Veterans of Foreign Wars Dept of Kentucky

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
610412514
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Hazard, KY, USA
Phone
6064364224
Rating
63
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$508,560
Expenses
$540,459
Assets
$206,394
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Linda Fields (Manager): $16,900 total reported compensation
  • Timothy Caldwell (Quartermaster): $4,800 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 provide support for our community organizations and assist Veterans and their families through local Nursing facility, VFW National Home and youth activities through Voice of Democracy and Patriot's Pen Scholarships and our Light a Child's Christmas Programs. Also assist with funeral cost for Veterans and their families. Assist community organizations monetarily for events/fundraisers they may have. Provide instructional programs at local schools for Veterans Day.

What it reported doing in 2025

VFW post sponsors Voice of Democracy grades 9-12 and Patriot's Pen grands 6-8 scholarship program. Scholarships given for Patriotic Art and Illistrating America. Host dinner for the winners and their families, provider cash awards and certificates

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 100% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 60
  • Accountability: 16
  • Sustainability: 30
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Limited
    • 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: -6.3%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.38; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4%; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 85.7% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 29.3% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.3% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 129 board members independent · 3 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $540K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $17K · 9 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 40 of 40 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2020 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.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 17/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 19/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 52/100.