Dave Rutherford Show: The Veteran Debt Crisis Is WORSE Than People Think

Dean Goble (0:00)

We paid off his medical debt, and the only thing he talked about was the relief that his children had because he became a better person. So he didn't even still didn't even make it about himself, even though it was directly impacting him, he still only cared about the effects that it was having on his family. And talking about like, yeah, he's like, literally the next week I went and applied for a loan to get my son a truck. And I was like, dude, that is so cool, you know? He's like, I would have never got approved to get anything like that.

So, yeah.

Dave Rutherford (0:30)

Did you know that there is $382 million of veteran debt just at the VA alone? Well, today, I'm welcoming the Director of Philanthropic Endeavors at Black Rifle Coffee, Mr. Dean Goble, to the show to tell you how they're taking care of it. Today on The David Rutherford Show.

Dean, man, this is going to be one of the coolest shows I've ever been on in my life. I know it because there's nothing more that means something to me that people that dedicate their life to really helping our brothers and sisters in a struggle. And so, you guys, this program at Operation Debt of Gratitude has been going for two years. You guys started it with Bear, the CEO of Born Primitive, or he started it two years ago. You guys joined him last year. You raised 11 million the first year, 35 last year. Where are you right now and what's coming up? So everybody can get fired up about this.

Dean Goble (1:40)

Yeah, yeah, we kick off officially here on November 6th. Excited about that. You know, we we set our goal, you know, this year to hit $35 million again. So that's what we're starting.

Obviously, we hope that we exceed that, but we at least wanted to improve a little bit. But yeah, it's just it's it's coming together so well. You're working with Bear and team over there. And we obviously have an amazing crew here at Black Rifle and seeing everybody get behind it. You know, we've, as we were chatting earlier, a lot of lessons learned from last year. So like, hey, how do we do this? So we we added it. So if you wanted to, you know, when you check out, when you buy something at Black rifle.com or born primitive.com, you know, you can actually add another ten dollars to it to kind of help us raise additional funding and stuff. But yeah, it's just it's amazing seeing it really come together. And I'm super excited for it. I just it's something I look forward to every year. And just to kind of see the team and collectively everybody get behind it. It's just been epic.

Dave Rutherford (2:42)

Yeah, one of the things that I think a lot of civilians don't know. And, you know, God bless American civilians and patriots in this country. Without them, you know, so many challenges would go unnoticed in our communities. And they really are the backbone of this this philanthropic push for sure. But I think and as I go out there and talk about this pretty religiously in my day job, you know, one of the things I really come to realize is that people don't understand that there are about 42,000 Veterans charities out there. And, you know, and I know you've seen this. We're just chatting a little bit about it.

What in your mind is kind of the gold standard for you as you guys approach philanthropic endeavors at BRCC?

Dean Goble (3:38)

Yeah, I mean, that's a great question. And, you know, we did, you know, and I'm very grateful for it. But, you know, I collect all the impact data and the testimonies. And I'll be honest, the only thing I really give a shit about at the end of the day is did we affect somebody's life in a positive way? Because everybody's different, you know, and that's really all I care about. And I love the organizations who keep the follow up. I think that it's easy to kind of come in, not easy, I shouldn't say that, but it's easier to come in and kind of slap a bandaid on something. But when you see organizations that are there through thick and thin and for years that continue to readdress and continue to help and support, and you can legitimately see this person's life improving over the years, that's like my true measurement. And that's what I ask for. Some of the specific things we do on helping people.

I like to chat with them in person if they'll allow me to, and I like to gather that. And I like to just get their experiences. And then, I mean, selfishly, that helps me with my job, because then I'm like understanding, like, okay, this Ivy game thing, they're on to something here, you know? I'm hearing good feedback. And once you always get your third party feedback and everything, but I like to go directly to some of the sources and hear exactly what they're saying.