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The Lake County Veterans and Family Services Foundation

EIN 45-4739957

Public records raise at least one point you should look into before giving.

LegitimacyCautionRegistration and standingFinancial healthWeak5 out of 100GovernanceGood82 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

Points to look into

  • Only 5% of its spending went to programs.

These come from the organization's own tax return. There may be a good explanation; ask the charity.

What it says it does

Connect service members families with each other with the benefits resources they earned deserve through professionally trained Veteran Peer Specialists, free confidentially, regardless of discharge status

Income
$66,158
Spending
$451,901
Spent on programs
5%
Reserves
0 months of spending
Largest source of income
donations and private grants, 82%
Employees
0

Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Financial health

Weak: 5 out of 100.

  • Reserves

    4 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 0.0 months of spending.

  • Living within its means

    0 of 15

    Spending exceeded income by 583% of income.

  • Income trend

    0 of 15

    Income fell 64% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    0 of 15

    5% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 9 cents.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Governance

Good: 82 out of 100.

  • Independent board

    18 of 25

    3 of 3 voting board members are independent.

  • Conflict of interest policy

    15 of 15

    Has a written conflict of interest policy.

  • Whistleblower policy

    8 of 8

    Has a written whistleblower policy.

  • Record keeping policy

    0 of 7

    Reports no written policy on keeping and destroying records.

  • Board minutes

    5 of 5

    Keeps minutes of board meetings.

  • Board sees the tax return

    10 of 10

    Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.

  • No reported misuse

    10 of 10

    Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Impact evidence

Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.

Programs described in its return (2)
  1. $4,632 spent. The Drop-In Center is the home base of operations. The Drop-In Center provides a safe place for Veterans and their families to meet and receive help from other Veterans and from Peer Support Specialists. Social enrichment programs such as equine therapy, family outings, private fishing, art therapy, story telling, Black History month celebration MLK Day activities Highway Cleanup projects forest preserve cleanup Veterans History Project and four weekly Cup-A-Joes to promote Veteran social activities. All are offered to further support the quality of life for Veterans.
  2. $17,938 spent. The Vets in Need Program establishes a special financial assistance fund to provide discretionary financial assistance to any Veteran and/or current active duty Service Member and their families. Support provided includes food, shelter and other immediate necessities. Additionally in 2021, we started a Food Insecurity Program to distribute food, food cards, gas cards, pre-made meals, sundries, pizzas, cleaning products and cooking instruments to those service member families impacted by COVID pandemic. All support is distributed with our local partners who record every donation VA, DOD, IDVA, Veterans Closet, Catholic Charities, Kenosha VAC, and more.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Legitimacy checks

  1. Is it registered with the IRS? Caution.

    Not in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations. Churches and some very small organizations are not required to register, so this alone does not mean it is not a real charity.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  2. Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.

    Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.

    Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated November 6, 2026.

  3. Are donations tax-deductible? Caution.

    Not on the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.

    Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  4. Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.

    Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.

    Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated November 4, 2026.

Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.