THE WARRIOR CONNECTION INC

The mission is over, the inner journey continues.

aka The Warrior Connection   |   McKinney, TX   |  http://warriorconnection.org

Mission

The Warrior Connection (TWC) mission is to improve the overall well-being of our veterans and their families. TWC is rehabilitating PTSD - breaking the cycle so the healing begins and can continue. TWC provides residential retreats and services to Veterans and their families to heal the invisible injuries incurred while in uniform. TWC offers specialized programs for military men and women and their families. Programs are free to Veterans and families of all eras. TWC combines seven proven modalities of healing in an immersive and residential setting through: Individual Mentoring, Group Coaching, Bio-feedback Technology, Expressive Arts Nature Activities, Trauma-Sensitive Exercise, and Mindfulness Techniques.

Ruling year info

2011

Executive Director

Mr. Aaron M. Phillips

Board Chairperson

Mr. Peter May

Main address

PO Box 6308

McKinney, TX 75071 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

30-0653682

NTEE code info

Mental Health Treatment (F30)

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

Hot Line, Crisis Intervention (F40)

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

The Warrior Connection (TWC) provides residential retreats and services to veterans and their families to heal the invisible wounds incurred in uniform. TWC's program eases the suffering of veterans and their families struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and/or military sexual trauma (MST). Our program helps prevent suicide and divorce while supporting improvement in the five key areas of well-being (physical health, friends & family, community, career, and financial).

TWC retreats are veteran led and backed by neuroscience and analysis. The program combines ancient warrior cultural traditions with modern science-based analysis, mindfulness techniques, trauma-sensitive exercise, outdoor nature activities, elements of individual counseling (CBT), group coaching (GCBT), and the expressive arts to address and release the causes of PTSD or MST.

TWC helps veterans and their families break the cycle of suffering so the healing begins and can continue.

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?

The Warrior's Journey Retreat - Male Military Veterans

At TWC, we help veterans discover that they are not their PTSD. We help Vets replace anger, frustration, and loss of compassion for yourself and others with simple yet powerful techniques for re-creating balance and harmony in their life so they can be more of the man, father, husband and community contributor that they can and want to be.

Our retreats are run by Veterans, teamed with licensed clinicians and Veteran mentors. Activities and discussions are voluntary as actions focus on the individual. Although some may not choose to participate in all events, the safe military mentoring and guidance, along with the group dynamic, encourage individuals to be involved and work together.

Support for retreat graduates continues after the retreat with follow-up meetings and community-based personal growth.

Population(s) Served
Veterans
Adults

At TWC, you will discover that you are not your PTSD or MST and we can help you replace the anger, isolation, frustration, and loss, with compassion for yourself and others. You will learn simple yet powerful techniques for creating balance and harmony in your life so you can be more of the women, mother, wife, and community contributor that you want to be.

Our women’s retreats are lead by female Veterans, teamed with licensed clinicians and Veteran mentors to conduct our unique programming. Activities and discussions are voluntary, and activities focus on the individual. At times, some may choose not to participate. Although the safe military mentoring and guidance, along with the group, encourage individuals to be involved and work together.

Support for retreat graduates continues after the retreat with follow-up meetings and community-based personal growth.

Population(s) Served
Women and girls
Veterans

Whether you are or were married to a Veteran, this retreat is for a spouse, partner, or any other family member that is in a significantly close relationship with a Veteran. At our spouse retreat, a person who longs to discover who we are beneath the role of intimate partner—in that place where we can find our individuality and live from that place—can begin or continue moving toward a greater sense of self.

In the company of other spouses who have lived with a Veteran’s PTS, the atmosphere and program offer a haven to explore creative ways to self-reflect, self-express, self-nourish, and self-care from a kind, loving and real place.

While absolutely no artistic ability is required, the expressive arts provide a robust and fun tool to access inner wisdom and give you your unique voice. Here you can discover and reawaken that part of yourself that yearns to be creative, expressive, and reconnected with your spouse and your joy!

Population(s) Served
Caregivers
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 donations made by board members

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

Context - describing the issue we work on

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

We ask and expect that each of our board members makes a meaningful gift to the Org each year that reflects TWC as one of their top three philanthropic causes.

Number of program/model/intervention innovations

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

Families, Veterans, Military personnel, Emergency responders

Type of Metric

Context - describing the issue we work on

Direction of Success

Holding steady

Context Notes

TWC provides three specific innovative in-person program services to male and female veterans and military spouses.

Number of public events held to further mission

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

Families, Veterans, Military personnel

Type of Metric

Context - describing the issue we work on

Direction of Success

Holding steady

Context Notes

Additionally, TWC participates in various community engagement events with the VA, Vet Centers, and localized partners like regional VFW's, American Legions, college campuses, and military posts.

Number of participants counseled

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

Families, Veterans, Military personnel

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Year over year, TWC continues to engage and support more and more service members in our programs.

Number of clients served

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

Families, Veterans, Military personnel

Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Year over year, TWC continue to grow the number of veterans and military families that are made aware of and supported by our programs and engaged with the Org in a variety of ways.

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.

Our goals are to scale this program nationally, serving 10X the number of veterans and military spouses TWC currently serves in a year, from 200 to 2,000. Growing the agency organically, through partnership ecosystems like the Vet Centers, the VA, other NPO's, and private sector companies, to service the affected population by engaging funders, entrepreneurs, and strategic business partners.

The 2022-23 retreat programming will include seven 7-day Men’s Veteran Retreats, seven 7-day Women’s Veteran Retreats, and four 4-day Veteran Spouse/Family Retreats. These retreats will serve 300 Veterans and 48 family members and our additional services will reach over 600 families, however, the work is far from over as TWC’s waiting list continues to grow as Veterans wait in line for our live-saving programs. Our current participant waitlist is 529 individuals.

Build a "flagship" retreat location where the organization will be headquartered year around, and serve as a training ground for regional support teams, along with modeling the ideal community partnerships needed to grow into other communities, nationally.

TWC is ready to expand into other communities. Having operated on a shoestring since 2010, the organization learned to be extremely prudent. The program is fully developed, tested, refined and documented. The replicable model, TWC in a Box, is ready to go on the road. TWC trainers have successfully used The Warrior's Journey Facilitator Guide to train local facilitators in preparation to teach facilitators in new communities. Standardized operating procedures are in place to assure consistency and excellence, and a strong leadership team is now in place.

TWC has come a long way in a short period of time. We have been pulling together a solid group of dedicated volunteers until ready to transition into paid employees. As such, we are finding sincere folks who are contributing for noble reasons.

Now, with a new funding model in place, our single location model is allowing for expansion. TWC has already taken the next steps in TWC offering retreats in a second location, which began in 2019.

The leadership team will continue to cultivate new board members and additional paid staff to support the day-to-day operational tempo and growth further.

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.

  • Who are the people you serve with your mission?

    We serve male veterans, female veterans, and military spouses.

  • How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?

    Paper surveys, Focus groups or interviews (by phone or in person), Case management notes,

  • 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,

  • What significant change resulted from feedback?

    Based on input provided by our participants during our program evaluations, TWC has instituted a “Code of Conduct.” This includes creating a procedure for detaching from cell phone/media during our programs and agreeing to remove specific topics that often cause division during our group work, such as politics, religion, and sports teams. This policy helps outline acceptable behavior during our program while simultaneously allowing TWC staff to coach these behaviors while in sessions.

  • With whom is the organization sharing feedback?

    The people we serve, Our staff, Our board, Our funders, Our community partners,

  • How has asking for feedback from the people you serve changed your relationship?

    Based on input provided by our participants during our program evaluations, TWC has instituted a “Code of Conduct.” This includes creating a procedure for detaching from cell phone/media during our programs and agreeing to remove specific topics that often cause division during our group work, such as politics, religion, and sports teams. This policy helps outline acceptable behavior during our program while simultaneously allowing TWC staff to coach these behaviors while in sessions.By asking our participants for their feedback, we hope to communicate that we value their opinion.

  • 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 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 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,

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback,

Financials

THE WARRIOR CONNECTION INC
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Operations

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

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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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.

THE WARRIOR CONNECTION INC

Board of directors
as of 3/11/2022
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board co-chair

Mr. Peter May

The Warrior Connection

Term: 2020 -


Board co-chair

Mr. Ralph Kauzlarich

The Warrior Connection

Term: 2020 - 2022

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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? Not applicable

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 02/16/2022

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? GuideStar partnered on this section with CHANGE Philanthropy and Equity in the Center.

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
Multi-Racial/Multi-Ethnic (2+ races/ethnicities)
Gender identity
Male, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or Straight
Disability status
Person without a disability

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

Disability

We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.

Equity strategies

Last updated: 03/12/2020

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

Policies and processes
  • 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 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.