Veterans Outreach Center Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
161137379
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Rochester, NY, USA
Phone
5852957803
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,414,932
Expenses
$4,946,430
Assets
$15,540,975
Liabilities
$3,089,559

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

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Laura Heltz (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Laura Heltz (Executive Director): $187,004 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Mission: Our mission is to serve veterans with compassion and advocate for all who have worn our nation's uniform so they can RISE and live life to the fullest. Continued on Schedule O

What it reported doing in 2025

Behavioral Health and Wellness Programs: VOC is dedicated to supporting the overall wellness of the Western New York veteran community while also leading the agency's trauma-informed care efforts through internal modeling, consultation, and training. The Behavioral Health team is led by a New York State Licensed Mental Health Counselor and provides crisis intervention, outreach, suicide prevention support, and both internal and external consultation. In 2025, the team served 696 individual clients through 1,271 total engagements and conducted 678 suicide screenings for 654 veterans. Continued on Schedule OBehavioral Health and Wellness Programs: (Continued) With a strong focus on suicide prevention and awareness, the team also provides regular wellness checks and serves as a critical support resource for both clients and staff. In 2025, VOC's Quartermaster Program served 1,048 veterans through 6,761 service interactions, providing essential daily living supplies such as food, clothing, and hygiene items. Additionally, VOC's Fitness Centerequipped with free weights, ellipticals, treadmills, and other exercise equipmentwas utilized by 153 veterans across 1,815 visits, reinforcing the connection between physical health and overall wellness.A key component of VOC's Wellness Programs is the Morale Center. In 2025, services offered included Peer Support & Substance Use Recovery Groups, Open Art Studio, Art Therapy, Plastic Model Building, Fitness Center Recreation, Massage Therapy, Hydromassage, Free Laundry Facilities, Reiki Therapy, Chess Club, Barber & Salon Services, Socialization Groups, Outdoor Wellness activities, and behavioral health support for both staff and clients on site. Veterans utilized these holistic wellness services a total of 2,160 times throughout the year. Additionally, 53 veterans participated in Outdoor Wellness programming, engaging in these activities 289 times. VOC benefits from strong community engagement, with skilled volunteers playing a vital role in delivering free services to local veterans. In 2025, 42 dedicated VOC volunteers contributed their time throughout the year, supported by an additional 455 volunteers for special events. Together, they logged a total of 6,280 hours of service. This volunteer-driven support is essential to extending the reach and impact of VOC's mission.

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 98% 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 69
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 36
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 78.1%; rating input score 78
  • Program expense ratio: 67.6%; rating input score 68
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.81 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • 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: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -12%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.14; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.2; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.8%; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0.4% per year; rating input score 100; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 78.1% of revenue deployed · 67.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $3.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $187K · 17 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2011 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 23/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 8/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 35/100.