PLATINUM2023

Military Warriors Support Foundation

Serving The Heroes Who Have Served for Us

aka Military Warriors Support Foundation   |   San Antonio, TX   |  militarywarriors.org

Mission

Our Mission is to support combat wounded U.S. military service members by offering programs that facilitate a successful transition back to civilian life.

Ruling year info

2008

Chief Executive Officer & Founder

LTG Leroy B Sisco

Executive Director

Mr. Ken B Eakes

Main address

211 N Loop 1604 E Suite 250

San Antonio, TX 78232 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

20-8742203

NTEE code info

Human Services - Multipurpose and Other N.E.C. (P99)

Other Housing Support Services (L80)

Other Recreation, Sports, or Leisure Activities N.E.C. (N99)

IRS filing requirement

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

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Communication

Blog

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

According to statistics provided by the VA, as of 9/30/16, there are 2.9 million new veterans since the post 9/11 era. That number is expected to rise to 4.7 million by 2037. With the population growing rapidly each year, the need for transitional programs is critical. This is a population of young veterans who are simultaneously finding new jobs, establishing new daily routines, and taking on new challenges. Exiting the military can mean relocating, living independently for the first time, reuniting with a partner and children, or becoming a parent. For many it also means returning home to live with their combat injuries – physical and non-visible injuries like PTSD and TBI. Unfortunately, without the proper support, confronting these challenges can often lead to divorce, homelessness and even suicide. Military Warriors Support Foundation offers a variety of programs that are designed to support our nation's heroes as they face these challenges of transitioning to civilian life.

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?

Homes4WoundedHeroes

Awarding mortgage-free homes to combat wounded heroes injured while in service to our country. The homes are for families who have severe and/or unique circumstances due to their injuries received while serving our country. In addition to the home, the families will receive 3 years of family and financial mentoring.

Population(s) Served
Veterans

Military Warriors Support Foundation (MWSF) provides recreational outings and family mentoring in the Skills 4 Life program with hunting, fishing, golf, sporting events, family outings & vacations. The goal is to provide combat wounded military and their families with the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors and thank them for their service with these opportunities. We want our wounded heroes enjoying the activities they did before their injuries. www.MilitaryWarriors.org/Skills4Life

Population(s) Served
Veterans

Award 100% mortgage-free homes to Gold Star spouses whose loved one made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. In addition to the home, recipient families will receive 3 years of family and financial mentoring.

Population(s) Served
Veterans
Adults

We realize the transition back to civilian life can have many hurdles for our nation’s returning heroes. There are doctor’s appointments, school and work obligations, and various trips to provide the basic needs for a family. Having reliable transportation is crucial in accomplishing these things. For a variety of reasons, this is not always possible for our nation’s wounded heroes.
To support these heroes, Military Warriors Support Foundation has developed their Transportation4Heroes Program, which will provide access to reliable transportation as well as mentoring opportunities to develop the skills necessary to handle long-term vehicle ownership.

Population(s) Served
Veterans
Adults

When transitioning out of the military, there are many unknowns for the Heroes and families, to include where they wish to settle, long-term. This program is designed to support combat wounded heroes and Gold Star spouses whom are not prepared to take on long-term homeownership. Through this program, MWSF will provide a 1-year lease, in a safe, quality apartment complex. In addition, each recipient will be provided with a family and financial mentor that will guide them through a structured mentoring program that is designed to increase financial literacy and family stability. The goal of this program is to prepare the recipient for long-term sustainability, with the added goal of transitioning to a more stable housing situation, be it as a renter, participation in a lease, or home ownership.

Population(s) Served
Veterans
Adults

Military Warriors Support Foundation’s (MWSF) Financial and Family Mentoring is our cornerstone program. We know firsthand that interactive financial education builds confidence and independence. The mentor serves as the hero or Gold Star’s primary point of contact for MWSF, allowing them to build a relationship and have someone to contact for support, connect with local resources and help guide them towards a path of financial independence.
Mentors share tools and resources to encourage neighborhood, school, and community involvement. As they negotiate future home improvements, repair contracts, etc., the mentors are available to lend their knowledge, support, and encouragement.

Population(s) Served
Veterans
Adults

Leadership4Life is a 2-year program that will take combat
wounded veterans on a transition journey empowering and releasing them into their community
where they can live a life of purpose and connection. This will be accomplished through
community engagement, training sessions and group experiences focusing on the responsibility
and overall growth of each individual and the duty of community

Population(s) Served
Adults
Veterans

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 mortgage-free homes provided to veterans

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

Adults, Military personnel, Veterans, Widows and widowers

Related Program

Homes4WoundedHeroes

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Holding steady

Context Notes

Total number of mortgage-free homes provided to combat wounded veterans or Gold Stars through the Homes4WoundedHeroes and Homes4GoldStars programs. All homes are donated, renovated and then awarded.

Number of veterans with PTSD served

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Total number of combat wounded veterans served by MWSF programs with diagnosed PTSD

Dollar amount of debt reduction

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

Adults, Veterans

Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Cumulative dollar amount of debt reduction achieved by program participants

Percentage of low to moderate income participants helped by non-profits programs

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

Adults, Veterans

Related Program

Homes4WoundedHeroes

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Percentage of low to moderate income families helped by the programs offered by Military Warriors Support Foundation.

Number of combat-wounded veterans served by MWSF programs with diagnosed Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI)

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

Adults, Veterans

Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Number of combat-wounded veterans served by MWSF programs with diagnosed Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) by each individual year.

Percentage of veteran's or families who establish savings accounts by the completion of their Financial and Family Mentoring

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

Adults, Veterans

Related Program

Homes4WoundedHeroes

Type of Metric

Context - describing the issue we work on

Direction of Success

Holding steady

Context Notes

The percentage of participants in our Financial and Family Mentoring program who have established savings at the completion of the program.

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.

Military Warriors Support Foundation provides programs to our nation's combat wounded veterans and Gold Star spouses surrounding the three principles of Home, Wealth and Health. Our largest endeavor is to provide shelter to our combat wounded veterans and Gold Star spouses. On any given night, there are more than 40,000 homeless veterans living on the streets, most of whom were not ready to transition to civilian life. In conjunction with our partners, we can provide apartments and homes that are rent and mortgage-free, ensuring that the veteran and their family has a safe, reliable and consistent place to call home. These homes relieve them of their biggest financial strain and reduces the stress associated with ensuring they have a proper place to live. Eliminating the cost for shelter allows them to focus on other financial and personal matters.

The cornerstone to all our programs is the financial and family mentoring that we require of each participant in our programs. The mentoring lasts between 1-3 years depending on the program. Over 63% of our applicants entered the military prior to age 21, with their basic needs of food, shelter, clothing and a job being provided to them. Now that they are out of the military and must provide those essential needs for themselves, understanding the basic concepts of money management, saving and investing are important to their transition. Each participant is assigned a mentor that teaches or re-instills the basic concepts, monthly, so the practices become habits, like how they learned in the military. In addition, the mentor can provide guidance and referrals so their transition to homeownership or living on their own will be a successful journey.

Lastly, we understand the importance of mental well-being and how important that can be for a successful transition. While in the military, members develop a tight-knit bond, relying on each other for potential survival. Upon leaving the military, it is very difficult to replace that bond, comradery and shared experiences. To assist our veterans, we provide recreational outings (hunting, fishing, golf and other outdoor activities) that bring veterans together in a relaxed environment to participate in some of the hobbies or sports they once enjoyed, but may no longer be participating in. These outings are all lead by former military members, many of which are wounded themselves, and allows the participants to re-engage in that comradery and competition they once thrived on while in the military. This peer to peer mentoring becomes invaluable as new friendships are formed and they realize they are not the only one going through a difficult time.

In addition, we payment-free vehicles to heroes who are either without transportation, or are unable to transport themselves, due to their injuries. This allows many heroes and their families easier access to doctor's appointments, grocery shopping and recreation.

Over the last 15 years, we built partnerships with several financial institutions and donors to provide our programs. Our financial partners continue to provide us with an inventory of homes that we make available to the veterans or Gold Star spouses. We review our applicant pool to determine the highest areas of interest and then work with our financial partners to meet the needs of those concentrated areas. However, we will review all potential homes, regardless of concentration, to determine if we can fulfill a veteran's needs in that location.
Over 80% of our applicants have children, so every home that is offered to us is fully vetted to ensure that we are placing the veteran and his/her family into a sound, stable and reliable home that they can prosper in. We review the neighborhoods for schools, medical facilities, transportation, crime and recreational opportunities to determine if our family can thrive in the home based on their current situation. That same level of detail is also undertaken when we are identifying apartment complexes for the veterans who are not ready for long term homeownership.

Our commitment to the veterans and their families doesn't stop upon providing them a home, apartment, vehicle or recreational outing. In fact, that is just the beginning of our relationship. With the advice of military doctors, psychiatrists and psychologists, all our programs are centered around family and financial mentoring. In addition to receiving a home or vehicle, the veteran, Gold Star spouse or family are required to participate in a 1-3-year mentoring program before “graduating" from our programs. These individuals are accustomed to routines and repetitions that become daily habits that they carry forward throughout their life. Our family and financial mentoring program offers those same principles by meeting with our families monthly to establish financial goals and progress towards meeting them, critiquing their current financial activity and providing education on a variety of financial topics to help them in the future. By meeting regularly, the mentor develops a rapport with the family and often becomes their primary source for identifying local resources and general knowledge on a variety of topics.

Military Warriors Support Foundation (MWSF) has partnered with several of the largest financial institutions and builders to provide almost 900 homes to combat wounded veterans and surviving spouses of fallen heroes (Gold Stars) since 2010. In collaboration with multiple partners and resources, MWSF works to ensure the homes are renovated to move-in ready condition for recipient families.

In addition to bank partners and long-standing sponsors, we have also partnered with a nationwide property renovation company since our inception. Most homes we receive will require some form of renovation work before it is ready to be awarded. Our property renovation partner is very adept at inspecting the properties and providing accurate estimates on the repairs that will need to be completed. Armed with that consistent and thorough information, MWSF is able to make the best decision on whether or not each home will be a good fit for the program and our Heroes. This long-term partnership has provided us the ability to work on homes throughout the country with the same high-quality workmanship provided to each home.

Our cornerstone Financial and Family mentoring program has been so successful with our housing programs, that we have now included it with our transportation program as well. The ability to provide our veterans, many of whom are in their 20's and early 30's, the opportunity to learn sound financial habits and develop a method for reducing debt, can be a life changing experience for them. We have mentors situated across the country that meet with veterans every month to educate and ensure that they are staying on track with their personal and financial goals. The consistent contact and review helps turn those concepts into habits that can be carried forward to future generations.

Since 2010, Military Warriors Support Foundation (MWSF) has been awarding mortgage-free homes to combat wounded veterans and Gold Star spouses of fallen heroes through generous donations from partners, sponsors and the public. To date, we have been able to change the lives of almost 900 veterans' and their families throughout all 50 states by providing them with a new home. In addition, over 1700 children now have a safe and consistent place to call home, providing them the opportunity to grow and prosper in their community. With continued support from our partners, we aim to provide up to 50 homes each year.

Our Financial and Family mentoring program is setting these new homeowners down a path for success by teaching them financial skills and components to make informed decisions related to their finances. Through hard work and dedication, our program participants have been able to reduce their outstanding debt by $24 million, while also improving their credit score by an average of 40 points.

Our recreation program, Skills4Life, continues to provide fishing, hunting, golfing and outdoor opportunities to over 300 participants each year. These events allow our participants to engage in sporting activities and rekindle that competitive fire with fellow servicemen in friendly competitions. All events are run by former military members, which allows the participants to receive peer to peer mentoring and share stories of failure and success in their own civilian transitions.

Due to changes in the housing market, our partners have limited inventories through which they provide donated homes. To continue to meet the housing needs of our nation's heroes, MWSF is continuing to obtain assets through creative building and purchase models.

Lastly, we will look to grow our current Transportation program. We have awarded over 130 new, payment-free vehicles to deserving veterans. We look to increase our partnerships with car dealers to deliver more vehicles, empowering our heroes to explore new opportunities like further education, or just to simplify day-to-day tasks of going to work or attending medical appointments.

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 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 look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, The people we serve tell us they find data collection burdensome

Financials

Military Warriors Support Foundation
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Operations

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

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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.

Military Warriors Support Foundation

Board of directors
as of 09/08/2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

President Leroy Sisco

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? Not applicable
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Not applicable
  • 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? Not applicable
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Not applicable
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Not applicable

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 9/8/2023

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
Multi-Racial/Multi-Ethnic (2+ races/ethnicities)
Gender identity
Male, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or straight
Disability status
Decline to state

The organization's co-leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Male, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or straight
Disability status
Decline to state

Race & ethnicity

No data

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

No data

Disability

No data

Equity strategies

Last updated: 09/08/2023

GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more

Data
  • We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
  • We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
  • We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
Policies and processes
  • We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
  • We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
  • We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
  • We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.