2025-12-10T10:09:15-05:00 2025-08-31 PICKETT CHANEY & MCMULLEN LLP 9401 W 87th STREET SUITE 200 OVERLAND PARK KS 662123755 990 2024-09-01 431758998 VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS FOUNDATION % MARC GARDUNO VETE 8167563390 406 West 34th Street Kansas City MO 64111 MARC GARDUNO Secretary/treasurer 8167563390 2025-12-10 true true JASON F ANDERSON P00409286 9134385077 X 2024 2025-03-06 01:10:19Z Dan West 406 West 34th Street Kansas City MO 64111 12851892 false X vfwfoundation.org X 1996 MO See Schedule O 9 9 0 0 0 6388016 5509025 0 0 888508 690793 0 0 7276524 6199818 3315338 5704765 0 0 733732 650479 0 0 475286 654332 649541 4703402 7004785 2573122 -804967 23137336 23637854 328394 318796 22808942 23319058 X THE VFW FOUNDATION'S MISSION IS TO SERVE AND ENHANCE THE LIVES OF MILITARY VETERANS, SERVICE MEMBERS, AND THEIR FAMILIES BY SECURING RESOURCES TO PROMOTE POSITIVE OUTCOMES. false false 5010513 4883515 Veterans Service Activities - The mission is to secure, manage and distribute resources to support veterans, active-duty personnel, the National Guard and reserve, their families, and communities. The VFW Foundation, in support of this mission, assisted over 12 military families in need of financial assistance with disbursements of $27,245 through the Un-Met Needs program to help families experiencing financial hardships with mortgage, car loans, utilities and other payments. The VFW Foundation provided grants of $200,000 that were used for recognition events for military members and their families and other programs to assist veterans. The VFW Foundation provided grants of $583,000 to the VFW that were or will be used to help veteran families impacted by natural disasters. The VFW Foundation expended $1,375,000 to provide scholarships for the VFW's Help-A-Hero Scholarship program. This program provides up to $5,000 in scholarships to veterans or current military personnel with a rank of E-5 or below. Additionally, the VFW Foundation expended $2,150,000 to support VFW Service Officers. These officers play a key role in assisting veterans in dealing with the Department of Veterans Affairs and other agencies. These officers are formally trained and accredited to represent veterans and their dependents or survivors. This structure ensures that no veteran, dependent or survivor needs to deal with the agencies administering veteran's programs without expert representation. For the 2025 federal fiscal year, the Department of Veterans Affairs reported over 608,000 veterans and eligible dependents represented by VFW Service Officers received more than $16.2 billion in earned benefits. 1028744 821250 Community Service & Public Awareness - The mission supports programs that foster patriotism, citizenship education and volunteerism, community improvement and youth development programs. The VFW Foundation made grants of $650,000 to assist VFW Posts and Auxiliaries with outreach projects in their respective communities, so that VFW Posts could continue to be a resource for their local communities. Additionally, the VFW Foundation provided a grant of $145,000 to help support a trip that recognizes high school students that were awarded scholarships based on essays they wrote on a patriotic theme. 6039257 true true false false false false false false false false true false false false false true true false false false false false false false false false false true true false false false false false false false false false true false false false false false false false false true X 4 0 true 0 false false false false false false false false false true false false false X 9 9 false false false false false false false true true false false true true true true true true true true false AL AZ AR CA FL GA HI IL KS KY ME MD MA MI MN MS NH NJ NM NY NC ND OK OR PA RI SC TN UT VA WV WI X X MARC GARDUNO 8167563390 406 WEST 34TH STREET Kansas City MO 64111 X X Richard Freiburghouse Manager 45.0 0.0 X 116664 0 21565 Dan West President 5.0 0.0 X X 0 0 0 Marc Garduno Secretary/Treasurer 5.0 0.0 X X 0 0 0 Alfred Lipphardt Board Member 1.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 Ann Panteleakos Board Member 1.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 Gordon Logan Board Member 1.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 Michael DeRosa Board Member 1.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 Jordan Drury Board Member 1.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 Prasad Reddy Board Member 1.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 Robert Wallace Board Member 1.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 Hal Roesch Exec. Director hired 1/1/2025 50.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 116664 0 21565 1 false false false Veterans of Foreign Wars of the US 406 W 34th St KANSAS CITY MO 64111 Support services 725479 1 38514 5470511 481712 5509025 0 742894 742894 0 0 0 0 0 6599973 6652074 -52101 -52101 -52101 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6199818 690793 5677520 5677520 27245 27245 0 0 103826 10382 15574 77870 0 375913 107678 163371 104864 30172 8643 13112 8417 103091 29530 44803 28758 37477 10735 16287 10455 0 15217 15217 15885 15885 0 0 86833 86833 234050 76599 157451 111861 107824 4037 56337 7398 22765 26174 0 0 43647 11204 16986 15457 78491 39245 39246 0 0 0 0 7220 1853 2810 2557 0 7004785 6039257 490242 475286 0 0 4280388 2774055 0 0 0 224970 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12781 14217 85256 75170 5458 10086 18787143 20568203 0 0 0 0 0 0 51566 46323 23137336 23637854 328394 258196 0 60600 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 328394 318796 X 17302801 19525054 5506141 3794004 22808942 23319058 23137336 23637854 -804967 1315083 X X false true X true false X 5261361 4500719 4797779 6388016 5509025 26456900 0 0 5261361 4500719 4797779 6388016 5509025 26456900 1665347 24791553 291368 302535 411504 853918 742894 2602219 0 0 29059119 0.85314 0.77256 X RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED 85256 75170 10086 10086 0 0 X 7428068 1315083 -86833 1228250 6199818 6199818 6917952 6917952 86833 86833 7004785 Part X, Line 2 The Foundation is exempt from income taxes under Section 501(c)(3) of the IRC and a similar provision of state law. The Foundation would be subject to federal income taxes on the net income from certain operations if such operations generated unrelated business income. No such unrelated business income tax, or interest and penalties related to unrelated business income, was incurred during the years ended August 31, 2025 or 2024. Accordingly, no provision for income taxes has been reflected in the Foundation's financial statements. Part XI, Line 2d This amount represents investment management fees that are netted with investment income on the audited financial statements as part of FASB issued ASU 2016-14, Not-for-Profit Entities (Topic 958) - Presentation of Financial Statements of Not-for-Profit Entities. true Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States 406 W 34th St Kansas City MO 64111 440474290 501(c)(19) 5606270 Veteran service and community service activities WeBe Life Foundation Inc 5137 Westpath Way Bethesda MD 20816 881455174 501(c)(3) 40000 Veteran Service Activities 1 1 Financial Support to Military Families 12 27245 Schedule I, Part I, Line 2 GRANTS TO ORGANIZATIONS REQUIRE THE GRANTEES TO FILE A FINANCIAL REPORT WITHIN ONE YEAR OF THE RECEIPT OF FUNDS TO DOCUMENT THE USE OF THE GRANT FUNDS. GRANTS AND OTHER ASSISTANCE TO INDIVIDUALS REQUIRES THE INDIVIDUAL TO PROVIDE DOCUMENTATION IN ADVANCE OF GRANT TO VERIFY FINANCIAL HARDSHIP, AND REQUIRES DOCUMENTATION FROM CREDITORS VERIFYING OUTSTANDING BALANCE. PAYMENTS ARE MADE DIRECTLY TO CREDITORS AND NOT DIRECTLY TO INDIVIDUAL EXPERIENCING THE FINANCIAL HARDSHIP. X 208 481712 Fair market value 1 false false true Part II, Question 32b The VFW Foundation works with Charitable Adult Rides and Services (CARS) for vehicle donations. CARS is a 501(c)(3) social enterprise nonprofit. CARS works with hundreds of vendors throughout the country to provide donors with free pick-up and are dedicated to selling the vehicles for the highest return. CARS handles all the administration and paperwork for the Foundation's donors and sends the proceeds to the Foundation. Part I, Line 1 Secure and provide support for veterans and their families; assist veterans transitioning to civilian life; support VFW National Veteran Service officers, who provide free assistance to any veteran with their Veterans Affairs (VA) filings. Additionally, the Foundation supports programs that foster patriotism and community improvement. Part V, Line 2a For ease of administration and in order to provide benefits, the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States provides selected employees to the Foundation. These employees work exclusively for the Foundation and on Foundation business and activities. The VFW Foundation has no employees of its own. The Foundation reimburses the Veterans of Foreign Wars for the salary and benefit expenses incurred for these employees. Therefore, the W-3 transmittal and W-2 Forms are filed by the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States and not the VFW Foundation. As of 12/31/24, there were six employees included in the W-3 filing made by the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States that work exclusively for the VFW Foundation, and the expenses of those six employees are reflected in this return. Part VI, Section B, Line 11 This 990 was prepared by an independent certified public accountant who worked with professional employees in the accounting department of the VFW National Headquarters. It was reviewed by the principal officers of the organization prior to execution. In addition, a copy was provided to each member of the Board of Directors prior to the time of filing for their review. The Form 990, along with audited financial statements, are reviewed with the Board of Directors at a later, stated meeting. Part VI, Section B, Line 12c In order to sustain the Veterans of Foreign Wars Foundation's reputation and continued success, officers, directors and employees in leadership positions are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and adhere to the highest standards of honesty and integrity. All of the above-named individuals are required to execute an appropriate acknowledgement of adherence to a Code of Ethics Policy upon assuming their positions, and officers, directors and key employees are required to make an annual disclaimer or disclosure of conflicts of interest in accordance with the Internal Revenue Service guidelines. For the fiscal year covered by this Form 990, there were no conflicts of interest identified by the individuals covered by this policy. Part VI, Section B, Question 15a & 15b The organization's board members are not compensated by the VFW Foundation. The President, Secretary/Treasurer, and the board position held by the VFW Commander-in-Chief work for and are compensated by an affiliated organization (VFW) for the positions they hold and the work they perform for that organization. Additionally, the VFW provides selected employees to work exclusively for the Foundation and on Foundation business and activities. The salary administration and payroll processing for the employees that work for the VFW Foundation is administered by the VFW. The VFW has in place a Salary Administration policy that applies to all employees. That policy uses comparability data to assign all employee positions into various grades and to establish salary ranges for each grade. Increases in compensation are based on annual evaluations. The VFW's National Council of Administration, as part of its deliberation on the annual budget, approves all salaries, including the officers and key employees. This Salary Administration policy includes the salaries for the various individuals working as employees of the VFW Foundation. Part VI, Section C, Line 18 The Veterans of Foreign Wars Foundation complies with IRC Section 6104 and makes its Form 1023 and Form 990 available for public inspection upon request. Part VI, Section C, Line 19 These documents are available, upon request, to the public during the year. Part VII, Section A, Line 1a Hal Roesch, and Richard Freiburghouse are two of the employees referenced above for Part V, Question 2a. Each served in roles for the VFW Foundation for all or a portion of the fiscal year, but their payroll was processed through the Veterans of Foreign War's payroll system and the VFW Foundation reimburses the VFW of the U.S. for these expenses. Since payments are made from the VFW of the U.S., the W-2 for the employee is issued from the VFW of the U.S. Part XII, Line 2c The VFW Foundation established a finance committee that assumes the responsibility for oversight of the audit and selection of the independent accountant for the VFW Foundation audit. Part VII, Section B, Line 1 As noted in Part V, Line 2a, for ease of administration, the Veterans of Foreign Wars is an affiliated organization that has employees that exclusively work for and on VFW Foundation business. The Foundation reimburses the Veterans of Foreign Wars for the salaries and benefits incurred for these employees. In addition, the VFW Foundation paid $75,000 to the Veterans of Foreign Wars for accounting, human resources, and legal support.