Help Our Wounded Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
463568088
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2020
Location
Middleburg, VA, USA
Phone
5614506213
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Public Health Program (Includes General Health and Wellness Promotion Services)

Reported finances

Revenue
$622,569
Expenses
$452,651
Assets
$505,323
Liabilities
$29,954

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Sarah Crane (Executive Dir.): $51,500 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Provide access to life-changing hyperbaric oxygen therapy for veterans, first responders, and student athletes who have traumatic brain injuries, concussion, or post-traumatic stress.

What it reported doing in 2025

Through HOW Foundations Veteran Investment Program, Central Nervous Systems Vital Signs neuropsychological evaluations were administered for 62 people across 5 states as a means of baseline mental health screening. Suicide risk was also assessed at this time. The majority of these were veterans, located in the state of Virginia. 1 Civilian, 2 Concussed Student Athletes, and 34 veterans received life-changing hyperbaric oxygen therapy across 2 states. The total number of hyperbaric oxygen therapy that were financially supported by the Help Our Wounded Foundation in 2025 was 1,070.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 82% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% 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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 71
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 67
  • Sustainability: 60
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 61.9%; rating input score 62
  • Program expense ratio: 84.3%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $59.76 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 71.4%; rating input score 71; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • 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: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 27.3%; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.12; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11.4%; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 23.9% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 15.1% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 19.1% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 61.9% of revenue deployed · 84.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 7 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $382K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $52K · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 22 of 22 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2017 to 2025
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 46/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 33/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 41/100.