Organizational History
OFFICIAL INVESTMENT PROSPECTUS Five Year Anniversary
History & Strategic Plan
Mission: Leave No Veteran Behind empowers Veterans through education !
and employment to solve America’s most pressing issues.
Leave No Veteran Behind RESPONSIBLE GROWTH
DETERMINED VISION
From the first conversations between its founders to providing hundreds of transitional employment opportunties for former service members, Leave No Veteran Behind has come a long way in five years.
Leave No Veteran Behind seeks to expand its programming to aid the Veteran reintegration process and to create additional opportunities for Veterans to increase the resiliency of communities affected by violence, poverty and limited access to economic opportunity.
Beginning as a $4,674 nonprofit organization targeting the issue of Veteran student debt in 2008, Leave No Veteran Behind has evolved into a multimillion-dollar organization that fosters meaningful relationships with individual Veterans to improve some of America’s toughest neighborhoods.
COMMITTED CAUSE The operational expertise of America’s Veterans has been forged by years of conflict. This makes them uniquely qualified for Leave No Veteran Behind’s mission because they know first hand the effects of injustice on the human condition. At the same time, members of our team are intensely motivated to continue serving once they return home. As an organization, Leave No Veteran Behind is excited to continue creating social impact moving forward.
Since its inception, Leave No Veteran Behind has created more than 255 volunteer and transitional employment positions for men and women who once served in uniform, primarily focusing those efforts on addressing America’s most pressing issues by creating public safety and youth mentorship opportunities intended to decrease violence in urban areas. Supported by the generosity of JPMorgan Chase, the city of Chicago and nearly one thousand individual donors, Leave No Veteran Behind has distributed more than $1.15 million to military families in the form of paychecks earned while working in the nation’s largest transitional jobs program for former service members.
OFFICIAL INVESTMENT PROPOSAL
Organizational History Leave No Veteran Behind founders, Eli Williamson and Roy Sartin, are pictured on the front page of the Chicago Tribune on January 2, 2010
“Consilio et Animiso” 1
Turning Swords into Ploughshares Stewards of Public Resources Leave No Veteran Behind understands it is responsible for investing public dollars. The organization is committed to the best use of contributions to achieve its missions.
Veteran Employment through Public Safety Chicago’s strategy for keeping students safe during the largest school closure in the history of American public education is strengthened with the presence of America’s military heroes. Learn how Leave No Veteran Behind leverages the skills and earned benefits of former service members to combat youth violence in Chicago.
Youth Mentorship as Veteran Employment Opportunties Leave No Veteran Behind creates mentorship positions to work with students in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEAM) activites. Learn about the mutual benefits of Veterans and students coming together to improve communities through our S.T.E.A.M. Corps curriculum.
Addressing Veteran Student Debt Possessing a belief that every nonprofit organization should work to organize itself out of a job, Leave No Veteran Behind’s leadership team has raised the issue of Veteran student debt with the federal government while advocating for improvements for Veteran care in the Illinois General Assembly.
Capacity Building and Financial Stability Moving Forward This is Leave No Veteran Behind’s vision moving forward, including our development philosophy and a sampling of our institutional partners.
Leadership Team Meet Leave No Veteran Behind’s Board of Directors, Board of Advisors and Leadership teams.
Table of Contents 2
A MODEL OF FISCAL
Responsibility
STEWARDS OF PUBLIC RESOURCES Leave No Veteran Behind’s leadership team understands that every donation is a financial investment. They also understand that when accepting private donations, tax dollars are diverted away from the federal government. With those two factors in mind, Leave No Veteran Behind operates with very low administrative costs. This allows the organization to apply the largest percentage of contributions directly to the organization’s missions.
Organizational Philosophy 3
VETERANS AND Serving AMERICA’S TOUGHEST
Communities
FISCAL YEAR
Budget Breakdown: Program Expenses vs. Administrative Cost 2008
$4,674 | 100%
2009
$22,504 | 6%
$263,587
2010 2011
Program Expenses Administrative Cost % Administrative Ratio $ Total Budget 19.3% 14.3%
$573,566
2012
$579,305 18.2%
2013
$1,450,009
18%
(Projected)
$0
$375,000
$750,000
$1,125,000
$1,500,000
17.2% Five Year Average Administrative Cost
Financial History
4
Veteran Employment Through
Public Safety Positions
VOLUNTEER BEGINNINGS
VETERAN EMPLOYMENT SUCCESS
Leave No Veteran Behind’s work in public safety began as a volunteer project in 2009.
Due to a strong working relationship with Chicago Public Schools, Leave No Veteran Behind has emerged as the largest Veteran transitional jobs program in the nation.
U.S. Navy Reservist Hakki Gurkan organized an effort to decrease youth violence near the intersection of 35th Street and Martin Luther King Drive on Chicago’s Southside to satisfy the volunteer requirement associated with accepting the Leave No Veteran Behind Retroactive Debt Relief Scholarship.
By providing four years of paid transitional employment opportunities to keep young people safe in some of America’s toughest neighborhoods, Leave No Veteran Behind has provided more than 255 civilian employment references to men and women that once served in uniform and distributed more than $1.15 million in salary to military families.
In this effort, Leave No Veteran Behind recruited 15 to 25 former service members to provide a positive adult presence on predetermined “high violence” days with respect to Chicago Public Schools, which were specifically planned on days before holidays and days before extended school breaks.
237 Veterans Employed
All activities were coordinated with Chicago Public Schools Office of Security and extensive training was administered to Leave No Veteran Behind’s Veteran safety volunteers in order to meet legal and programmatic requirements.
$1.15 million
Leave No Veteran Behind’s professionalism and dedication to duty resulted in zero incidents of youth violence during the 2009-2010 academic year at the schools that they served .
Wages Paid to Military Families
Veteran Employment Program
88 Transitional Jobs for Veterans every School Day
5
DECREASING YOUTH VIOLENCE Leave No Veteran Behind (LNVB) has been able to leverage the earned benefits of former service members to record significant positive outcomes towards decreasing youth violence, including: 1. Up to a 51% decrease in student disciplinary rates at the schools we serve according to Chicago Public Schools (CPS) Office of Security; 2. Up to a 22% less crime activity reported according to the Chicago Police Department’s CLEARMAP community policing program;
Photo Credit: Hannah Mae Photography
School Safety Veterans prepare for duty at Kenwood High School on Chicago’s Southside.
3. The University of Chicago and the Urban Education Institute have found that Leave No Veteran Behind has helped increase the quality of the learning environments that they serve by having students self-report: “There are adults that care for me in my community” and “I feel safe going to and from school” in thier annual school survey entitled: My School, My Voice.
See the chart below to learn how Leave No Veteran Behind attracts a higher caliber workforce by combining resources secured through our partnership with Chicago Public Schools and the earned benefits of our Veterans in order to improve public safety outcomes in Chicago:
Photo Credit: Associated Press
Army Staff Sergeant Catherine Threat provides School Safety services at a site affected by CPS school closings.
PROGRAM DESIGN Veteran School Safety Compensation:
Photo Credit: CBS Chicago
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel provides School Safety on the first day of class.
$10 per hour, or $55 per day, or $1,100 per month 1. Retired Veterans: additional income is provided by military retirement pay and Social Security dollars. Health coverage is provided from VA hospitals and Tricare Health systems. 2. Student Veterans: additional income is provided by the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill, students complete college coursework midday, and health coverage is provided by the university. 3. Unemployed Veterans: additional income is provided from unemployment payments for working up to 20 hours per week within the State of Illinois and Veterans interview and School Safety School Safety drop off their resumes midday to look for jobs.
Afternoon Shift
Morning Shift 6:30AM
9:00AM
Chicago Public Schools in Session
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2:00PM
5:00PM
Photo Credit: LNVB Staff Photograph
In support of the Aspen Institute’s Franklin Project, Army Gen. (Ret.) Stanley McChrystal and Leave No Veteran Behind Chief of Staff Pete Kalenik listen to Chicago Alternative Policing (CAPS) Director Beth Ford about the integration of the School Safety program and the Chicago Police Department’s latest policing strategies.
Youth Mentorship as Veteran Employment Opportunities EXPANDED EMPLOYMENT PARTNERSHIPS Following four years of success as a School Safety organization in partnership with Chicago Public Schools, Leave No Veteran Behind’s transitional employment opportunities now include a mentoring program that focuses on Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math activities called S.T.E.A.M. Corps. With the support of JP Morgan Chase and Chicago’s Department of Family and Support Service’s GreenCorps program, Leave No Veteran Behind has provided 130 youth with first-time employment experiences and 15 transitional jobs for Veterans to serve as mentors. This programming has exposed students to adults who have lived their lives according to a distinct set of values as Veterans of the United States military. Additionally, our mentors bring a defined technical background to the program, having served as Navy nuclear submarine crewmen, Army logisticians and military Reservists with prior teaching experience.
Leave No Veteran Behind’s S.T.E.A.M. Corps teaches young people how to create solar-paneled cell phone chargers.
131 Youth Jobs Created
$370,000
Everyone involved in Leave No Veteran Behind’s S.T.E.A.M. Corps benefits from the structured transitional job opportunities it provides. At the same time, the program creates a chance for participants to recognize each other for their potential as future leaders with respect to their experiences in uniform or growing up in some of America’s toughest communities.
Wages Paid to Veteran Mentors and Youth Volunteers
15 Veteran Employment Program
Veterans Employed
S . T. E . A . M . C o r p s 7
Addressing
Veteran Student Debt
RETROACTIVE DEBT RELIEF SCHOLARSHIP
ORGANIZING OURSELVES OUT OF A JOB
Most Americans believe our Veterans receive a free education in return for their military service. This is seldom the case as our men and women in uniform run into a complex set of bureaucratic procedures, prolonged wait times and seemingly endless streams of red tape that make it nearly impossible for anyone to optimize their military education benefits. This forces some Veterans to take on thousands of dollars of educational debt to complete their college degrees.
Leave No Veteran Behind understands that it is not possible to directly employ every Veteran in need of a job. We also understand that there are more Veterans affected by the loopholes in the military’s educational benefit system than resources available to assist them. Because of this, Leave No Veteran Behind collects data, speaks with decision makers and supports the creation of policies that make our programs unnecessary. This includes the creation of the Illinois Veteran Employment Tax Credit and the recommendations developed by the Office of Servicemember Affairs at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau regarding student loan policies and financial institutions lending to men and women who once wore our nation’s uniform as they pursue higher education.
These policy loopholes created the initial stimulus for the formation of Leave No Veteran Behind. In this effort, Leave No Veteran Behind raises private dollars to pay off the educational debt of Veterans who meet the following requirements: 1. Served Honorably in the United States Military; 2. Completed some form of Higher Education; 3. Face an Economic Hardship; 4. Prove they were not supported by existing military education benefit programs;
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5. Agree to complete a community service project in return for financial foregiveness.
Veterans Scholarships
Looking into the future, Leave No Veteran Behind will continue this program with the strong support of the Veterans United Foundation.
$115,000 Veteran Educational Debt paid by Leave No Veteran Behind
Identifying Policy Loopholes
Developing Innovative Solutions 8
Capacity Building and Financial Stability
Moving Forward VETERANS AS A STRATEGIC INVESTMENT
INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERS:
Leave No Veteran Behind is not a charity. It is an investment. This perspective allows us to effectively serve Veterans and youth in order to improve some of America’s toughest communities. It is under this backdrop that we view our client’s success as a sound strategic investment for all of our donors. At its essence, Leave No Veteran Behind’s programs leverage the initial investment that America’s government makes in training our nation’s service members to create meaningful social impact. We understand that this process is costly. Expenses range between $44,887 for molding a Marine Infantryman to more than $19 million for providing the resources to certify a U.S. Air Force fighter pilot. Furthermore, Leave No Veteran Behind combines funding from four main sources of revenue, including: (1) philanthropic grant-making, (2) corporate investment, (3) government partnerships and (4) individual giving. We strive to remind all of our donors that their contribution is a sound strategic investment, because in one sense, their support is providing direct employment opportunities and reintegration services for America’s men and women in uniform to improve local communities, and in the other, their dollars are often matched by our institutional partners. In the end, an investment in Leave No Veteran Behind is socially innovative and fiscally responsible.
Donation Philosophy
Strategic Investment 9
BOARD OF DIRECTORS and Board of Advisors
LEAVE NO VETERAN BEHIND
“Leave No Veteran Behind believes former service
BOARD OF
members are strategic
DIRECTORS
assets. We leverage their skills to address some of America’s most pressing issues as we work to decreae
Maynard Anderson, Board Chairman U.S. Army, Vietnam War Veteran Retired Department of Defense Official
youth violence, lower the Veteran unemployment rate and alleviate Veteran student
William Bader, PhD, Director Emeritus U.S. Navy, Vietnam War Veteran
debt. Join us in our mission.”
Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Everett H. Pratt U.S. Air Force, Vietnam War Veteran Vice Commander, U.S. Air Force Europe
Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Ronald L. Johnson U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Ronald L. Johnson U.S. Army, Iraq War Veteran U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Guy Nave, PhD U.S. Army Veteran Professor, Luther College
H. Kenneth Walker, MD U.S. Air Force, Vietnam War Veteran Professor, Emory University
John Schwan, CEO CTI Industries 1st Cavalry Division, Vietnam War Veteran CEO CTI Industries
BOARD OF CURRENT ADVISORS STAFF Gen. (Ret.) Richard B. Myers 15th Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff U.S. Air Force Veteran
Chief of Staff U.S. Army Veteran
Gen. (Ret.) Michael E. Ryan
Ruth Thomas
Vietnam War Veteran Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force
Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Velma Richardson Eli Williamson, Board President Iraq and Afghanistan War Veteran Director of Veteran Programs McCormick Foundation
Roy Sartin, Board Vice President U.S. Army, Iraq War Veteran
Pete Kalenik
U.S. Army Veteran VP of IT Programs, Lockheed Martin
Col. (Ret.) Christine B. Knighton U.S. Army Veteran
Col. (Ret.) Jill Morgenthaler U.S. Army Veteran
Col. (Ret.) Damon T. Arnold, MD U.S. Army Veteran Former Director of Public Health (IL)
Russel J. Bruemmer, JD Partner, Wilmer Hale Law Firm Central Intelligence Agency
Human Resource Director Safe Passage Director U.S. Army, Iraq War Veteran
Robert Walker, Esq. General Counsel S.T.E.A.M. Corps Director U.S. Navy Veteran
Alvyn Walker Safe Passage Training Director S.T.E.A.M. Corps Director U.S. Army Veteran Afganistan War Veteran
Travis Bickford Director of School Partnerships and Community Relations U.S. Army, Iraq War Veteran
Dr. Eugene R.H. Tesdahl Development Director
Travis Bickford, Director of School Partnerships and Community Relations, is pictured on the first day of school with School Safery staff at Northwest Middle School in Chicago.
Jose Carlos Vega Employment Associate AmeriCorps: Public Ally U.S. Army, Iraq War Veteran
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FIVE YEARS
One Mission
LEAVE NO VETERAN BEHIND I S A N AT I O N A L N O N P R O F I T ORGANIZATION THAT EMPOWERS VETERANS THROUGH EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT TO SOLVE AMERICA’S MOST PRESSING ISSUES. THROUGH A SERIES OF INNOVATIVE PUBLIC SAFETY AND YOUTH MENTORSHIP ACTIVITIES AND OUR VETERAN DEBT RELIEF SCHOLARSHIP,
LEAVE NO VETERAN BEHIND
INVESTS IN HEROES WHO HAVE SERVED THEIR COUNTRY HONORABLY AND WHO
Leave No Veteran Behind
SEEK TO CONTINUE THEIR SERVICE AS
19 S. LaSalle Street, Suite 500 Chicago, IL 60603
STRATEGIC ASSETS IN COMMUNITIES ACROSS AMERICA.
Phone/Fax: 312-379-8652 www.LeaveNoVeteranBehind.org