PLATINUM2023

Nation's Finest

Guiding Veterans Home Since 1972

aka Nation\u0027s Finest   |   Santa Rosa, CA   |  https://nationsfinest.org/

Mission

At Nation's Finest, our mission is to support America's military veterans and their families with a comprehensive approach to housing, health and employment that helps them achieve self-sufficiency and reach their full potential.

Notes from the nonprofit

In August 2020, we changed our name to Nation\u0027s Finest, Inc. We were previously incorporated as Vietnam Veterans of California, dba Veterans Resource Centers of America.

Ruling year info

1981

President and CEO

Mr. Chris Johnson

Main address

2455 Bennett Valley Rd. C105

Santa Rosa, CA 95404 USA

Show more contact info

Formerly known as

Veterans Resource Centers of America

EIN

94-2699571

NTEE code info

Human Service Organizations (P20)

Housing Development, Construction, Management (L20)

Employment Procurement Assistance and Job Training (J20)

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 2020, 2019 and 2018.
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Communication

Blog

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Our goal is to support individual veterans and their families as they build better lives for themselves, their families, and our communities.\n\nLong after the \u201Clast shot is fired,\u201D veterans require and deserve a long-term commitment to help them rebuild their lives\u2014to thank them for their service with more than words. At Nation\u0027s Finest, we understand that the obstacles many veterans struggle to overcome are interrelated, and require an integrated network of support within the community and continuum of care. \n\nAt one point, every veteran signed his or her name on a contract, took an oath, and put on a uniform. Regardless of whether they served during peacetime or deployed to combat, or what their original motivations were for serving, they made a promise to do whatever was asked of them, and for that they deserve our gratitude and support. At Nation\u0027s Finest, we believe this shouldn\u2019t be a partisan or political issue\u2014serving those who served us is everyone\u2019s responsibility.

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?

Supportive Services for Veteran Families

Serving veterans and their families across California, Arizona and Nevada who are homeless or at risk of becoming Homeless. Funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Population(s) Served
Veterans
Homeless people

Initially serving as a mechanism to contract with providers for community-based residential treatment for homeless Veterans, many HCHV programs now serve as the hub for a myriad of housing and other services that provide VA with a way to reach and assist homeless Veterans by offering them entry to VA care.

Outreach is the core of the HCHV program. The central goal is to reduce homelessness among Veterans by conducting outreach to those who are the most vulnerable and not currently receiving services and engaging them in treatment and rehabilitative programs.

Another aspect of HCHV is the Contract Residential Treatment program, which places Veterans with serious mental health diagnoses into quality, community-based, supportive housing.

Population(s) Served
Veterans

VA's Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program is offered annually (as funding permits) by the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care for Homeless Veterans (HCHV) Programs to fund community agencies providing services to homeless Veterans. The purpose is to promote the development and provision of supportive housing and/or supportive services with the goal of helping homeless Veterans achieve residential stability, increase their skill levels and/or income, and obtain greater self-determination.

Population(s) Served
Veterans

Where we work

Affiliations & memberships

National Coalition of Homeless Veterans 2023

Videos

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

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

Average number of service recipients per month

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

Veterans, Homeless people

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Total Veterans served across all programs.

Number of housing units built

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

Veterans, Homeless people

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Includes housing units operated by Nation's Finest.

Number of meals delivered

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

Veterans, Homeless people

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Meals provided to homeless Veterans.

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.

At Nation\u0027s Finest, our goal is to support America\u2019s military veterans, helping them live up to their full potential and build happy, healthy, and enriched lives for themselves and their families. Self-sufficiency and successful reintegration into their communities are the hallmarks we strive for, and we pride ourselves on helping veterans help themselves.

Transitional Housing for up to two years to stabilize barriers and provide support services that will ensure successful transition to permanent housing. Behavioral Health services to dual-diagnosed veterans with significant barriers to independent living. Rapid rehousing for chronically homeless veterans. Homeless prevention via temporary financial assistance for at risk veteran households to keep them from becoming homeless. Construction of permanent supportive housing to develop a supply of permanent housing options for our clients. Case management to help each veteran create a personalized service plan that outlines barriers and goals related to substance abuse, mental health, medical needs, finances, education, employment, and housing.

Nation\u0027s Finest is in its 49th year of long-term community service to veterans of all eras. We are CARF-certified in case management, community services, and rapid rehousing. Our leadership and Board have over 200 years of combined expertise in developing, delivering and administering a comprehensive slate of supportive services for veterans and their families. We currently operate more than 30 locations in 14 mostly rural communities in California, Arizona, and Nevada, as well as our headquarters in Santa Rosa, CA, our four behavioral health centers, three transitional housing facilities, and more than 300 units of transitional and permanent supportive housing occupied or currently under development.

In the last 12 years, Nation\u0027s Finest has grown from five resource centers in Northern California to 14 resource centers and more than 30 overall locations in three states (Arizona, California, Nevada), as well as our headquarters in Santa Rosa, CA, our four behavioral health centers, three transitional housing facilities, and more than 300 units of transitional and permanent supportive housing occupied or currently under development.

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?

    Veterans in need and their families.

  • 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

  • What significant change resulted from feedback?

    Staff and clients in one service location suggested consolidating our operations into one facility to improve coordination. So we did!

  • 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, 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?

    It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time

Financials

Nation's Finest
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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.

Nation's Finest

Board of directors
as of 03/01/2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board co-chair

Mr. Philip Williams

Welty, Weaver & Currie

Term: 2022 - 2023


Board co-chair

Mr. Daniel Rusch

Sonesta International Hotels

Term: 2022 - 2023

James Larson

Retired

Charles Helget

Republic Services

Larry Connolly

Retired

Burt McChesney

Consultant

Philip Williams

Welty, Weaver & Currie

Mary Nicholson

Healings in Motion, Inc.

Koby Langley

American Red Cross

Anne Fabiny

Veteran's Administration Medical Center, San Francisco (Retired)

Lacey Szekely

SWET Fitness

Daniel Rusch

Sonesta International Hotels

Jimmy Radford

Former Client of Nation's Finest

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? No

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 3/1/2023
info Candid has made improvements to the race and ethnicity options.

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 (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Decline to state
Disability status
Decline to state

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

No data

Disability

Equity strategies

Last updated: 02/03/2021

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.
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 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.