We the Veterans Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
871144807
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2021
Location
Alexandria, VA, USA
Phone
7204601290
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Human Service Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,837,303
Expenses
$2,661,762
Assets
$1,847,189
Liabilities
$123,794

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Ellen Gustafson (Executive Director/President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Ellen Gustafson (Executive Director/President): $137,715 total reported compensation
  • Ben Keiser (Executive Chairman, Treasurer): $125,511 total reported compensation
  • Joe Plenzler (Secretary): $45,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The mission of We the Veterans and Military Families is to empower the veteran and military family community to strengthen America.

What it reported doing in 2024

Vetted Conversations - A platform that provides the opening for veterans and military family members to discuss American civics, patriotism, and citizen responsibilities in a non-partisan and accessible way. This initiative offers both in-person and remote discussions through community gatherings and a podcast series featuring prominent veteran leaders and national experts. Vetted Conversations equips the veteran and military family community with knowledge to become informed and engaged citizens actively participating in safeguarding American liberties and strengthening the fabric of America.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 95% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 73
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 67
  • Sustainability: 58
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 62.7%; rating input score 63
  • Program expense ratio: 90.1%; rating input score 90
  • Fundraising efficiency: $37.47 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 66.7%; rating input score 67; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 30.6%; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.69; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11.9%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 87.8% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 83.6% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 88.8% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 62.7% of revenue deployed · 90.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 9 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $2.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $138K · 9 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $932K reported
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 26/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 25/100.