The Anita Kaufmann Foundation

What it reported doing in 2024

The heads up for vets program (huv) huv is a collaborative effort between the anita kaufmann foundation (akf) and the department of veterans affairs epilepsy centers of excellence (ecoe).huv supports us veterans from all previous and current wars that have experienced exposure to ied (improvised explosive devices) blasts and other explosions, leaving a percentage with traumatic brain injury (tbi) and a risk of developing post-traumatic epilepsy and seizures. Some seizures are confused with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (ptsd) and other illnesses. These seizures, especially those that do not present as commonly recognized convulsions, may go unrecognized as seizures. This often leads to an incorrect diagnosis and a lack of proper treatment. In order to improve support for these veterans, the va established 16 epilepsy centers of excellence. Our program is designed to help ensure that current and accurate epilepsy information is disseminated to veterans discharged from service. Huv provides the following support to veterans and their families: "free information about epilepsy"free assistance within the va to resolve benefit disputes regarding epilepsy and seizures"free seizure recognition and first aid trainings for individuals, employers, community groups and other organizations"free consultations and linkages to resources for social support, employment, transportation, etc."opportunities to connect with akf veteran advocates experiencing similar situations"opportunities to become involved in the epilepsy community as an advocate, educator or volunteerhuv distributes the following unique informational sheets and seizure first aid posters at no cost to us veterans, veteran organizations and the general community at large upon request:"seizure recognition and first aid poster "seizure recognition and first aid flyer"traumatic brain injury and epilepsy flyer"psychogenic non-epileptic seizure (pnes) flyerakf has provided more than 45,000 huv and epilepsy information pieces to individuals, organizations, publications, blogs, and radio and tv programs that support veterans and their families. Many have linked huv to their websites, other social media sites and have included our information in their publications and distributed them during their conferences. Huv continues to support countless veterans, their family members and caregivers who have reached out to us over the past four years. It is impossible to measure the veteran connections we have made as social media distributes our program information daily. And, many veterans, as in the general population, utilize our information but want to remain anonymous, because of the stigma associated with epilepsy. The huv program director is a member of the ecoe national advisory committee, which is responsible for providing guidance, direction, and oversight of all clinical, educational, and research activities within the ecoe.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 98.3%; rating input score 98
• Program expense ratio: 89.7%; rating input score 90
• Fundraising efficiency: $62.95 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 90%; rating input score 90; 9th percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: Limited
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: 49.5%; rating input score 50; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 50%; rating input score 50; 16th 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: Missing
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

• Operating margin: -18%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.66; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 29.4%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 3.8% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 7% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: -11.2% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings