The
1783
Project
Forging the next generation of veteran entrepreneurs — from the warriors who secured a nation to the warriors who defend it today.
From the warriors who secured this nation’s freedom to the warriors who defend it today, Project 1783 exists as a single, steady proposition: that the discipline forged in service can build the next generation of American ventures — ventures that serve, ventures that endure, ventures that return.
We are a North Dakota nonprofit, doing business as HUCK, underwriting veteran entrepreneurship, mental-health research, and the communities of those who serve and have served — built and led by veterans themselves.
Interlude.
FROM THEN TO NOW
The same oath,
two and a half centuries on.
The musket gave way to the rifle. The tricorn to the helmet. The line of battle to the convoy and the kinetic strike. But the call is the same: stand for the people who cannot stand for themselves, and return home with a debt that ought to be repaid in opportunity.
Project 1783 is what that repayment looks like — built with and for the warriors who carry the burden today.
OUR CHARTER
Three forges,
one fire.
Art I.. ENTERPRISE
Veteran Entrepreneurship
Seed capital, joint-venture partnerships, mentorship, and SBIR pathways for ventures led by those who have served.
The work falls into three steady forges. Each stands alone; together they are a single fire — kept by veterans, for those who serve and will serve.
Art II. RESEARCH
Mental-Health & Recovery
Underwriting addiction-recovery and mental-health initiatives in the communities that need them most.
Art III. WORKSHOP
Prototyping & Labs
Hands-on innovation labs near service-member communities, equipped with advanced manufacturing and legacy hardware reborn for new missions.
Article II.
Whowe are.
Project 1783 — doing business as HUCK — is a North Dakota nonprofit dedicated to strengthening veteran entrepreneurship and mental-health research through education, service, and a deliberate community of practice.
- i.Veteran-led startups
- ii.Veteran support organizations
- iii.Veteran nonprofit organizations
- iv.Mental-health & addiction-recovery research
“We are your huckleberry — the right team to stand with your mission, your idea, your venture.”
Article III.
AN OLDER QUESTION, THE SAME ANSWER
Why 1783?
MDCCLXXXIII
1783 was the year the Treaty of Paris ended the Revolutionary War
— the moment the United States first faced a question it still carries today:
“What happens when warriors return home?”
Project 1783 exists to answer that question for the modern era — by ensuring those whose service forged a nation can now forge their own ventures, their own families, and their own futures
Article IV.
HOW WE OPERATE
A hybrid of incubator
and innovation lab.
Tenet 1.
Flexible, Veteran-Led Support
By veterans, for veterans. Seed funding, joint-venture partnerships, expert consulting, and mentorship — each entrepreneur receives the right instrument at the right moment.
Tenet 3.
Strategic Partnerships
Standing relationships with the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory, the Naval Postgraduate School, and DoD innovation programs — opening doors to SBIR grants, accelerators, and federal procurement.
Take the dynamic, collaborative ethos of a venture incubator. Fuse it to the mission-driven creativity of a defense innovation lab. Lead it with veterans. That is the instrument
Tenet 2.
Innovation Labs & Prototyping
Workshop spaces near the people we serve, outfitted with advanced manufacturing, electronics benches, and donated legacy equipment recommissioned for new ends.
Tenet 4.
Broad and Inclusive Scope
A combat medic's healthcare startup. A police officer's safety device. A military spouse's social enterprise. The drive to serve takes countless forms — all worthy of a hearing..
Partner Spotlight
A VETERAN-OWNED COMPANY WE PROUDLY SUPPORT
Black Flag BAS
BOTANICAL AID STATION
Black Flag BAS — short for Botanical Aid Station — is a veteran-owned company producing herbal medicine and providing direct support to veterans navigating PTSD and mental-health recovery.
Their work is exactly the kind of mission Project 1783 exists to amplify: founded by those who served, built for those still carrying the weight, and rooted in plant medicine and community care that meets veterans where they actually are.
We are proud to stand with Black Flag BAS — providing capital, mentorship, network access, and the steady backing of a veteran community that believes in the work.
“Veterans helping veterans heal — the oldest medicine there is.”
Article V.
THE RECORD
Measured in lives.
Since the founding, the project has put direct support behind veteran entrepreneurs and seeded the research that strengthens veteran mental health.
3
Veteran startups funded through grants and seed capital.
200+
Project resources delivered into veteran hands.
4
Mental-health and addiction-recovery initiatives backed.
A Community-Centric Practice
Stories built to honor the spirit of service.
i.
Rooted in Real Needs
Programs designed alongside the veterans they serve, informed by lived experience and refined through community feedback.
ii.
Learning by Making
Hands-on workshops, mentorship circles, and prototyping intensives that translate military expertise into market-ready ventures.
iii.
Veteran Led Throughout
Veterans, first responders, and their families occupy every level — from the board and the bench to the maker’s table.
Article VI.
AN INVITATION
Help Veterans Build the Future
Every founder backed, every prototype built, every research dollar directed — extends the legacy of service. Stand with the veterans, first responders, and families carrying that torch forward.