Veterans of Foreign Wars State of West Virginia

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
550320759
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2020
Location
South Charleston, WV, USA
Phone
3043100407
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$185,837
Expenses
$198,073
Assets
$388,375
Liabilities
$31,748

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • SHAWN LIGHT (QUARTERMASTERADJUTANT): $49,965 total reported compensation
  • DAVID A SOCKETT (ASSISTANT QUARTERMASTERCHAPLAIN): $16,867 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Veterans of foreign wars organizations provide services and other programs to more than 10,000 veterans of West Virginia

What it reported doing in 2024

This VFW, State of West Virginia is responsible for a school of instructions. The purpose is to provide leadership opportunites and education for all members of the 65 posts. This is accomplished by providing one conference and one convention at the state level each year. This organization also sends representatives to one regional conference as well as the national conference. At these events, education is provided to help these members lead their respective VFWs more efficiently. Tips on staying compliant, educating the public as well as members on the workings of the VFW, ideas on serving veterans, and many other learning opportunities are also a result of these events.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 96% 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and revenue has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 79
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 67
  • Sustainability: 34
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 97.6%; rating input score 98
  • Program expense ratio: 72.7%; rating input score 73
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 87.5%; rating input score 88; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -6.6%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.96; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 33.7%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: -0.3% per year; rating input score 0; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.5% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 97.6% of revenue deployed · 72.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 16 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $144K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $50K · 16 people listed
  • Consistency: 22 of 22 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 27/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 59/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 9/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 28/100.