Disabled Veterans National Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
261446183
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Lanham, MD, USA
Phone
2027370522
Rating
50
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Military, Veterans' Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$28,870,269
Expenses
$28,637,902
Assets
$4,323,739
Liabilities
$12,756,345

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JOSEPH VANFONDA (CEO)
  • SCOTT CARSON (President)
  • GREG SMITH (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • JOSEPH VANFONDA (CEO): $179,492 total reported compensation
  • DELESE HARVEY (DEPUTY DIRECTOR): $156,700 total reported compensation
  • LEANDER BRERETON (DIR OF OPERATIONS): $151,700 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 disabled veterans national foundation exists to change the lives of men and women who came home wounded or sick after defending our safety and our freedom.

What it reported doing in 2024

Veterans food assistance program (vfap) - provides emergency food assistance to eligible veterns experiencing financial hardship.grants to provide stability (gps) - offers emergency financial assistance for essential living expenses.homeless to housing (h2h) - assists formerly homeless veterans by providing grants for basic household furnishings and essential items needed to establish a safe home.mission possible (mp) - free online self-care and mental wellness program.operation mission possible (omp) podcast - collaborates with veteran-serving nonprofits to share best practices and awards grants to strengthen programs that improve veterans' lives.veterans employment platform - connecting veterans, transitioning service members, military spouses, and caregivers with employers seeking to hire members of the military community.legacy planning resource - helps veterans, supporters, and their families prepare wills, estate plans, and charitable giving plans.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 88% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 80% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

MIXED - Most voting board members are independent and program spending has grown recently. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 28
  • Transparency & Controls: 53
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 27
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 31.5%; rating input score 31
  • Program expense ratio: 31%; rating input score 31
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1.51 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 21.5%; rating input score 21; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 0.8%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.15; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 2.95; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.2%; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.5% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.1% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.3% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 31.5% of revenue deployed · 31% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $8.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $179K · 11 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $19.8M reported
  • Consistency: 28 of 29 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes grants and executive pay
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 24 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 20 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 31/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 31/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 21/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 4/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 37/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 3/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 1/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.