Courage Foundation
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
Courage Foundation's mission is to mitigate the impacts of post-traumatic stress through fostering post-traumatic growth.
- Income
- $238,554
- Spending
- $278,169
- Spent on programs
- 67%
- Reserves
- 12 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 85%
- Employees
- 3
- Volunteers
- 2
- Highest pay
- $90,000, director of program development/ le
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Good: 80 out of 100. Higher than 55% of charities in its peer group (education, under $250k).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 12.0 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 2% of what it owns.
Living within its means
0 of 15Spending exceeded income by 17% of income.
Income trend
10 of 15Income fell 9% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1567% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 20 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 94 out of 100. Higher than 90% of charities in its peer group (education, under $250k).
Independent board
25 of 255 of 5 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
0 of 5Reports no independent review process for its chief executive's pay.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 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 (4)
- $128,321 spent. Veteran Integration Program (VIP): The VIP helps build the self-esteem of each participant, mitigates the impacts of PTS, and fosters post-traumatic growth by ensuring each participant leaves our program with a better understanding of self-regulation, daily living choices, and hope for the future. In 2025 19 veteran participants were enrolled in the cohort. Veterans received individualized one-on-one coaching for 12 months. By taking the time to reinforce this training over several months, veterans have the chance to receive close support throughout the ups and downs of their learning and application; this improves the long-term outcomes for lasting positive changes. A critical way VIP especially prevents mental health crises with early intervention is with the coaches being available to veterans at the time when they need help, while they are still in a manageable state catching problems before they become crises. If a veteran has an argument, gets bad news, or experiences anything that could trigger a backslide, they can text, call, or email the coach confident that they will receive a response very soon with an opportunity to implement their training real-time with the coach. This availability is the heart of peer-to-peer support that makes VIP uniquely complementary to traditional mental health services offered to veterans.
- $21,600 spent. VIP Coach Training Program: This new VIP coach training program was developed this year by National Program Director David Weber so we can develop more veteran coaches and expand the reach of our program. Our Program Director created a series of training videos of coaching sessions, and a coaching manual. The program also includes practice sessions with David, monitored student coaching sessions with veterans and instruction on administrative tasks like creating client session notes, note retention procedures, assessments and invoicing procedures.
- $21,103 spent. Other Program Services. Green Bay Training and Recruitment Event: This event is hosted by the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field facilities. We invite veterans that have been referred to us from therapists, and from the Green Bay and Madison area to learn about and experience the programs we offer. We also have veterans that have completed our VIP to share their experience and the outcomes and impact on their lives. Other program service costs include assessments, analysis and documentation.
- $14,400 spent. CAST: The new stand alone group veteran training we call "Calming Awareness Sequence Training (CAST). This is a new program rolled out in 2025 which is a stand alone session for groups of veterans. The CAST program greatly increases the number of veterans who can benefit from our training, bolsters our collaborations with other VSOs, and is preparatory for the VIP via awareness, recruitment, and selection. It is open to any veteran who is interested in the training. The monthly group workshops (generally around 515 veterans per location so far) cover similar skills as the VIP techniques to create awareness of response to stress and calm the emotional and physiological responses but it is instead tailored for broader outreach to veterans who may not be ready/able to commit to any sort of group or synchronous program. A goal of CAST is to offer an accessible modality of practical support with a lower barrier of entry to a path for getting help. We also created a training program for new VIP and CAST coaches. We need to develop more coaches to expand the number of veterans we can help.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
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 October 13, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
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.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since December 2016.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
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 October 21, 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.