2025-10-22T12:54:09-07:00 2024-12-31 990 2024-01-01 981103828 INDEPENDENT ORDER OF FORESTERS GROUP RETURN INDE 4375613539 789 Don Mills Road Floor 16 Toronto Ontario CA M3C1T9 Rene Zanin Global Chief Legal Officer 4163717008 2025-10-22 1 2024 2025-03-06 01:10:19Z FORESTERS FINANCIAL Rene Zanin 789 Don Mills Road Floor 15 Toronto Ontario CA M3C1T9 2373450 1 1 1783 X www.foresters.com X Fraternal Benefit Society 2012 CA The Independent Order of Foresters (Foresters Financial) is a fraternal benefit society that provides financial services products and unique benefits to its members and their families. Through its member-governed Branch network, Foresters members are provided opportunities to organize and participate in local volunteer activities and fun member events. Within this model of community service, Foresters lives its purpose of enhancing the well-being of its members, their families and their local communities. The Granting program in 2024 saw an increase in the number of member engagement across the entire Membership base, and across all three regions in the U.S. In particular, the 2024 program year granted $2,417,409 to Community volunteer, Foresters Moment activities, Foresters Care and Branch Matching and Fraternal Funding programs. A total of 2,984 activities were held across the U.S., engaging 18,536 members and their families in delivering Foresters purpose. 6 6 0 318 1301 0 1350000 2372149 0 0 0 0 1298 1301 1351298 2373450 1986644 2417409 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 90 238 1986734 2417647 -635436 -44197 3226866 3182669 0 0 3226866 3182669 Foresters offer quality life insurance products, unique member benefits and inspiring community activities to fulfill its purpose of improving the overall well-being of its members and their communities. Within the Branch system, the fraternal benefits are delivered at the local level through local involvement programming. In large part, this is done through Foresters Community Grants, which allows members to apply for funds to organize local activities that make a difference in their communities. The main objective of the Granting program is to engage members in Foresters purpose of enhancing the well-being of families and communities by funding local community volunteer and foresters moment activities. 0 0 1409595 1409595 Community Volunteer Activities (CV): Each of the 35 U.S. Branches allocates funds towards local volunteer activities that make a difference in member communities, referred to as Community Volunteer (CV) activities. In 2024, there were a total of 759 CV events across the U.S., receiving $1,409,595 in Branch funding, which engaged thousands of local members in volunteerism and community service. These activities all served a real need in local communities and /or supported charitable organizations such as local schools, shelters and children's hospitals. A few examples of Community Volunteer activities include: building and cleaning playgrounds, creating care kits for shelters, cooking meals at senior residences and running arts and crafts activities for families staying in children's hospitals. The impact of these activities extends beyond our members and exemplifies Foresters commitment to its purpose of serving local communities. 654822 654822 Foresters Moment Activities (FM): Foresters also gives its members the opportunity to apply for funding through their local Branches to organize or participate in Foresters Moment activities with the goal of creating family time, which is another way Foresters contributes to building stronger families and communities. In 2024, 416 Foresters Moment (FM) activities were held across the US, providing families with the opportunity to spend quality time together at amusement parks, movies, zoos etc. Foresters allocated $654,822 in funding, which resulted in thousands of members engaged in Foresters purpose. 324936 324936 The Foresters Care grant benefit allows members to enjoy the full experience of preparing, organizing, and executing their meaningful volunteering activities to help make a difference in their local communities. Foresters Care leverages the power and potential of social media so members can share their success stories and motivate each other to get involved in Foresters member benefits, helping those in need. In 2024, over 1,728 grants were issued provided over $324,936 in funding to this program in the US. The resulted in thousands of members engaged in the Foresters purpose. 28056 28056 The Branch Matching and Fraternal Funding program was introduced in 2022 with the objective of providing annual funding to Branch Councils allowing them to organize activities to help local communities in need. The objective of the Fraternal Funding Program is to provide annual funding at a Regional level to support the ability to connect and socialize with other members within their Region. In 2024, Foresters allocated $28,056 in funding to the Branch Matching - Fraternal Funding program across the three US regions. 28056 28056 0 2417409 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 X 6 6 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 X Independent Order of Foresters Independent Order of Foresters 6479881408 789 Don Mills Road Floor 16 Toronto Ontario CA M3C1T9 Susan Panepinto Regional President, Central US Region 1 0 X 0 0 0 Philip Kelsey Regional President, Eastern US Region 1 0 X 0 0 0 Constance Mullen Regional Vice President, Eastern US Region 1 0 X 0 0 0 Debbie McMillen Regional President, Western US Region 1 0 X 0 0 0 Gwendolyn Hicks Regional Vice President, Western Region 1 0 X 0 0 0 Clara Hailey Regional Vice President, Central US Region 1 0 X 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2372149 0 0 0 2372149 0 0 0 0 0 0 Interest Revenue 525920 1301 0 1301 0 0 0 0 0 1301 2373450 0 1301 0 2417409 Bank Charges 238 2417647 0 0 0 3201445 3164554 25421 18115 3226866 3182669 0 0 X 3226866 3182669 0 0 3226866 3182669 3226866 3182669 -44197 0 0 0 0 0 X 0 0 0 1 Community Volunteer Activities (CV): Each of the 35 U.S. Branches allocates funds towards local volunteer activities that make a difference in member communities, referred to as Community Volunteer (CV) activities. In 2024, there were a total of 759 CV events across the U.S., receiving $1,409,595 in Branch funding, which engaged thousands of local members in volunteerism and community service. These activities all served a real need in local communities and /or supported charitable organizations such as local schools, shelters and children's hospitals. A few examples of Community Volunteer activities include: building and cleaning playgrounds, creating care kits for shelters, cooking meals at senior residences and running arts and crafts activities for families staying in children's hospitals. The impact of these activities extends beyond our members and exemplifies Foresters commitment to its purpose of serving local communities. 759 1409595 Foresters Moment (FM): Foresters also gives its members the opportunity to apply for funding through their local Branches to organize or participate in Foresters Moment activities with the goal of creating family time, which is another way Foresters contributes to building stronger families and communities. In 2024, 416 Foresters Moment (FM) activities were held across the US, providing families with the opportunity to spend quality time together at amusement parks, movies, zoos etc. Foresters allocated $654,822 in funding, which resulted in thousands of members engaged in Foresters purpose. 416 654822 The Foresters Care grant benefit allows members to enjoy the full experience of preparing organizing, and executing their meaningful volunteering activities to help make a difference in their local communities. Foresters Care leverages the power and potential of social media so members can share their success stories and motivate each other to get involved in Foresters member benefits, helping those in need. In 2024, over 1,728 grants were approved with over $324,936. allocated in funding to this program in the US. This resulted in thousands of members engaged in the Foresters purpose 1728 324936 Schedule I, Part I, Line 2 Procedures for monitoring the use of grant funds in the United States The Foresters Community Grants Program has a regular audit process in place to monitor the use of grant funds received by member applicants. Members are required to keep all receipts in case the Grants Team requests to see them, by way of an audit. On a regular basis, the Foresters Grants Team conducts receipt audits for past Granting activities, after the required Post-Activity Report (PAR) has been completed by the member organizer. Members are informed at the beginning of the application process as well as when the Grant is approved that they are required to retain receipts for all expenses incurred in connection with Foresters Community Grants Program. During the review and closure of a PAR, any concerns identified may be further reviewed by accessing paycard transaction history in addition to requesting receipts specific to the concern or discrepancy found. If the concern cannot be resolved, a full audit is conducted. When an audit is conducted, Foresters Grants Team reviews all receipts against reported expenses and cash outlays. Where discrepancies are found, the Grants team requests further information and clarification from the member and a pass, conditional pass or fail is scored based on the established process. Audits that score a fail or "non-compliant" will result in the member applicant being blocked for a period of time from attending activities and applying for grants. As the program continues to develop traction with the broader membership and more 'new members' are accessing trust funds, a grant audit process was put into place to mitigate potential risk and deliver on the program objectives of providing sound and transparent financial controls. This process allows the Grants Team to understand how funds have been allocated, ensuring that they were used to help deliver on Foresters purpose. Overall, this process has been satisfactory, but there are indications that more work is needed to help members understand the importance of financial accuracy. In addition to auditing individual grants, Internal Audit also performs an annual audit on the banking elements of the Granting program to ensure that the internal controls and processes are in place and to validate the reports that have been provided to the Trustees. As the program evolves, internal financial processes will continue to be revisited and refined to maintain this objective. There are also a number of measures built into the process to ensure program accountability. Foresters maintains a reporting process to monitor the use of granting funds with several different reports issued at various intervals, each geared at specific Foresters stakeholders: Monthly Branch Reports - Summary and detailed reports on each grant (approved, pending, cancelled) at the Branch level provided to member leaders (those involved in Foresters Governance system). Regional Reports - Summary and detailed reports on each grant (approved, pending, cancelled) at the Regional level provided to elected Regional officers. Executive Leadership Team (ELT) Report - A high-level summary of engagement numbers and program metrics including: applications received, funds granted and planned activity attendance numbers. Quarterly Report to the Board - A memo outlining the important program activities over the quarter including a break-down of program metrics, activity trends, important issues related to the program and upcoming changes and enhancements. Bi-Annually Report to the Trustees - Twice a year granting funding reports are provided to the Trustees detailing the Granting program receipts and payments on the in-trust bank accounts. Form 990, Part VI, Section A, Line 3 Certain responsibilities associated with the Governance structure as well as the Granting program have been delegated to a range of Foresters employees. Administrative tasks associated with the execution of meetings including the circulation of meeting materials and minutes, financial reporting and documentation retention are performed by the Membership Department's Governance team. The delivery of the Granting program, including program guidelines, reviewing online applications, grant approvals, criteria assistance and coaching, payments administration and tracking, etc. are the duty of the Membership Operations team. Form 990, Part VI, Section A, Line 6 Yes, as a Fraternal Benefit Society, Foresters U.S. Branch is a member-based organization. Form 990, Part VI, Section A, Line 7a Yes, Foresters U.S. Branch maintains a member-based elected form of leadership. Form 990, Part VI, Section A, Line 7b Any decisions by Foresters U.S. Branch are subject to approval by the Foresters International Board of Directors in line with the Constitution. Form 990, Part VI, Section B, Line 11b This Form 990 was prepared by staff from the Finance and Membership Departments who are responsible for the management of Branch Trust Bank Accounts and the related Foresters Granting Program. This Form 990 was then reviewed by key Foresters executives, including the signatories on the US Trust Agreements and the US Branch Trust Bank Accounts. Finally, this Form 990 was shared electronically with the voting members of the governing body, providing them with oversight and the ability to provide comments and feedback. Form 990, Part VI, Section B, Line 12c All members declaring themselves or nominated for an elected position within the Foresters U.S. Branch Governance structure are required to sign a Volunteer Code of Ethics declaration containing a clear conflict of interest policy. Officers are required to sign this form at the beginning of each term and adhere to the principles throughout their tenure. A number of mechanisms are in place to ensure adherence to the Volunteer Code of Ethics and the associated conflict of interest policy. Processes exist throughout all programs within Foresters U.S. Branch to ensure compliance to the Code and to facilitate the reporting of concerns, including a system of random and triggered audits. Form 990, Part VI, Section C, Line 19 Foresters U.S. Branch makes all governing documents and our Code of Ethics (containing a conflict-of-interest policy) available to the public on Foresters.com in the "About Foresters" section under "Corporate Governance." U.S. Branch Group Return financial statements are contained within this Form 990, which is available upon request, as noted in 18 above The Independent Order of Foresters (Parent) 789 Don Mills Road Toronto Ontario CA M3C1T9 980000680 Fraternal CA 501(c)8 N/A 0 Foresters Investment Management Company Inc 789 Don Mills Rd Toronto Ontario CA M3C1T9 136120357 Holding Company NY The Independent Order of Foresters C 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 In a letter dated May 20, 2024, we received notification - CP12A that the tax exempt status for the North Texas, Oklahoma & Arkansas - EIN 35-2480589 was automatically revoked . Upon further investigation, we found out that the application Foresters submitted back in 2013 had the EIN as 32-2480589 however the IRS has this recorded as 35-2480589 so we are and have been trying to have the issue resolve prior to us doing the filing in May 2025. However, the issue is still unresolve so we applied for an extension with the hope of having it resolved before the November 15th deadline which it still hasn't.