Donnie Edwards Best Defense Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
825125497
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Solana Beach, CA, USA
Phone
8583670079
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Human Service Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,456,080
Expenses
$2,067,544
Assets
$2,210,133
Liabilities
$120,807

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

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • DONNIE EDWARDS (EXECUTIVE DI): $180,000 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 organization provides unique and transformative experiences for military veterans of all wars to bring closure and honor to those who have served. Our three key programs, battlefield return, stronghold transition and our education initiative strive to continue the legacy, memory and to preserve their stories for future generations. Our stronghold transition program serves newly transitioned service members of special force operations to build a new life outside the military focusing on rehabilitation and mental health.

What it reported doing in 2024

The foundation provided 30 wwii veterans a return to their battlefield at normandy for the 78th anniversary of d-day with 45 younger veterans serving as caretakers. The veterans are honored for their sacrifice by those they helped liberate and visit local schools to speak with students about the cost of freedom. The foundation sponsored 12 new special force operators with a five day retreat in partnership with former nfl players in the mountains of Utah to focus on mental health and physical recovery. Mental health professionals provide our transitioning veterans information on the networks supporting them and assess each one based on their specific needs for assistance. The foundation's education initiative provided virtual meetings with wwii veterans and students across the country. The 'our history live'program teaches students about wwii and they can speak with a wwii veteran. This program reached over 2,000 students internationally and here in the united states. The program created short docuseries and vignettes that preserve the legacies. Also we provide opportunities for veterans of all generations to attend mlb games, nfl and collegiate games, red carpet premiere of 'the terminal list- and additional outings to connect with fellow veterans.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% 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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 63
  • Sustainability: 57
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 73.9%; rating input score 74
  • Program expense ratio: 86.3%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $242.06 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings

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: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 15.8%; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.07; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.7%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 38.8% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 30.6% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 34.3% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 73.9% of revenue deployed · 86.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 1 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $1.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $180K · 3 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2018 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 39/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 34/100.