HEROES Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
526057916
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Chevy Chase, MD, USA
Phone
2026386658
Rating
89
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fund Raising and Fund Distribution

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,411,269
Expenses
$1,385,554
Assets
$34,213,156
Liabilities
$1,349,865

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

Leadership & pay

18 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • John R Nichols (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • John R Nichols (President): $315,808 total reported compensation
  • Heather L Pace (Program Officer): $108,093 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

HEROES' singular goal is to honor the supreme sacrifice made by law enforcement officers and firefighters who give their lives in the line of duty while ensuring the safety of citizens in the greater Washington area. We honor these fallen heroes by assisting their spouses and children, beginning within 24 hours of the tragic loss and continuing indefinitely.

What it reported doing in 2025

Widows & Family Benefits Program: Under the Widows & Family Benefit Program, HEROES provides financial assistance to the immediate family members of a deceased law enforcement officer and firefighters in the greater Washington area.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 68% for direct work, and 32% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 91
  • Accountability: 96
  • Sustainability: 78
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 87.2%; rating input score 87
  • Program expense ratio: 74.7%; rating input score 75
  • Fundraising efficiency: $91.7 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 25th 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: 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: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 42.5%; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 24.69; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 30.6%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.4% per year; rating input score 100; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.4% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 87.2% of revenue deployed · 74.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 16 of 17 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $316K · 18 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $710K reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 7/100.