Where Does $100 to Paralyzed Veterans of America Go (2023)?

by Anne Paddock

The Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) is a non-profit, tax-exempt 501 (c) 3 based in Washington, DC (although the organization has 73 offices and 33 chapters throughout the country). Established in 1947, PVA has a core mission of vets serving vets, funding spinal cord research, and advocating for disability rights, according to their website. So, the question most donors want to know is: How much of my donation goes to the organization’s core mission? The answer: about 49% in 2023 with 58% spent on a marketing, publications, and advertising (note: PVA spent $107 for every $100 in revenue received in 2023).

Key financial information reported by PVA to the IRS on the Form 990 (for the year ending June 30, 2023) include the following:

$89 million in total revenue was reported (compared to $127 million in 2022, $107 million in 2021, $98 million in 2020 and $92 million in 2019), most of which ($87 million) came from contributions, gifts, and grants. The $38 million decline in revenue from 2022-2023 was due to a decrease in contributions, gifts, and grants.

Expenses totaled $97 million (109% of revenue) and were categorized as follows

$36 million (41% of revenue): Marketing
$25 million (28% of revenue): Compensation
$12 million (13% of revenue): Publications
$ 7 million (8% of revenue): Grants
$ 4 million (4% of revenue): Office-Related Expenses
$ 4 million (4% of revenue): Advertising
$ 4 million (4% of revenue): Fees for Services
$ 3 million (3% of revenue): Travel and Conferences
$ 2 million (2% of revenue): Other Expenses

It is noteworthy to know:

PVA relies heavily on a company called Edge Direct, of Baltimore, MD for a mail/gift program. In 2023, Edge Direct received $53 million in compensation for this program. Yet, the Form 990, Part IX, Statement of Functional Expenses does not list the “mail/gift program” as the organization has done in previous years. However, the $53 million in fees paid to Edge Direct is listed as fees to outside vendors on the Form 9990, Part VII, Section B, Independent Contractors. PVA somehow breaks the $53 million down into other unexplained categories ($36 million in marketing fees, $12 million in publications, and other categories which makes it difficult to reconcile the $53 million in fees paid to Edge Direct).

Using the above information, every $100 in revenue was spent as follows:

$100: Revenue

-$ 41: Marketing

-$ 13: Publications

-$ 4: Advertising

-$ 58: Subtotal: Marketing, Publications, and Advertising

$ 42: Revenue Remaining

-$ 28: Compensation

-$ 4: Fees for Services

-$ 2: Other Expenses

-$ 3: Travel and Conferences

-$ 4: Office-Related Expenses

-$ 41: Subtotal: Compensation, Fees, Office, Travel and Conferences, and Other

$ 1: Excess Revenue

-$ 8: Grants

-$ 7: Excess Expenses

As illustrated above, the largest expense for PVA is marketing which appears to be part of the “Mail Program” which is the primary way the organization raises funds. So, right off the top, In 2023, Edge Direct (an independent contractor) received $53 million in compensation although this expense is reported differently on the Form 990: Specifically, the Form 990 reveals:

Edge Direct raised $55 million for DVA and retained $855,000 million in addition to receiving $52 million from DVA for “gift/mail program”, which indicates Edge Direct raised $55 million and was compensated $53 million, netting DVA $2 million. Note: $2 million in postage charges are not included in this calculation.

The second largest expense is compensation for the 263 employees who received $25 million, or an average compensation of $95,000. 44 employees received more than $100,000 in compensation with the most highly compensated employee, William Blake, the Executive Director receiving $281,949, in compensation.

$4 million was spent on fees for services provided by non-employees and most of these fees ($2 million) are described as “other” with no further detail provided. However, it is important to note 72 independent contractors received more than $100,000 in compensation including:

$53 million: Edge Direct, of Baltimore, MD for mail/gift program
$ 2 million: USPS, of Washington, DC for mailing
$ 1 million: Aegis Premier Technology, of Tulsa, OK for data management
$ 1 million: Aegis Processing Solutions, of Topeka, KS for mail/gift program
$ 1 million: Data Axle, of Rye Brook, NY for data management

So, the discrepancy cannot be explained based on information reported on the Form 990.

$4 million was spent on office-related expenses while $7 million (or $8 out of every $100 in revenue) was spent on grants (38 grants greater than $5,000). Most grants were awarded to local chapters of PVA for sport or chapter grants. Of the grants listed on the Form 990, Schedule I, about $1.3 of the $7 million in grants were awarded for research.

PVA spent about 107% of the revenue received in 2023 (or about $8 million more than they raised), which was offset by $11 million in unrealized gains on investments. Net assets were $101 million at year-end (compared to $99 million at the beginning of the year).

The bottom line is that PVA is paying a lot of money to raise money. Edge Direct raised $55 million for the organization but was compensated and reimbursed $53 million, netting DVA only $2 million. The financial information on the Form 990 (2022 for the year ending June 30, 2023) shows that $49 of every $100 in revenue received – and that’s assuming every expense except “marketing,” “publications” and advertising are considered an expense that helped vets help vets, was allocated to spinal cord research, and supported the advocacy of disabled veterans, went to directly helping the vets (the remaining $58 was used to pay fundraising costs. Commendable is executive compensation which is very conservative.

To read the IRS Form 990 (2022 for the year ending June 30, 2023), click here.