GOLD2023

1MATTERS dba VETERANS MATTER

A National Housing Program

aka Veterans Matter   |   Toledo, OH   |  www.veteransmatter

Mission

Veterans Matter - To house as many homeless veterans as we can as fast as we can.

Ruling year info

2008

CEO

Shawn Dowling

Main address

3450 W Central Ave. Suite 124

Toledo, OH 43606 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

26-2052237

NTEE code info

Homeless Services/Centers (P85)

Philanthropy / Charity / Voluntarism Promotion (General) (T50)

IRS filing requirement

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

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Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

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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?

Veterans Matter

Veterans Matter serves America’s homeless Heroes by assuring a seamless transition from homelessness to permanent housing. Veterans Matter is a national non-profit that uses a national fundraising platform to raise dollars to pay deposits and first month’s rent for Homeless Veteran Families who are admitted to VA HUD-VASH programs. Our partnership with the Veterans Health Administration/HUD-VASH programs reduces the amount of time the Homeless Veteran Family is in shelter or living on the streets, by providing financial assistance within 24 hours of the initial request. Over time, we have developed professional relationships with thousands of private landlords and property owners and managers, across the United States who are committed to housing our homeless Heroes.

Population(s) Served
Homeless people
Veterans
Families
Families

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 homeless participants engaged in housing services

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

Veterans

Related Program

Veterans Matter

Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Program success is measured by one outcome, veterans housed. This outcome is measured daily and results can be found daily on the Veterans Matter website.

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.

With dignity first, to return individuals and families with children to domestic and financial autonomy.

Removing the deposit barrier magnifies the impact/value of the intervention strategy by facilitating opportunity for immediate connection to additional services through Veterans Matter, the VA social and employment workers nationwide, while leveraging the capacity and resources of the local community collaborators.

According to HUD's VASH assessment, “Hands down, the most common obstacle faced by Veterans during the lease-up process as described by HUD-VASH sites is a lack of funds for security deposits and other move-in costs."

Currently rental deposits are not readily available due to an unhoused veteran's limited employment or patchwork of local and federal resources with limited funding. Homeless veterans are sometimes forced to beg for the deposits from churches, VFW's, and the like. In major cities, it often requires multiple agencies and appointments, numerous applications/case managers/housing plans to get approved, then an additional 2 – 6 weeks to process and send the deposit. This lengthy process depletes the homeless veteran's phone minutes, bus tokens, and ultimately extends the time they are forced to sleep in a box, abandoned building, on the street, or in a shelter.

The rental deposits are often the only obstacle preventing vets from entering the ready long-term housing. We eliminate this last barrier and help them over the threshold in literally minutes.

We think we have created a program that most foundations would seek to fund: An out of the box, game-changing, proven, effective program with very low program costs as overhead costs are donated in kind.

Veterans Matter, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), leverages evidence-based practices like Housing First and the federal resources of HUD-VASH (the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing voucher program) to get veterans off the street and into stable housing as quickly as possible.

Once stabilized in long-term housing, case managers help the veteran manage all chronic health and/or mental issues, addictions, or other issues causing the chronic homelessness. According to HUD, the HUD-VASH program has a remarkably high 91% success rate in keeping veterans housed at least one year.

We go where needed most. We find the most neglected veterans in the most neglected areas. Yes, we have housed over 1,350 veterans, but that is ONLY 1,350. We can do five times that if we have the funds to deploy. Our Advocates are now raising money and awareness to house 2,000 more veterans this year.

Veterans Matter is the result of collaborative innovation integrating technology, housing and the community, with the medical, mental and employment help provided by the VA that creates evidence-based results for our heroes in need: Returning them to domestic autonomy. Our mission is simple, house as many homeless veterans as we can, as fast as we can.

In late 2016 Veterans Matter and the VA Secretary signed a Memorandum of Agreement in order to expand each of these system level programs.

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 identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, 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 collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), 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, We share the feedback we received with the people we serve, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback

Financials

1MATTERS dba VETERANS MATTER
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Operations

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

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lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

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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.

1MATTERS dba VETERANS MATTER

Board of directors
as of 08/15/2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Dougals Nowak

Spectrum Communications

Term: 2022 - 2023

Brian Kalas

Niehaus & Kalas LTDs

Russ Karban

Savage & Associates

Jeffery Young

Retired Special Education Administrator

Joseph Delpino

Eagles View Advisors, LLC

Gavin Naples

Tunnel to Towers Foundation

Bradley Blakeman

Tunnel to Towers Foundation

Mark Phillipa

Tunnel to Towers Foundation

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 8/15/2023

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
Female, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Gay, lesbian, bisexual, or other sexual orientations in the LGBTQIA+ community
Disability status
Person with a disability

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

Disability

Equity strategies

Last updated: 08/15/2023

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 ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
  • We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
  • We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
  • 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 disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
  • 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 seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
  • 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.
  • We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
  • We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.