and the general public.
• NextGen Video Series A virtual video series where next-generation Japanese Americans learn about their WWII heritage through historical objects, featuring collaborations with Olympic Gold Medalist Kristi Yamaguchi and families discovering their family legacy. Targeted at younger audiences and the general public.

Quantifiable outcome

• 18 million+ people educated across the country and around the world
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Smithsonian InstitutioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNVN partnered with the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center and Smithsonian National Museum of American History for the digital exhibition and Congressional Gold Medal tour. The Smithsonian displays reach 4 million annual visitors and 2 million online views.
• National Museum of the United States ArmycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNVN collaborated with the National Museum of the U.S. Army to create the Nisei Soldier Experience special exhibit and the traveling exhibition I Am An American. The museum, located at Fort Belvoir, VA, opened in 2020.
• Army Historical FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Army Historical Foundation is the official foundation of the National Museum of the United States Army, responsible for fundraising and operational support. They are presenting partners for the traveling exhibition.
• Tides CentercoreOthersNVN is fiscally sponsored by the Tides Center, a 501(C)(3) nonprofit organization. The Tides Center provides administrative and organizational support for the non-profit.
• Japanese American National MuseummajorGTM or Marketing PartnerJANM hosted the Congressional Gold Medal Tour stop in Los Angeles (May-June 2013) and will host the traveling exhibit (March-June 2026).
• U.S. Japan CouncilmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerThe U.S. Japan Council co-hosted the Legacy of Courage dinner to honor 21 Nisei Medal of Honor recipients at the National Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington, Texas.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Japanese American National Museum (JANM): Larger, established national museum in Los Angeles covering Japanese American history, including the WWII incarceration and Nisei soldier experience. JANM has hosted NVN's Congressional Gold Medal tour and the upcoming 'I Am An American' exhibit, making it a partner-as-well-as broader incumbent.
• Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center: Smithsonian unit that co-developed NVN's digital exhibition and curriculum; broader pan-Asian American scope but directly comparable in mission to preserve Asian American history through exhibitions and education.
• Japanese American Citizens League (JACL): Larger, longest-standing Asian American civil rights and heritage organization with chapters across the U.S., running educational programming that intersects NVN's civic-mission and Asian American history educational work.
• Wing Luke Museum: National Asian Pacific American museum in Seattle with exhibits, educational programs, and curriculum on Asian American history — comparable programmatic mix (traveling exhibits, K-12 resources, community engagement) on a broader Asian American scope.

Others

• Pritzker Military Museum & Library: Chicago-based military history museum and library; has collaborated with NVN on video content and is comparable as a military-history educational institution producing exhibits, video, and public programming — adjacent rather than directly competing.

Direct peers

• Go For Broke National Education Center: National nonprofit explicitly dedicated to educating about the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd RCT, and MIS — the exact same WWII Japanese American units NVN focuses on. Highly comparable mission, audience (educators, descendants, general public), and programming mix of exhibits, curriculum, and commemorations.
• Military Intelligence Service Association of America (MIS-AA): Veteran-community organization specifically for MIS Nisei alumni and families — directly overlapping on the same soldier cohort, with commemorative events, oral history, and educational programming.
• Densho: Major Japanese American incarceration and WWII oral-history archive and education organization with digital exhibitions, K-12 curriculum, and teacher training — directly overlapping NVN's storytelling, K-12, and digital exhibition products on closely related subject matter.

Emerging players

• National Japanese American Historical Society: Operates the MIS Learning Center at the Presidio and is represented on NVN's advisory board; smaller organization with closely overlapping Japanese American WWII military history focus and curriculum.
• Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation: Education nonprofit tied to the Heart Mountain incarceration site, producing curriculum, teacher training, and an annual pilgrimage — overlapping with NVN on incarceration-context education and K-12 resource distribution.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ntlvetnetwork
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCo6A5uiYDs_Hl5x0eekldkw
• Facebookfacebook.com/NationalVeteransNetwork
• Instagraminstagram.com/nationalveteransnetwork/?hl=en
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/national-veterans-network

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about National Veterans Network