Where Does $100 to Homes For Our Troops Go (2024)?

Homes For Our Troops provide a much needed product (build and donate custom homes outfitted for disabilities) and a service (a pro-bono financial planner for three years to assist in financial planning and household budgeting, along with homeownership education and warranty coverage to ensure that the Veteran is set up for long-term success as a homeowner).  Although the veteran pays no mortgage, Homes For Our Troops places a 10-year lien on the home to protect the veteran from losing the home due to a home equity loan foreclosure and safeguards donor contributions to the program. In addition, it provides a period of time for the family to become more financially stable.  Beginning in year 6, the veteran accrues 20% equity per year until year 10. After 10 years in the home, the veteran owns the home.

Homes For Our Troops is a tax-exempt, non-profit 501 (c) (3) established in 2004 in Massachusetts “to build and donate specially adapted custom homes nationwide for severely injured post-9/11 veterans to help them rebuild their lives.” Over the past 19 years (2004-2023), 400 homes (an average of 20 custom homes annually) have been built for veterans who have “sustained injuries including multiple limb amputations, partial or full paralysis, and/or severe traumatic brain injury (TBI).”

There are 15 board members of the governing body, 14 of whom are independent; 13 of whom are male and 2 who are female.

The most recent IRS Form 990 (2023 for the year ending September 30, 2024) reports the organization collected $45 million, most of which were contributions, gifts, and grants. Expenses totaled $50 million – about $5 million morethan the organization collected (the organization had sufficient reserves to cover these costs).

There are two ways to look at expenses or how donations are spent: by category which means by three (3) general categories – program, management and general expenses, and fundraising; or by line item which provides more detail.

Homes For Our Troops spent $38 million on the following three categories:

• $45 million or 100% of revenue:  Program Expenses
• $ 2 million or 4% of revenue:  Management and General Expenses
• $ 3 million or 7% of revenue:  Fundraising Expenses

or by line item:

• $37 million (82% of revenue):  Veterans’ Homes
• $ 7 million (16% of revenue):  Compensation, Salaries, Benefits for 79 employees
• $ 1 million (2% of revenue):  Office-Related Expenses
• $ 1 million (2% of revenue):  Professional Fees
• $ 1 million (2% of revenue):  Advertising,Promotion, Events
• $ 1 million (2% of revenue):  Travel
• $ 2 million (5% of revenue):  Other Program Services

Using the above information, ever $100 was spent as follows:

$100:  Revenue

-$100:   Program Expenses

-$   4:    Management Expenses

-$   7:    Fundraising Expenses

-$111:   Total Expenses

or, by specific expense:

$100:  Revenue

-$ 82 :  Veterans’s Homes

-$  5 :  Other Program Services

-$ 16:  Compensation

-$   2:  Office-Related Expenses

-$   2:  Professional Fees

-$  2:  Travel

-$  2:  Advertising, Promotion, Events

-$111 :  Total Expenses

-$  11:  Excess Expenses

As illustrated above, Homes For Our Troops spent $111 for every $100 raised in 2024, covering the shortfall with saved funds.  As a result, net assets deteriorated from $21 million at the beginning of the year to $17 million at year-end (net assets would have been $16 million at year-end were it not for $1 million in unrealized gains on investments).

In summary, Homes For Our Troops spends a high percentage of revenue on building custom homes for our veterans.  The IRS Form 990 indicates the organization has $17 million in net fund assets, most of which are unrestricted and in cash, pledges, grants receivable, and securities.  Of the 87 staff, only 7 received more than $100,000 in compensation:

• $196,571:  HT Landwermeyer, President and CEO
• $164,257:  Cynthia R Baptiste, CFO
• $159,489:  Kathleen DeVito, Director of Marketing
• $157,326:  William Seymour, Director of Construction Ops
• $156,263:  William D Ivey, Executive Director
• $117,822:  Katelyn Donovan, Construction Operations Manager
• $148,151:  Christopher Mitchell, Director of Development

The organization does not pay for first class or charter travel or social or health club memberships.

The bottom line:  Homes For Our Troops spend donor dollars consistent with their mission:  they build and donate specially adapted custom homes nationwide for severely injured post-9/11 veterans to help them rebuild their lives. For more information on Homes For Our Troops, go to their website:  www.hfotusa.org. To read the most recent IRS Form 990 (2023 for the year ending September 30, 2024), click here.