Veterans Education Training & Support Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
821997192
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Gaylord, MI, USA
Phone
6162403014
Rating
71
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Centers to Support the Independence of Specific Populations

Reported finances

Revenue
$932,885
Expenses
$877,909
Assets
$314,732
Liabilities
$328,598

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Ronald LeBourdais (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Tony Sharkey (VP - General Manager): $66,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

VETS INC operates The Landing Zone a Family Recreation Center. Our MISSION is to make The Landing Zone a special and unique Recreation & Rehabilitation Facility for Veterans and the Community. Our vision of a Veteran recovery center paired with a community recreation center is one of a kind. The tools we use to accomplish our objectives include activities such as individual and group counselling open and league bowling an arcade restaurant and special event venue. Other organizations focus either on Veterans and Veterans Support or Community Recreation activities our mission is to fully integrate those programs for the good of the Community and to bring those with Special Needs into a closer relationship with the Community. In the military a safe place for extracting wounding and inserting reinforcements is The Landing Zone. Our mission is to create a Recreational Facility with a Purpose for Veterans and others within the Community in need of help.

What it reported doing in 2025

The proceeds from operation of the Landing Zone are also used to provide Assistance Non-Employment to help pay for food or Housing expenses Providing Legal Assistance or funds to pay for Legal Fees and Court Costs Funds to help with Auto Repair or other types of Transportation costs. Providing Recreation Services to the Community - Youth Bowling Handicapped Recreation Home School Public School Recreation. The VETS INC Board of Directors includes an Attorney and business managers or have served in the Military. All are well qualified to provide guidance and Counselling for individuals in need. In addition Volunteers from other Community Businesses come to an area within The Landing Zone that has been dedicated as The Captain Robert Bradley DUSTOFF CENTER in honor of a hometown hero who was a Medivac Dustoff pilot in Vietnam. The Dustoff Center is a place where Professionals or Teachers and Coaches provide classes for individuals in need on Personal Finances such as preparing a budget or keeping a checking account balanced Legal Services such as dealing with a PPO or how to place a PPO or dealing with DUI or Bankruptcy or Bad Credit ratings or VA or Social Security claims assistance. In addition we provided Grants to Community Organizations including Providing Financial Assistance for the VFW Family Movie nights Providing Bowling Recreational equipment to every elementary school in Gaylord and providing use of The Landing Zone as the home Bowling Center for Gaylord High School Boys and Girls Bowling Teams and Serving as a State of Michigan High School Athletic Association Northern Michigan Regional Bowling Center and providing Recreational Bowling activities for Handicapped individuals through Crossroads Industries.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 95% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 58
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 76
  • Sustainability: 33
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 64.2%; rating input score 64
  • Program expense ratio: 68.2%; rating input score 68
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 78th 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; 23rd 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: 5.9%; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.36; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.04; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.5%; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.5% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13.2% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -8.9% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 64.2% of revenue deployed · 68.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 7 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $599K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $66K · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 43 of 45 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2020 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: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 47/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 18/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 4/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Functional expense sum did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Part IX GrantsToDomesticIndividuals column sum did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 44/100.