Sound Off, Inc.
Supporting Those Who Served on Their Terms
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
A wide body of research indicates that between 1/2 and 3/4 of Veterans and a similar number of Service Members with mental health conditions never seek support. The barriers to entry are equally well researched, summarized as: a personal and professional desire for anonymity, bureaucratic and geographic difficulties, and lack of trust engaging with a "Doctor". Sound Off addresses the barriers to entry preventing Veterans and Service Members from seeking care.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Sound Off
Sound Off's mission is to provide mental health support to Veterans and Service Members in such a way that the 47%+ of those suffering who otherwise refuse to seek help feel culturally, bureaucratically and psychologically comfortable doing so. We acknowledge and precisely address the well-known barriers to entry (which prevent these men and women from seeking help) by changing several elements of the traditional delivery of support, thereby bringing a significant population of previously unserved Veterans and Service Members into help.
Where we work
Awards
Mission Daybreak 2022
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
External reviews
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Evaluation documents
Download evaluation reportsNumber of clinicians registered
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Veterans
Related Program
Sound Off
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Increasing
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Sound Off's mission is to provide mental health support to Veterans and Service Members in such a way that the 47%+ of those suffering who otherwise refuse to seek help feel culturally, bureaucratically and psychologically comfortable doing so. We acknowledge and precisely address the well known barriers to entry (which prevent these men and women from seeking help) by changing several elements of the traditional delivery of support, thereby bringing a significant population of previously unserved Veterans and Service Members into help.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Sound Off uniquely provides Veterans and Service Members the ability to develop a long-term relationship with a culturally competent mental health clinician and/or a screened and trained peer, while maintaining complete and total personal anonymity at no cost to them. We pair a support network of clinicians and peers with an IT platform/application which enables the Veteran or Service Member to maintain anonymity - not simply confidentiality.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Sound Off has invested in building a network of both clinicians and peer support. We have also created strategic partnerships with many special forces organizations as well as veteran organizations, such as the Navy Seal Foundation, EOD Warrior Foundation, Special Forces Charitable Trust, Task Force Dager, Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation, and many more. By growing out partnership network, we can scale the care providers (Peers/Clinicians) as well as the users (people seeking help)
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
William Negley developed the model for Sound Off while serving with the CIA in Afghanistan where he witnessed the invisible wounds of war and the unique challenges those serving face when seeking mental health support. In June 2017, William Negley's brother-in-law Navy SEAL Bill Mulder killed himself - since that time William's sister Sydney has become a spokesperson for Sound Off. In the Fall of 2018, sufficient funding and technical support were secured. In 2019, the services were launched in Texas, and in 2020, COVID hit. In 2021, a national network of clinicians were ready and we began working on raising awareness. The Sound Off mobile application was launched at the beginning of 2022. The program/application has been up and running since then, with a consistent focus on scaling the network of clinicians and peer supporters available for those who are seeking care.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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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
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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 act on the feedback we receive
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild 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.
Sound Off, Inc.
Board of directorsas of 01/18/2024
James Patrick
Paul Janes
Ashwin Rajaram
Michael Moreno
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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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
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
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 01/05/2024GuideStar 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
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- 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 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.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.