Paws of War Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 465113396
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2016–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2015
- Location
- Nesconset, NY, USA
- Phone
- 6314066595
- Rating
- 70
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Single Organization Support
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $7,996,341
- Expenses
- $5,657,881
- Assets
- $8,001,642
- Liabilities
- $337,555
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
8 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- ROBERT MISSERI (President)
Highest reported compensation
- ROBERT MISSERI (President): $241,599 total reported compensation
- DEREK B CARTWRIGHT (Coordinator): $126,716 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To rescue, train and place shelter dogs to serve and provide independence to our veterans & first responders that suffer the traumatic effects of war, and provide essential and supportive services to our heroes in need.
What it reported doing in 2025
Dog Training and MedicalThe Organization provides Service Dog training at no cost for veterans and first responders. The organization uses dogs rescued from high kill shelters, puppy mills and other tragic circumstances. Veterans and first responders work together as a team and undergo specialized training for the dog to perform specific service tasks for their owner. This training method takes longer, and is more expensive than other methods but embodies our motto of helping both ends of the leash. The Organization also trains therapy dogs that go to veteran homes, nursing homes and special needs camps to provide the happiness that only a dogs can bring. The handlers of these therapy dogs are veterans and first responders. The organization provides a no cost mobile veterinary clinic for the pets of Veterans and First Responders who may be unable to afford or get to a veterinarian on their own. This clinic provides wellness exams, vaccines, microchipping and basic veterinary care.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 97% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- 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.
- 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. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and the filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 71
- Transparency & Controls: 51
- Accountability: 92
- Sustainability: 65
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 64.5%; rating input score 64
- Program expense ratio: 88.6%; rating input score 89
- Fundraising efficiency: $17.68 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 23rd 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: Scored; rating input score 0
- Grant itemization coverage: 38.7%; rating input score 39; 18th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 85.7%; rating input score 86; 19th 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: 29.2%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.41; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 6.5%; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 29.9% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 27.1% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 29.3% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 64.5% of revenue deployed · 88.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 6 of 7 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $5M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $242K · 8 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $779K reported
- Consistency: 35 of 37 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
- Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 9 filing years from 2016 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
- 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: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 39/100.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 55/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 46/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 47/100.
- 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.