Elks National Veterans Service Commission
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 131548228
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2015–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Chicago, IL, USA
- Phone
- 7737554810
- Rating
- 77
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Voluntarism Promotion
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $5,790,365
- Expenses
- $5,630,025
- Assets
- $708,223
- Liabilities
- $137,252
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
6 people listed
Highest reported compensation
- BRYAN KLATT (GRAND SECRETARY): $244,119 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
In partnership with thousands of elks volunteers, the commission's programs offer direct service to veterans and military members in need throughout the nation. Our programs help hospitalized veterans recover and thrive, support veterans as they exit or prevent homelessness, serve aging veterans and veterans in facilities, assist veterans in need and connect veterans with resources and the community at large.
What it reported doing in 2024
The commission partnered with the us department of veterans affairs and other social service organizations to provide homeless veterans and veterans at risk of being homeless with the emergency assistance they needed to become or remain housed, and to provide welcome home kits that include supplies and other material support to newly housed veterans. The welcome home program offers focus grants up to $10,000 to qualifying lodges to be used to prevent homelessness, assist previously homeless veterans to adjust, and help veterans exit homelessness.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Affiliate-supported. 97% of the money available for current operations came from contributions from related organizations.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 95% of its reported program spending out as grants.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 82
- Transparency & Controls: 57
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 37
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 91.9%; rating input score 92
- Program expense ratio: 94.1%; rating input score 94
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 87.5%; rating input score 88; 2nd 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: 72.4%; rating input score 72; 19th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 2.8%; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.13; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.19; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0.4%; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 10.9% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 5.7% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 91.9% of revenue deployed · 94.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $5.3M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $244K · 6 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 27 of 29 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes grants and executive pay
- Filing history: 10 filing years from 2015 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 158 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 159 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.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 3/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 44/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 45/100.