EXPEDITIONARY VETERANS ASSOCIATION INC

My name is Jacob Cruz-Ratliff, and I am the Founder/Owner of Expeditionary Veterans Association (EVA), which is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempted veterans charity organization. I served in the U.S. Army from 2000-2004 and w/ a combat tour in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003; I am a 100% Disabled Combat-Veteran due to my military service. Well that is enough about me, let’s talk about the real reason I am reaching out to you. EVA was started to assist Veterans that have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and to assist them in organized outdoor types of activities with other Veterans that suffer from PTSD. Two to Four times a week, year-round, we host mountain bike trips in hopes to help these Veterans adjust back into society to include making new friendships as they once did while serving in the military.

We hope that our organization can provide a better way of life for them. As for now the County of San Diego, CA and County of Riverside, CA is where EVA Headquarters is currently located, in hopes to spread to other regions in California within the coming years. In January 2023, we opened our newest location in Las Vegas, Nevada and hopefully in 2024, we will hopefully be opening our Tennessee/Kentucky locations.

With our recent business expansion into Las Vegas, Nevada we are hoping to find a local bike shops and bike industry companies that will be willing to establish a business a relationship, where EVA and you business will benefit from each other’s collaborations. This would mean we would work directly with you with event planning, donations for events, discounts, and referrals from all our veteran clientele to include, but not limited to social-media platforms, friends, and family as well. If you desire to establish this business relationship with our organization, I will make myself readily available for open communications to discuss a cooperative business plan.

Funding is strictly by donation, and therefore this Proposal for Sponsorship request was developed. Whatever product is donated, discounts provided, services, or funding is provided, will be used to the purchase of recreational equipment required to successfully host events that will provide treatment therapy to those Veterans suffering from PTSD.

Most of our therapy rides are exploring XC, All-Mountain, and Enduro/DH type trails, but we also have members that have become EVA ambassadors and racing many times a year in SoCal Enduro Races, Big Bear-Snow Summit DH Races, and Mammoth Mountain DH Races and of course local races; to include races that are held in Las Vegas, NV. All of which we are proud of backing them and many of them never used to mountain bike before joining Team EVA and now are amateur racing.

In October 2023, we made progress by purchasing a 2015 Ford Transit 150, which will help stack-up more Vets to transport with their gear and take rides with us to our recreational therapeutic activities. With the assistance of our current MTB sponsors and both our sales rep. and the sales/finance manager, who by the way was a USMC Desert Storm Veteran, we were able to finally make this purchase. This van was equipped with almost everything we needed. Even though we would love to have purchased a brand-new van, we couldn’t because of limited funding, but we can’t complain because this is truly a blessing as it will help our organization do big shuttle bike trips to therapy rides. This passenger-van will pick-up EVA members and is loaded with bikes to be taken out to EVA recreational therapy treatment sessions all over Southern California.