PLATINUM2023

Companions For Heroes

2 Lives Served!

aka C4H   |   Brunswick, GA   |  www.companionsforheroes.org

Mission

Companions for Heroes (C4H) provides companion animals, companion dogs, and on a case-by-case basis, service dogs, obtained from shelters, rescues and humane societies, who might otherwise be euthanized, free of charge to active duty military personnel, military veterans, first responders, military spouses and children, and Gold Star Families recovering from the psychological challenges they suffered during service to our country.

Ruling year info

2009

CEO

Mr. David Sharpe

Main address

501 Gloucester St Suite 102/103

Brunswick, GA 31520 USA

Show more contact info

Formerly known as

PETS2VETS

EIN

27-0648741

NTEE code info

Military/Veterans' Organizations (W30)

Other Mental Health, Crisis Intervention N.E.C. (F99)

Other Services (D60)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

Sign in or create an account to view Form(s) 990 for 2023, 2022 and 2021.
Register now

Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Ending military veteran, active duty military, military/veteran spouse, children (2-18), law enforcement, first responders, and Gold Star Family suicides and killing of shelter dogs. Since COVID-19, we are heavily focused on children with mental diagnosis of ADHD, Anxiety, Depression, and other similar diagnosis. COVID-19 has significantly impacted the mental health of our children.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Companion Dogs

There are 22 veterans that commit suicide every day.

A Companion Dog’s primary function is to provide comfort and emotional support. They help the hero coping with psychological trauma because they require the hero to focus on the dog’s needs. Being walked, fed, groomed and played with redirects the hero’s focus from their troubles to that of the dog, helping the hero regain a sense of purpose. This leads to the hero in becoming active in his or her community.

In addition to the amount of 22 daily suicides, one shelter dog is euthanized every 8 seconds (over 3 million annually). Companions for Heroes has one overarching goal – to help and save as many veterans and shelter dogs as it is able.

David Sharpe, Air Force Security Forces Veteran and Companions for Heroes’ founder, had hit rock bottom. Twice he placed a loaded pistol in his mouth, wishing to end his perceived pains, and twice, the sad eyes and soft touch of his rescue dog Cheyenne prompted him to remove the pistol and consider living. Immediately, Sharpe felt so relieved; like a 10,000-pound weight had been lifted off his chest. Soon after, Sharpe’s family and friends noticed a significant change in his behavior – a reduced number of outbursts, better attitude, and deciding not to commit suicide – all because of this little pit bull puppy.

So, Sharpe set out on a mission to share his personal struggles and success stories with fellow military veterans, active duty military, first responders, military spouses, Gold Star Families and military spouses suffering with PTSD, or similar symptoms. Sharpe’s hope is that Companions for Heroes will aid them in their recovery while at the same time saving some of our nation’s shelter dogs.

Population(s) Served
Veterans
Military personnel

Where we work

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Number of animals rehomed

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Children and youth, Adults, People with disabilities

Related Program

Companion Dogs

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

A minimum number of dogs were returned due to the applicant being on active duty military and had to deploy, and did not contact our team to find a foster family until they returned.

Number of service dogs provided to veterans

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Related Program

Companion Dogs

Type of Metric

Context - describing the issue we work on

Direction of Success

Increasing

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

Reducing the one military veteran, first responder and law enforcement officer from committing suicide every hour, and reducing the one shelter animal being killed every 8 seconds. Since COVID-19, we are heavily focused on children with mental diagnosis of ADHD, Anxiety, Depression, and other similar diagnosis. COVID-19 has significantly impacted the mental health of our children.

Grassroots campaigning, local and national media and press, and educating the local, state, federal police, fire fighters and first responders, to include nurses, EMTs and active duty military, military veterans, Gold Star Families, military spouses and children (2-18).

Referrals from our Heroes to their colleagues, friends, family and children, to include, rescues and shelters nationwide through word-of-mouth, newsletter, non-profit direct mail campaign and contacts within the local and national media and press.

A bigger national presence. Our team has served and saved over 1,400 Heroes and shelter animals since our inception in 2009. That's an average of 82 Heroes and 82 Dogs served and saved every year since the organization's inception 17 years ago.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We shared information about our current feedback practices.
  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We act on the feedback we receive, We share the feedback we received with the people we serve

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback

Financials

Companions For Heroes
lock

Unlock financial insights by subscribing to our monthly plan.

Subscribe

Unlock nonprofit financial insights that will help you make more informed decisions. Try our monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights?
Learn more about GuideStar Pro.

Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

Companions For Heroes

Board of directors
as of 09/19/2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Mr. Brian Rainey

Companions For Heroes

Term: 2023 - 2026

Brian Rainey

Chair/Treasurer

Daniel Merritt

Officer

Joseph Kauper

Secretary

Randolph Reynolds

Officer

Ray Cralle

Officer

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Board orientation and education
    Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes
  • Ethics and transparency
    Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 9/19/2023

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Male, Not transgender
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or Straight
Disability status
Person with a disability

Race & ethnicity

No data

Gender identity

No data

Transgender Identity

No data

Sexual orientation

No data

Disability

No data