American Legion Endowment Fund Corporation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
356039680
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Indianapolis, IN, USA
Phone
3176301229
Rating
67
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Military, Veterans' Organizations

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,142,910
Expenses
$507,965
Assets
$20,759,256
Liabilities
$2,000,024

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Hon Vincent M Gaughan (PRESIDENT)
  • James E Koutz (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • Shawn T Long (National Treasurer): $329,225 total reported compensation
  • STACY L COPE (SECRETARY): $60,999 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The American Legion Endowment Fund provides financial support for the organization's Veterans Affairs & Rehabilitation services and Children & Youth programs, including Temporary Financial Assistance in the form of cash grants to provide basic needs of veteran and military families with minor children at home.

What it reported doing in 2024

Income from fund investments is passed on to the veterans affairs and rehabilitation and child welfare programs of American Legion National Headquarters. Some of the funds assist the veterans affairs and rehabilitation division with the following programs: 1. Provides funds for two annual department service officer's schools. Training is provided to these individuals to bring them up to date on the latest changes in department of veteran affairs and the United States Court of Appeals for veterans claims regulations, procedures and laws, respectively. 2. Provides funds for the American Legion and National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLP) internship program, which provides training to legion staff assigned to the Board of Veterans Appeals (BVA) and to department service officers on temporary assignment to the BVA. 3. Partially finances a memorandum of agreement with the National Veterans Legal Services Program for training of legion service officers and legal representation before federal courts on veterans/claimants appeals considered to be of a precedential-setting nature.

Operating model

Revenue model
Affiliate-supported. 73% of the money available for current operations came from contributions from related organizations.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 100% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 46
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 83
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 33.7%; rating input score 34
  • Program expense ratio: 79.8%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 90%; rating input score 90; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 76.3%; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 40.87; rating input score 99; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.1; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 21.4%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.4% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13.4% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 33.7% of revenue deployed · 79.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 10 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $406K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $329K · 11 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 22 of 22 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: 8 filed related-organization links
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 34/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 11/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 59/100.