 Certainly good to see so many folks here today. My name is Ed Hartman. I'm DAV's Inspector General and thank you for coming and spending about the next hour and a half with me to Talk about our Constitution and bylaws and how we can improve communications and activities at the chapter level as well as the department as we Begin today. I'd like to put our mission statement up on the screen reason. I do that Because I want to remind everybody of what our mission statement is because so many times we get together Different activities whether it's at the department level or the chapter level and it seems like we start discussing things that have absolutely No place in DAV so I like to Anytime I get a chance Talk about our mission statement and certainly that holds true today. So as we discuss activities and how we can improve Communications and operations with our within our chapter or department. It's certainly helpful if we remind ourselves every opportunity that we can Of our mission statement Of course, we are dedicated to one single purpose and that's empowering veterans to lead high quality lives with respect and dignity We accomplish this by making sure veterans and their families can access the full range of Benefits available to them fighting for the interests of America's injured heroes on Capitol Hill and Educating the public about the great sacrifices and needs of veterans transitioning back to civilian life How do we do that? First and foremost providing free professional assistance to veterans and their families and obtaining benefits and services earned through military service And provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs and other agencies of the government Providing outreach concerning our program services to the American people generally and to disabled veterans and their families specifically Representing the interests of disabled veterans and their families their widowed spouses and their orphans before Congress the White House the judicial branch as well as state and local governments Extending DAV's mission of hope into the communities where these veterans and their families live through a network of state level departments and local chapters and Providing a structure through which disabled veterans can express their compassion for their fellow veterans through a variety of volunteer programs The reason I mentioned that is of course as I indicated earlier When we go about our business at any DAV activity whether it's a chapter meeting department meeting We have to keep those bullet points In mind as we discuss different activities because at the end of the day if our discussions aren't centered around That mission statement and the programs that we provide Then we have absolutely no reason to be discussing anything other than that mission statement So today we're going to talk a little bit about the structures of chapters departments What makes them effective what the roles and responsibilities are of certain officers within the chapter and as you can see At the chapter department level Obviously, we all have commanders. We all have senior vice commanders Depending upon the size of our chapter department. We at least have one junior vice commander and up to four Of course, we have the most important individual Within the chapter and that's the person that makes everything happen. That's the adjutant the treasurer and the judge advocate and In preparing a just few minutes ago I realized that I have some comments that I need to address a little later with regard to the chaplain Many times people misunderstand the role and the purpose of the chaplain. So When we get a little further into the program, I'll certainly address some of the highlighted Responsibilities and roles of the chaplain as well so the commander of course The commander is certainly the Leader if you will of the chapter or department and of course is elected annually by the body to serve as the spokesperson for the organization the commander is not one to Provide guidance Dictate what the chapter is going to do bark orders But in essence He's a leader he or she's a leader someone that's able to Conduct a business session of a chapter or department Provide some guidance as it relates to Disputes that might occur within the chapter department level And it's typically the chairman of all the committees either in the chapter or the department You need to have someone who's a negotiator if you will someone has a voice of reason because at the end of the day The chapter commander is responsible for everything that happens within the chapter or within the department That means controlling the activities of the body many times I go to a chapter or department and you walk in and it's a business session and all you hear is Three or four people arguing against one another and the commander sitting up here allowing it to happen Of course as we all know as members of DAB We have to first be recognized by the chair or the commander in order to speak when the commander Recognizes the individual that individual speaks if somebody else has something to say they wait until that Individual is done speaking then they're gonna have an opportunity to speak But in no way shape or form should we find ourselves at any level chapter department of national organization where we have a body or a group of people that are just arguing back and forth and Nine times out of ten there are arguments that absolutely have nothing to do with our mission statement So therefore shouldn't even be brought up before the body so When you look to elect a commander of a chapter or department again, you should really look to Find someone who has a voice of reason someone who is Stern and has no problem calling someone out of order and making sure that the topics that are addressed within the body are Relevant to our mission statement Because as I said, I oftentimes go into a chapter department meeting and we're talking about things that pertain to another Organization or something completely out the side the scope of our federally chartered purpose and most importantly again the commander is elected to serve as the members of the chapter or the department desires, so The chapter commander of the department commander doesn't have the unilateral decision to make any decisions of the chapter or the department But rather carries out the wants wishes and desires of the body senior vice commander is Obviously the individual that would serve in the absence of the commander of the chapter department if the commander is not able to Attend and participate and is usually the chairman of the membership committee Many department bylaws chapter bylaws that we review and look at Stipulates that the senior vice commander will be the membership chairperson. What does that mean? That means that they're solely responsible for increasing the number of members and encouraging part-life members to pay off their membership and become full-life members of The organization of the chapter and of the department and of course may serve as the chairman of other committees and most importantly stays engaged and Continues to learn from the current commander and from the chapter of the department so that if and when it's their time to serve as Commander they're a little bit more prepared to do so When we talk about recruitment many times When reviewing chapter department bylaws It stipulates that the membership chairman and in most cases senior vice commander in addition to being responsible for recruiting and retaining members also Gives the reference to Serving as the individual responsible for reviewing eligibility to membership obviously in Chapters and departments actually not departments, but in chapters if a new member comes to the organization has a completed application form there's no right or Obligation for the chapter to have a review committee to validate an individual's eligibility That's what our membership departments for because many times Will find that a member wants to join in a certainly eligible, but for some reason There's a dispute between that individual and the member that's serving as the membership chairman and will recommend that this member Not be eligible for membership when certainly they have every right and opportunity to so all Applications should be submitted to national headquarters for review and Validation the only time that the chapter has the ability to vote on a Member joining their chapter is as it relates to transfers So certainly no chapter wants to inherit the you know the baggage or the dirty laundry from another chapter So if you're aware of an individual who's been a member and a problem in you know chapter 110 and Certainly they've kind of driven him out of the organization the last thing that you want to inherit in your chapter is His continued problems So in those cases the chapter certainly has the opportunity and the right to vote on whether or not they'll accept that member or not Junior vice commanders whether it's one to four, but every chapter every department must have at least one Serves as the senior vice commander in the absence of the senior vice most typically will be responsible for chairing VAVS fundraising activities of the chapter or the department and Again stays engaged and learns from their predecessors so that if and when they're able to be elevated There will be ready for what lies ahead in the future also very important that they mentor members as well You know we're only as good as our weakest link So it's our responsibility to when we have members come in especially new members that we teach them about DAV Teach them about the different programs that we have encourage them to take up leadership positions and certainly not every member in DAV is Would make a good commander not every member would make a good adjutant not every member would make a good treasurer but it's up to us as leaders in DAV to Identify with those new members identify their strong points and Try to guide them into the appropriate position That will best serve the DAV and will allow them to feel apart and engaged in DAV Whether it's at the chapter level or the department level the adjutant As I mentioned earlier The adjutant is really the go-to person the individual responsible for making everything happen in the chapter or the department They should be viewed as the CEO of the body whether it's a chapter department and are Responsible for serving as a secretary for all meetings. They handle all the correspondence And ensures that all the reports whether it's a chapter office report or an annual financial report are Completed and submitted to national headquarters or the department headquarters appropriately As I mentioned earlier not everybody's cut out to be an adjutant or commander so in an adjutant you want to look for someone who is in Able to effectively communicate they're very organized, you know, they keep track of everything They're able to take good notes keep good minutes So they're the ones who are responsible for the day to day operations of the department And in some cases chapters depending upon the size of the chapter as we all know commanders are elected every year and hopefully ideally, you're going to have an adjutant who Remains in that position year after year after year to continue the continuity They have the knowledge the understanding they know what's been done recent years So it's not very effective just because the chapter's bylaws or the department's bylaws allow for the department commander or the chapter commander to appoint a Member as the adjutant it's might not be in the best interest of the chapter of the department if a commander is elected and Because they have a very good friend in Bob That I'm going to appoint Bob is my adjutant for the year that should be the last thing it happens If you have a very good strong organized adjutant We strongly encourage you to continue that person in that capacity So that there's continuity in programs and services Throughout the coming years So in my mind the adjutant is certainly the most important important individual and member within the chapter or department The treasurer It should be considered as the chief financial officer of the body They're responsible for providing timely and accurate financial reports at every meeting and we're going to talk in Pretty good depth about finances here Coming up here shortly But they are responsible for providing those financial reports at every meeting of the chapter or of the department They also ensure that the distributions of the body whether it be a chapter department are provided By the wants wishes and desires of the membership and again, they're not Responsible they're not permitted. They're not able to Write checks make payments that have not already been authorized by the chapter. So You really have to pay attention to The finances of the chapter all throughout the course of the month. That's why it's so very important for We as members of DAV at the chapter level and at the department Require demand That at every meeting we have a financial report from the treasurer that clearly outlines the income and expenditures of the body over the last month Most importantly must be trustworthy There are many opportunities in DAV for money to walk away and as I mentioned before Not everybody's cut out to be a treasurer. Not everybody's the most trustworthy We oftentimes get calls from chapters or departments After the fact when an individual has been elected or appointed as treasurer and then the body finds out Two months later by way of a simple Google search of the individual's name that they just got out of prison Five months ago for embezzlement. Certainly not the guy you want keeping your books. All right, so Gotta be somebody that's trustworthy trustworthy ethical and can be trusted and Organized as well because at the at the end of the day, we don't want a treasurer who come to find out can't even Manage balance and take care of their own personal finances let alone the finances of the chapter of the department Judge advocate. I can't tell you how many times I've been called by a judge advocate who has proclaimed to be the legal advisor of The chapter of the department and makes demands so on and so forth and feels that it's their obligation as the judge advocate to Review anything and everything to get their legal expertise as to whether or not something should be permitted or not Quite simply the judge advocate is the parliamentarian of the body their Soul role is to interpret the constitution and bylaws of the chapter or the department And make a recommendation as to their interpretation if something needs clarification or there's some discussion on What a certain section of the chapter of the department's bylaws means It's the responsibility of the judge advocate to make an opinion as to what it is that they believe is The interpretation make that recommendation to the commander and then the commander can make a ruling as to whether or not He or she agrees with that very important for a judge advocate to Be knowledgeable not only of their own body's bylaws But all of those constitution and bylaws above them So if you're a chapter judge advocate not only do you have to be knowledgeable of your chapter's constitution bylaws But those of the department and then those of the national organization so again, you want to have someone who is able to make good judgment and Has a good keen understanding of the constitution and bylaws at all levels And as I mentioned and I don't have a slide on here because it just came up Shortly before the the meeting today I did not include the chaplain and I felt that it was important because a lot of people have a belief that the chaplain is the the preacher the reverend the Priest of the chapter and of course as we all know DAV is a non partisan and non-sectarian Organization non-sectarian means that we are not a religious organization We were founded on the principles of having a chaplain as something that's continued throughout the years Quite simply the chaplain is the spiritual advisor to the body We shouldn't find ourselves in the position of getting into Different religions and our prayers prior to and at the end of the meeting In addition the chaplain should certainly be responsible for looking out for the well-being of Our members and their families and again being the spiritual advisor, but we cannot Come to a chapter meeting and start talking about You know Jesus or Muhammad or the prophet You know, we have a long history of being spiritual and we can still continue to do that By reviewing the DAV rituals and if you look in the rituals as a chaplain You'll see that there are suggested prayers for the opening and the closing It's very generic. It's not specific to any one religion and Unfortunately, from my opinion, we've had more issues in the last couple of years from People who want to be politically correct and call to complain that well, you know, I'm Muslim and I was at the chapter meeting and I disagree with the Chapter commander or the chapter chaplains Reference to Jesus Or vice versa We also have a number of atheists in the organization that take exception to come into a meeting and You know, they complain that it seems like a religious ceremony because they keep talking about Jesus and and God and Unfortunately, that's the that's the environment that we live in today And when you give people an opportunity to complain about something you can sure bet they're gonna take advantage of the opportunity to complain so when we Gather at our chapter meetings our department meetings We would just like to encourage all chaplains to be mindful of that Be mindful that there are other religions in the That do not appreciate it and obviously our Constitution our very founding Constitution in 1920 Stipulated that we are non-sectarian so we have to be very cautious in how we approach religion in chapters and departments Also keep in mind if you have a chapter newsletter or department newsletter We strongly encourage that you have an editorial staff that is responsible for not only looking at the grammar and the sentence structure Things of that nature, but also be mindful the fact that we can include religious Citations, you know verses of the Bible that we see quite often and I'm comfortable with it But unfortunately we do have a growing number of members who are not appreciative of that So we have to be mindful that we can't include any scripture in chapter newsletters department newsletters online or at our chapter and department functions fundraiser approvals of course we all know that We can only operate our service programs and provide assistance to veterans and their families With the assistance of donations from the general public many of the disputes that I take I hear about and resolve during the course of the year are related to fundraising and most usually It's in large metropolitan areas where there are more than one chapter that are kind of close together And a chapter doesn't understand where their boundaries are they go outside of their city Excuse me go outside of their city and start to fundraise in another city and in other cases, it's in very rural areas where you might have a Chapter chartered in a very small one-light town But yet five miles away. There's a larger area that has a Walmart, but there's a chapter that is chartered in that city You know, there's no There's no way that a smaller chapter can go into another chapter's chartered territory and raise funds there unless they get the permission of the Chapter that's chartered in that area and then that's fine But most typically it's a matter of you know, just not knowing the bylaws knowing where your boundaries are what your restrictions are so Chapters have to be very very careful to only solicit funds in their chartered territory and obviously if a chapter wants to do any fundraiser They have to get prior approvals of not only the chapter to ensure that that's what the chapter wants to engage in But must also get the prior approval of the department prior to Prior to conducting the fundraiser And quite simply that's just by way of a ballot to the department executive committee All fundraising programs in accordance with our bylaws must specify What the proceeds from the fundraiser are going to benefit? So in other words if a chapter is doing a fundraiser You know a 50-50 raffle or something in their community Where are the proceeds going to go from that fundraiser? Is it going to go to buy a new vein? Is it going to go to? provide Supplies for the chapter service officer. Is it going to fund the homeless veterans program? so Doing a fundraiser certainly a great idea, but we can't just do a fundraiser for the sake of doing a fundraiser We have to do it for a program that it's going to benefit All departments obviously they know that if the department wishes to engage in a fundraiser of any sort it must first not Only receive the approval of the department executive committee But also of the national executive committee and I can tell you that we're pretty efficient and pretty fast in getting those turned around so if we get a request to approve a department fundraiser Every Thursday we send out ballots to the national executive committee via email for their review and consideration So if we get a request from a department on Monday It goes out with the batch on Thursday and usually by the following Monday We have a decision by the NEC that we can tell the department yay or nay So we're very mindful that we don't sit on those so we want to make sure that We give timely consideration to those requests for fundraisers that come in Forgive me not drives Something that is very Unique to DAV gives chapters the opportunity to do these fundraisers without any prior approval. So in other words If a chapter typically conducts their forgive me not drives in the spring or over the 4th of July weekend or on you know Over the Veterans Day weekend, there's no prior approval that's needed from a chapter to can do Or for them to do the forgive me not drive and the reason for that is because it's specified in our bylaws that forgive me not funds Have to be spent on service So we know that if a chapter conducts a forgive me not fundraiser that those funds are going to be spent on service the only thing that we do ask is that the chapter notify their department at least seven days in advance of The forgive me not drive Where they're gonna be how long they're going to be there? Because in this day and age we have so many organizations that are out there trying to raise money in the name of veterans and unfortunately in some cases using our name To purposely try to confuse the public into making them believe that they're with DAV They know we have a good name. We have a good reputation. So they're gonna give to them. So illegal. Yes But that certainly doesn't stop them from doing it. So when the department gets a call from Citizens in that area they can confirm. Yes, we know that chapter 7 is gonna be at Walmart this weekend doing the forgive me not drive They are who they say they are One thing that is Not taken advantage of as much as I think that it could is is the department's ability to do fundraisers When we think or forgive me not drives when we talk about forgive me not drives we typically think of chapters going out in the community and You know selling the forgive me not flowers and soliciting donations from the general public departments certainly have every right to Go into communities that are not served by DAV chapters and do fundraising In those areas over a forgive me not drive So again that opportunity is there. It's just a matter of trying to identify leaders and officers of the department to Physically go out into those communities that are not serviced by a DAV chapter and solicit funds in those Parts of the country to benefit the department and as again as I highlighted at the very bottom there And this is very very important Which is why approvals are not needed for forgive me not drives is that every penny that comes in for forgive me not Drive must be used solely for the purpose of providing service to disabled veterans and their families Golden crown military appreciation Monday events. This is another program that Come first November. We start getting a lot of phone calls about They increase until the end of November into December because you know folks are trying to figure out where the money is Who gets what what's the money supposed to be used for? I can tell you that DAVs maintained a relationship with Golden crown for many years and It first generated as a the military appreciation Monday where golden crown would give free dinner to veterans that come in on Veterans Day that grew a few years afterwards to Allow departments to come in and actually do fundraising over the course of that weekend So as a result of that the national organization created a relationship with golden crown and Created the opportunity for military appreciation Monday, which is intended to be a department fundraising program because You know when it's all said and done there are very few opportunities really for a department to do fundraising Unless they take it upon themselves to actively go out and do some kind of a fundraising activity I think that most of our departments just rely on Certain percentage of proceeds that come in from chapter fundraisers they you know Rely on the membership dues per capita the the Funds that come from the national organization from the department fundraising program But certainly this is an opportunity for departments to Raise funds so that they can continue to support the department programs Which are usually the HSC program the vans VAVS and the department's service officer program However There are many golden crowds throughout the state so they can't do it by themselves so they turn to the chapters ask for the chapters to participate and The department is responsible for determining how much if any of the proceeds are going to be shared with that Chapter since this event has you know grown in recent years and has been being conducted I think this is the 13th year coming up for the military appreciation Monday Many departments have incorporated very specific language in their bylaws To cover golden corral to the point where it will specify that 50% of all funds raised at each of the stores will stay with the chapter that actually went out and did the leg work The other 50% will come to the department because at the end of the day it is a department fundraiser It will also there and it really Covers the board. I mean some will some departments will only receive 10% leaving the other 90% to the chapter that went out and did all the leg work Some departments require all the money come to the the department and then make grants back to the chapters as needed Some departments allow the chapters to keep everything. So if your department is not yet Solidified a policy in the department's bylaws You might want to consider it because a number of the calls and the complaints that we get around that time of the year is the Disatisfaction with how much the chapter is getting as a result of the golden corral fundraising program and again all of the information that is sent out in preparation for Military Appreciation Monday stipulates that this is a department fundraising program That is being conducted with the assistance of its local chapters, but at the end of the day It's the responsibility of the department to determine how much Will stay with the chapter that went out and did the leg work and how much will come to the department? also that last bullet point there departments are responsible for selecting and identifying Chapters that are going to participate at the local restaurants in their state and You know, this is another problem that we run into each and every year because you might have one golden corral in a city like St. Louis And I'm just using that as an example, but there might be three chapters that are chartered in st. Louis, Missouri So who goes out and who is responsible for that store? in most cases, it's a combined effort of The the three chapters getting together Going in conducting the fundraiser and then splitting the proceeds of the funds amongst them equally three ways Others other chapters just simply do not want to participate in golden crown military appreciation Monday So the department might appoint another chapter that Is somewhat local to represent the department and collecting funds for that store so again, it's really the department's discretion and at the end of the day it boils down to What the DEC decides so it might be wise in addition to not only formulating something to include in your bylaws specific to How much money stays with the chapter how much money comes back to the department might want to also Formulate and solidify Plans as it relates to each store and who will participate and if there's more than one Chapter in a golden corral's area. Is it going to be a combined effort? Is it going to be in every other year? Opportunity for each of the three chapters that will alleviate any Concerns problems Debates in the future because it's clearly outlined and noted in the department's bylaws bar lounge operations Bar lines operations or fundraisers And what's the definition of fundraiser an activity that is going to generate revenue to support Service programs in DAV's case because we're a service organization So that first bullet point there may be authorized or may be allowed for the purpose of raising money in order to support service programs for the chapter and I know that this is the Case in most instances where there are chapters that have a bar lounge operation And it's not practiced but the chapter is supposed to get annual approval for that fundraising program It's not a given that because you have a program right now and because you have operated your bar lounge operation for the last 20 years that you're going to be permitted to Operate a bar lounge operation into the future because again, it's a fundraiser and if the Program is not generating revenue to support DAV service programs Then there's no reason for the program to continue because of course NEC regulation for and Really common sense dictates that if you're not making money and you're losing money on a fundraiser You shouldn't do it. You can't do it because now You're taking money. That's otherwise dedicated and set aside for service programs To prop up and subsidize a losing fundraising program. Does that make sense? So that's why NEC regulation for is there to ensure that we have a Method to enforce really common sense if you're not making money you shouldn't do it But of course that of course that's not the case in many instances because people like having the bar They like coming in and getting a 50 cent draft beer that costs, you know, 75 cents to pour But at the end of the day those operations are permitted to exist by the department as a fundraiser But at the point where it no longer generates revenue to support service programs The department certainly has the opportunity to say no We're not going to allow and of course by way of the department I'm talking about the executive committee because no one person makes the decisions of the department the executive committee could come back and say You know chapter 73 you've lost money the last two years in this program We're not going to permit the chapter to operate a fundraiser in the future until at such point you can Submit another request for a fundraiser, but then identify how you're going to make this Program profitable to the point where it's going to be beneficial to providing service programs of the chapter Currently there are 29 bar lounge operations as of this year and That's throughout the country all the departments all the chapters combined. We've only got 29 bar lounge operations of those 29 14 of them are operating at a loss and the reason I point that out is because those of you who are department leaders Should be looking at the annual financial reports of all your chapters every year and if you see a chapter that you know, maybe this last year Has lost money on their bar lounge operation Take a look back in the AFR see how far that goes back And it's very shocking when you add that up over a ten-year period if they've been losing money for ten years How much money has been lost in many cases? It's you know hundred two hundred thousand dollars that would have otherwise been spent on service programs That have been going towards and supporting and subsidizing a losing fundraising operation So we've got 14 that are currently operating in a loss and Another 13 are making just enough to justify their existence and I'll tell you what there's nothing more infuriating Because again, it's a fundraiser It's not a it's not a right because you own a building that you have a right to operate a bar lounge operation The whole purpose of the bar lounge is a fundraiser generate revenue to allow the chapter to operate service programs But quite often we'll look at annual financial reports and see that a chapter had made Just as an example a hundred thousand dollars of income from their bar lounge operation But their expenses for that bar lounge operation over the year was ninety nine thousand nine hundred and ninety five dollars You made five bucks or for a hundred thousand dollar operation. I mean it just doesn't make sense But in accordance with our bylaws and our NEC regulations, they didn't lose any money so therefore they can continue but again, we just got to remember and Understand that these aren't rights. This is not Something that should be offered to members just as a place to come and socialize and drink cheap beer We got to be making money on these things so that we can turn around and provide service in the community That's the whole purpose of a fundraiser So that next to the last bullet, I think I talked about earlier I mean we continually monitor these things each and every year and You know so that we know we've only got 29 and 14 of them are operating in loss and and 13 of them making just enough to justify their existence Department leaders you need to be really looking at these each and every year Because remember as I said earlier It's a fundraising program and we all know that chapter fundraising programs have to get the prior approval of the department And those approvals especially in a bar lounge or a bingo operation should be on an annual basis because of course It's not something that we can do every month. You'll be sending out ballots 12 times during the course of the year so annually a Chapter if you've got a bar lounge or a bingo operation you need to Make the request of the department to get the approval to operate that fundraiser for the next year And if you're losing money and you know you're losing money when you submit that request to the department asking for permission to conduct the fundraiser You might want to take a very serious look at how you're conducting business your drink prices things of that nature to ensure that You're gonna get a favorable reply from the department by providing a plan of profitability So acknowledging hey, we we've lost money the last two years But we'd like to continue this operation in the coming year and here's how we're going to make money moving forward Everything from raising drink prices, you know lowering the the stock or the inventory whatever the case might be But if you're gonna operate a bar lounge, it's a it's a business. So you've got to make good business decisions to make it profitable Bingo operations Same thing. It's a fundraiser, right? It's probably one of the most common fundraising programs for chapters that have buildings Across the country Same thing you can't operate a fundraiser at a loss any see regulation for which is common sense Really the enforcer of the common sense rule that you if you're operating a fundraiser. You can't lose money one of the most important things that chapters need to realize is that Your chapter is responsible for Filing all the required local and state regulatory filings. So whether you need to permit Whether you need to file financial reports whether you need to get training Certification for the chapter and it really covers the gamut Every state is a little bit different as it relates to charitable gaming laws So it's the chapter's responsibility to know those laws Understand them and comply with them fully Because at the end of the day we have had chapters that just decided they were gonna do fundraising and conduct bingo come to find out They were in violation the gaming commission of the of the state finds out about it and then hits them with a hundred thousand dollar Fine that they can't pay So, you know the chapter ends up going bankrupt closes the doors That's the end of DAV. So prior to operating any fundraising Program it's incumbent upon the chapter in the department to understand what the local laws are In their county and in their state and make sure that they comply with those laws as well thrift stores we have a handful of departments that operate thrift stores as a program to generate revenue for their service programs In 1989 the national convention in 1989 voted to amend the bylaws to no longer allow Chapters to operate thrift stores quite frankly. It's just a it's a business. It's a huge business and in many cases chapters We're finding themselves Involved in operating thrift stores got in way over their head We're going bankrupt and it just was not a good business practice for chapters However, any chapter that had a thrift store operation prior to 1989 was permitted to keep it and they were grandfathered in Departments that are currently operating thrift stores, you know, it really really varies There are some that are very very successful and there are others that you know barely can make enough money to justify their existence and again It's a fundraiser. It should be generating revenue and when you find yourself In a position and at that point where you're spending more money to keep the doors open then what you're bringing in you got to make that hard decision to Close it revamp it You know figure out what you're going to do to turn around and make it profitable again Financial reports at all levels every entity whether it be a DAV chapter or department the national organization the DAV Auxiliary unit state department of the auxiliary national entity of the auxiliary N. O. T. R We all have to provide financial reports Or as we all know our accounting year for finances is the same as our membership year July 1st through June 30th of the following year We ask in the bylaws require that financial reports be submitted within 90 days at the close of the Finance year, so by September 30th If you're a chapter you owe a your department an annual finding financial report All departments are responsible for providing financial reports to the national organization any chapter that has more than $10,000 of income During the course of the fiscal year not only do you have to provide a financial report to the department but also to the national organization and the reason for that is because Being a nonprofit organization. We're governed by the internal revenue service and as a national organization we're responsible for Ensuring that all of our subordinate entities whether it's the department whether it's the DAV auxiliary national organization N. O. T. R Chapters units whatever Are in compliance with IRS regulations? So in other words if something happens into a chapter or something happens to a department then of course we're on the hook for it ultimately so we The reason that we ask for and receive those annual financial reports is just for that very reason We can see what the chapter is doing in terms of generating funds What the funds are being spent for and of course we all know that we're obligated by way of our charter to fund service programs So that's when we have a chapter or a department that's not Fulfilling that obligation. We certainly talk to them and remind them that of our purpose what we're supposed to be spending money on So that we can all stay out of trouble But that's the whole purpose in the intent of an annual financial report. It's just oversight Making, you know, holding people accountable keeping everybody honest, but most importantly ensuring that they're in compliance with our charter in providing service programs If we have entity any entity in DAV Any chapter any department that has over three hundred thousand dollars of Income excluding the dues distributions that are provided by national Those require a CPA review Basically, it's just checks and balances a few years ago that used to read a CPA audit Which in many cases became very very very expensive to the unit having to comply with that Request When it was changed a few years ago to a CPA review That lessened the burden and lessen the financial expense of the department of the chapter Pretty significantly, but yet a CPA review provides many of the same Indicators as a CPA review that would alert us to any kind of impropriety within that entity departments as I mentioned earlier All chapters have to provide a financial report to the department all Chapters have to provide a financial report to the national organization if they had over ten thousand dollars of income Departments, it's your responsibility as department leaders To not only receive and then file those annual finance reports way, but look at them Look at what the chapter is doing look at Their income look at their expenses Because we want to ensure that We are spending money as per the wants wishes of our donors I can tell you that there's absolutely Nothing that infuriates me and many others more Then when we see the hard work of a chapter Being thrown out the window because we've turned around and made a sizable donation to another nonprofit organization You know And it cut it's it's really it baffles me We asked for money from the general public under our name under our tax exemption as an organization DAV People know who we are They give us money with the expectation that that donation is going to be spent on DAV service programs for the DAV entity to turn around and make a 10 20 30 40 $50,000 donation to another nonprofit organization Not only on ethical in violation of IRS laws But you've just upset a donor base that gave DAV money with the expectation the money was going to go to service programs Because you gave it to another nonprofit if the donor wanted their money to go to wounded warrior project or Any other group they would have given that donation directly to them But we accepted their donation. We gave them a tax receipt for their tax purposes We can't turn around and give it to another organization and Believe it or not. We see that more than I care to admit and Some of them are just outright donations. We're going to give you, you know, $25,000 That's money that we could have put in a van to operate a DAV program as We all know Many of us are dual members and other organizations whether it be the Legion whether it be the VFW and vets you name it Many of our chapters meet in American Legion posts VFW posts When we go to a DAV meeting We should have our DAV hat on only we can't be thinking about planning for asking for money in The interest of another organization. I'll give you an example of what I'm talking about We've had instances where an American Legion post was losing money, you know The roof was failing. They needed a new roof needed $10,000. Well, the bar wasn't doing so well They weren't bringing in as much revenue So I get the bright idea as a member of the American Legion is the commander of the American Legion Hey, I'm also a member of DAV chapter the meets here Next meeting I'm gonna go. I'm gonna propose a resolution that DAV Gives American Legion $10,000 so we can put a new roof on You know that that's a conflict. That's not in the best interest of DAV When we go to a DAV meeting if we're not proposing remember I talked about the mission statement earlier Providing service programs to DAV members and their families didn't mention anything about coming in and discussing how we're gonna help other organizations fulfill their obligation But we see that all the time and that's just so very infuriating because I know that I'm gonna go in as a DAV member. I'm gonna throw this Resolution or this proposal out to make a donation to the American Legion post for $10,000 Joe my buddy here. He's the treasurer in American Legion. I know he's gonna support it Ralph he's the the adjunct for the post. He'll support it and guess what there are only four of us here So we're gonna go ahead and pass this thing We got it again, we raise money in DAV's main name. We have to spend money in DAV's name Financial accountability. I'm gonna spend a good deal of time on this Here because this last year has not been a good year for many DAV chapters in a few departments And where I say Didn't have a good year. I'm not talking about wasn't successful in providing service programs weren't successful in generating revenue but Had problems with sticky fingers and I can tell you we've got no time no place in DAV for money To be embezzled stolen borrowed loaned to members Unfortunately This last year we had some folks that went to jail because we identified theft and Most members think well, you know if I get caught I'll be article 16 and I'll no longer be a member of DAV Well, those days are gone depending upon the circumstances obviously if we find theft Not only we'd be article 16 and thrown at a DAV But that individual will also be referred to the prosecutor's office along with a nice outlay outline of what we've identified and Go before a grand jury and are indicted and are arrested thrown in jail and charged with embezzlement And I hate to say that because we're all we're all veterans we all have the best interests of DAV at heart But there are some for whatever reason or another Feel That DAV's money is my money. I'm a disabled veteran Why can't it help me and when we ask those folks? Why'd you do it? That's usually the reason Well, you know, I didn't think I was doing anything wrong. I'm a disabled vet, you know, I You know the chapter didn't approve it. You were the treasure. You just took it That's not the way that we do business as I mentioned earlier The chapter decides everything in DAV what we spend money on what programs we support Where we're going to order pizza from for the chapter meeting everything so How do we prevent that from happening? First way is our monthly financial reports. How many of you go to your chapter meeting every month? But do not get a piece of paper in the form of an annual or a monthly financial report with a copy of the bank statement How many don't get that when you go to your chapter meetings? I'm sure I'm sure there's many more in that what we need what we ask what we demand is that DAV members hold their officers accountable So if you run for and are elected or appointed chapter Treasurer you have an obligation. We talked about him earlier one of those Obligations is to provide and monthly financial report at every meeting The days of the treasurer standing up and saying Well, we have 50,000 in the bank. We spent 10,000. We have a balance of 40,000 All in favor aye We can't do that You ever heard the old saying trust but verify and again we We're all members. We all want to do the right thing and we all hope and we all believe that everybody's going to do The right thing for DAV, but unfortunately We have a few bad apples that are in it for Reasons other than the best interest of DAV So demand those financial reports When you go to your chapter meeting if you don't have a bank statement, and if you've got CDs copies of the CD statements Show me the money Don't tell me what we have show me. I want to see it So make it a point to get in the habit of demanding bank statements With those monthly financial reports same thing at the department level when you go to a finance committee meeting Not only should you have a spreadsheet showing your budget where you are in the budget? How much is left also have copies of those bank statements because it's one thing to put numbers into a spreadsheet To show what we have where we have it, but show us the bank statements We want to see that the balance of this bank statement equals The ending balance over here on your spreadsheet because I can put numbers in a spreadsheet all day long and make It look like we've got a million bucks when we've got ten bucks in the bank, and you know, we have an overdraft Charge coming our way and that's happened where an individual has just Drained the chapter dry chapter believed, you know, we had thirty thousand dollars in the bank. We're gonna we're gonna order a new van this year Well, I'm looking at the financial reports and you look at the minutes the treasurer said we had thirty thousand dollars in the bank Well, guess what when it comes time to order the van the treasurer is gone and The chapter says well, we should probably have somebody go over there and get their name on the signature card Come to find out Well, sir, we're glad you came in because your accounts overdrawn. Can you give us ten bucks? Can you give us twenty bucks because you guys are overdrawn, you know talk about shock? so Show me the money trust but verify The second bullet point there when we're dealing with finances of the chapter and expenditures every chapters bylaws every department's bylaws has a clause in Expenses and finances that stipulates that To at least two signatures will be on every check Every check has two signatures that means that two people agreed to the payee two people agreed to the amount Two people agreed to the purpose for what it was signed for and then the signatures go on Can you put two signatures on a credit card or a debit card? Now you can go in you can charge whatever you want with one signature If you've got a debit card and you've got the pin number you can go and take out whatever you want whenever you want and again, that's happened and it's Seems like it's easier to do business with credit cards and debit cards because of the age we live in but if you'd stop and think about All we do is an organization in Providing service we go to conventions. We go to seminars as members of DAV Do we really have to have a debit card or a credit card? now Everything that we do can be done by way of a check and if you have a credit card or a debit card You're allowing one individual The opportunity to take every nickel out of that account and not find it for at least 30 days or longer And it defeats the two signature rule on all checks because now you got one person That has unilateral ability to take money out of the accounts It's is it easier to have a debit card and a credit card when you're doing business Yeah, maybe a little bit But if you think about all of the events and activities that were involved in Go into department convention If I'm going to department convention, and I'm a delegate of my chapter and the chapter is paying me to go I can either Put it on my own credit card and when I get back I fill out a voucher With receipts showing my expenses. This is how much my room was. This is how much my meals were This was my how many miles I drove This is how much the chapter owes me as they are already agreed to Fill out that voucher submit the receipts get your reimbursement pay your credit card at the end of the month If you're not able to do that There's nothing wrong with getting in advance from the chapter If you're a delegate of your chapter and you're going to the department convention You know that it might cost, you know, you know what the rooms are gonna cost You can expect what you're gonna pay for meals. You can estimate your mileage If you know that it's gonna cost about five hundred dollars to go To the department convention. You're a delegate The chapter is already voted to approve your expenses. There's nothing wrong with getting an advance of five hundred dollars So that you can go pay your bills Go to the convention participate, but when you get back you do the exact same thing you complete a voucher Provide all the receipts that justify those expenses that you had while conducting DAB chapter business And if there's a little leftover based upon the receipts You write a check back to the chapter for the remaining $26.75 if the chapter owes you a little bit more then as long as the vouchers are completed and the receipts justify it The chapter has the ability to reimburse you for the additional $27 that you spent in addition to the initial 500 They gave you So I don't want to harp on Debit cards credit cards too much own another thing gift cards People are getting pretty creative and and I'm just using vague examples, but examples that are Very real and have occurred gift cards how how harmless is a gift card, you know Good example chapter has a very large homeless veterans community Excuse me or it's coming up on holiday times coming up on Thanksgiving Christmas the chapter wants to do something for veterans in the area So the chapter decides well we want to purchase gift cards To give to homeless veterans so they can buy food they go buy clothes blankets one of the case might be and The chapter goes out buys a thousand dollars buys ten one hundred dollar gift cards for Walmart Sounds great chapter feels good because we bought these gift cards are gonna benefit disabled veterans at holiday time Now someone's got to be in charge of them someone's responsible for administering them We've ended instances where chapter commander. I'll take care of that or someone says I'll take care of it And there's no oversight Come back the next chapter meeting commander says yeah, you know, I found four guys underneath the bridge I found two guys at Hardee's they needed some help. So I handed them out to him. How do I know that? How do I know that you just didn't? pocket the ten one hundred dollar gift cards and you purchased You know groceries and things you need for the next month How do we the only way that we're able to overcome that is to? Make sure that the people come to us so if there's a Need for a veteran They need to come to the chapter. They need to come to our next chapter meeting So that we can see and we can give them directly That the the assistance that they need So handing out gift cards to people not a good idea hand and cash to people not a good idea obviously and At the end of the day We want to make sure that we're continuing to serve veterans and their families and if we have the ability to provide Some form of relief financially to them then by all means that's a service that we can provide But we need to document Show us your electricity is getting ready to be turned off. It's dead a winner We can't have that happen bring us your utility bill We'll write a check to the utility company With your account number on it and we'll gladly pay your utility bill but we shouldn't have and facilitate making general donations or cash donations rather Based upon a perceived need We can't make a check out to the individual the same example veteran comes to us lights about ready to be turned out dead a winner He's shown us that here's the bill shut off notice tomorrow Should we would just write the check payable to the veteran in that amount? Absolutely not because he can go cash that use it for whatever he wants You came to us In need of paying that electric bill we voted to pay your electric bill. We're not going to write a check to you To go cash and do with as you please But if we write it out to the utility company put the veteran's name the account number on there We know that that check can only be negotiated by that utility company for that one purpose Properly completed checks before signatures many times and and this gets folks in trouble also And it's under the umbrella of well, it was more convenient Well when we're dealing with DAV finances, we need to protect them as we would our own I Would never write out a check a blank check put my signature on it Leave it down there overnight and hope that it's still there in the morning Because anybody can come along Fill out the payee fill out the amount. It's got my signature on it. They go cash it for whatever they want That's the same thing with DAV. We cannot pre-sign blank checks just because it's convenient if you have a need to have and we all have to have two signatures on a car on a check and Your treasurer lives on the other side of the state got to make some kind of arrangement either by mail or Require that the treasurer come to the department every month to sign checks But we can't pre-sign them in hopes that They're going to be filled out completely by one individual We've had instances of that where money's walked away money's been made payable to One of the signees You know, I'm authorized to sign a check. So my name is on there. The other officer's name was on there It's a blank check. I'm pay to Ed Hartman however much Again, we've just got a we've got a treat DAV funds like they're our own we have to be protective of DAV funds like they're our own Vouchers for expenditures. I mentioned that a little bit briefly No funds should go out by a chapter or department unless there is a voucher That supports that payment because of course at the end of the day The commander doesn't have the authority to grant approval for an expense the treasurer doesn't have the unilateral authority to grant expense The body does So when the body gets a voucher for a claimed reimbursement to the chap or to the member For X amount of dollars. Here's the receipts and match up. Okay, pay it so if you don't have a voucher system in place at the chapter level or the department level you need to adopt one because It's a good record to have when Someone from the department or someone from the national organization comes and says What would it? What was this? What was this payment or what was this check made payable to you and the amount of a thousand dollars for? We got to have something well. Oh, that was for spring conference right here. I paid seven hundred dollars for the hotel Here were the meals. Here was the gas done and over We have to take better control and better care of our assets So vouchers if you don't have them implement one I got a little ahead of myself or a little earlier. I'm talking about veterans assistance vouchers checks not cash obviously make the checks payable to the Service for which they're asking help for you know if they come in and say, you know, my car just died It's gonna cost me a thousand dollars put a new transmission in can the chapter help me absolutely You know if the chapter agrees Go have your work done and when the bill comes bring it to us We'll write the the checkout for a thousand dollars to Joe's auto body or wherever they're having the service done But don't make it out payable to them It's unfortunate, but we have a lot of people who And not not DAV members but professional veterans that go organization to organization to organization asking for money for the same thing and They make it their habit they move from community to community doing just that and they do quite well, unfortunately When we do fundraisers forget me knots we should always have two members counting money because We've had instances again where an individual goes out does forget me not drives has a big bucket full of money at the end of the day But that bucket shrunk to about that big whenever they turn it into the chapter the next day so Accountability making sure that there are controls in place to ensure that there's no opportunity for money to walk away and At the end of the day use common sense You know if you wouldn't make this payment if you wouldn't recommend this payment you wouldn't spend your money For something don't spend DAV's money on it. Make sure that you have those safeguards in place All right, I'm gonna get off. I'm gonna get off that it's been a bad year But I wanted to spend a lot of time on that today And we've only got about 15 minutes So I want to leave a little time for Q&A internal revenue service everybody's favorite arm of the federal government We all know that every entity every chapter every department every auxiliary has to file some form of a 990 with the internal revenue service every year The rule of thought of the rule of thumb is if your chapter or department brought in less than fifty thousand dollars in the year All you do is the very simple electronic form 990 in If your entity made over fifty thousand dollars in the course of the year You got to complete a more difficult 990 or 990 easy The filing deadline for all of our submittals of 990s in DAV's name is prior to I Shouldn't say prior to you Not earlier than July 1st, but not later than November 15th That's the window for everybody to file their 990s Obviously we all know that if you don't file a 990 for three consecutive years The IRS is going to revoke your tax exemption That means that if you are no longer a tax exempt entity You can't raise money in DAV's name if you can't raise money in DAV's name You can't spend money in DAV's name and then eventually if you don't get it fixed at some point The tough call to revoke the charter of the entity is is necessary. So very important that we comply We fill out those 990s keep the internal revenue service happy and We're able to continue doing what we do the only information that you need to complete a 990 in there's no paper form for it It's all done online. It's an electronic version is the employee or employer identification number That's issued by the IRS to the chapter to the department many of you know that if you get correspondence now from the National Organization The chapter level or the department level every piece of correspondence that is specific to your chapter Now includes that EIN the reason that we've done that is because It's a lot of times new officers don't hand over all the records all the files You might not know what your EIN number is. So when you got that that's your EIN specific to your group That's what you'd use to file your 990 with the internal revenue service So all you need is the EIN Legal name of the the commander or whomever is authorized to receive the mail in an address That's it very very simple. It takes less than 30 seconds. I know many departments offer to provide that service For all of the chapters in the departments just to ensure that they get it done and it's done correctly Things that will keep us out of trouble out of trouble during the coming year make sure you file your officer reports We all know that Every time we have an election Officer reports are due to the National Organization to the department 10 days after the election Make sure you file your financial reports timely file your IRS forms Safeguard DAB assets and lists when I talk about lists. I'm talking about our membership lists We've had some chapters large chapters with several thousand members That are approached by Professional solicitors in the community they're in the business of mailing Advertisements for different companies and you know, they look for lists all the time We should not make DAVs list available to anyone outside of DAV for any reason last thing we want to do is is Burden our members with now all of a sudden getting solicitations and advertisements from you know, everybody under the sun So in addition to safeguarding DAV assets safeguard DAV lists as well Get the appropriate fun approvals for all of your fundraisers And it's something that I've said a couple times today Integrity make sure that we always do what's right Even when no one's looking we all we all have that deep down and we all trust that those around us other members other officers have that very high degree of integrity as well, but as I said earlier trust but verify and everything we do many times when We identify a theft to a chapter, you know what the number one response is that I typically get is Man, I can't believe it. I trusted him Well, did you verify what he was telling you? No, I trusted him. I've known him for 20 years You'd be surprised so Let's really try to drill down and tighten up and you know making sure that what people tell us are accurate Not questioning anyone's integrity, but verify so What will happen if we don't do any of these things as a chapter or department? Obviously You know the bylaws of the bylaws for a reason they applied all of us They were applied in the national organization departments and chapters and if a chapter or department isn't able to Compliant with the bylaws everybody plays by some rules If you're not able to do that the first step is the suspension of the charter I mean that nothing can be done. You got to fix the deficiencies and then Get the charter back or have the suspension lift so that you can move forward If after suspensions don't work still get no compliance unfortunately at that point the national commander has the The opportunity and the ability to just revoke the charter of the chapter nobody wants to see that happen You know we we have chapters for a reason we provide service to veterans and communities, but sometimes Having no DAB chapter in some cases is better than having a DAB chapter that is just absolutely Rogue doesn't follow the rules is problematic So and again nobody wants to revoke the charter of the chapter, but sometimes it's necessary for various reasons