 Good afternoon. I think that the time is upon us. It is 3 15 We're gonna go ahead and get started understanding that I'm sure that there will be Many others that will be filing in After they've gotten something to eat after the presidential presentation But hopefully they will not miss too much and again as I mentioned earlier This room has was previously set for the auxiliary. So they are by districts, but that does not pertain to this Seminar so feel free to move towards the front if you'd like if it's better and also Before we get started We're gonna have a couple PowerPoint presentations and I know that we all love to take photos of the screen and of each of the slides but in order to save you some Storage space on your smartphones You can certainly just email me After the Presentation when we get back and I'll be more than happy to email Everything to you so that will you have it? Either to share with your departments or your chapters as Is typical I like to start every Session that I have the pleasure of hosting By discussing and just reminding everybody of our mission statement and and I hope that it's a habit that Many of you as department leaders and chapter leaders Adopt because it really sets the stage and the tone of What we're about and what we should be discussing as a DAV entity So of course as we all know we're dedicated to a single purpose and that's empowering veterans to leave 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 heroes on Capitol Hill and Educating the general public about the great sacrifices and needs of veterans trans back transitioning back to civilian life How do we do that we do that by providing free professional assistance to veterans and their families and obtaining benefits and services earned through their military services and provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs and other governmental agencies Providing outreach concerning our programs of service to the American people generally and to disabled veterans and their families specifically Representing the interests of disabled veterans their families their widowed spouses and their orphans before Congress the White House the judicial brand As well as most importantly in many of your cases state and local government entities Extending DAV's mission of hope into the communities where these veterans 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 structure through which disabled veterans can Express their compassion for fellow veterans through a variety of volunteer programs Why do we why is it important to mention that and Again, every time I have the opportunity to open up a seminar or speak I like to read that and remind people because when we conduct the business of our chapters As we conduct the business of our departments, whether it's a department convention a department executive committee meeting This reminds us what we're here for what we should be discussing because I know more times than not and it happens in my chapter quite regularly and I have to remind folks pretty regularly that you know a lot of the discussions that we initiate and involve ourselves in really has nothing to do with our mission statement and So we find ourselves in many cases Arguing about things we really don't need to be arguing about because it's nothing germane to our mission statement and what we're here for a lot of times it's you know stuff that relates to sports teams or you know local politics things of that nature so The mission statement is something that is very useful to help keep Help the commander or whoever the chair of the meeting is in line so that when Something is brought upon the floor that has nothing to do with our mission They can be reminded that hey, you know, you're out of order. This has nothing to do with DAV. Let's get back on track here so as typical and as promised in the program descriptions and the Programs that you all received of registration we're going to talk a lot today about the do's and don'ts of DAV chapters and departments and in some cases individuals and then after I wrap up and I'm going to try to make my Comments rather brief. I'm going to turn it over to Brian and Laura who are going to talk to you about some of the programs that The national organization is involved with as it relates to fundraising and how it trickles down to State departments in terms of sharing But for most of you who are here representing a chapter or department This is really going to be What you need to know in terms of fundraisers if you represent a chapter, of course Once the chapter approves the idea of the concept or whatever the fundraiser is it then needs to get the approval of the department executive committee and possibly the national executive committee if It is a fundraiser which in some way shape or form includes an outside party Or involves a fundraiser. I'm sorry a contract of some sort If it's a department organized fundraiser Obviously it needs to meet with the approval of the either the department convention delegates or By way of the department executive committee if it's an idea or a fundraiser that takes place between department conventions and in every case department fundraisers After they're approved by the appropriate body of the department need to get the approval of the national executive committee If a DA VA unit And we're talking about a local unit that's associated with the chapter if a DAV unit Wishes to conduct a fundraiser The unit must get the prior approval of the parent chapter and then once the chapter approves it It must go to the DAV State Department for the State Department to approve of the fundraiser and if it's a DA VA department solicited fundraiser prior approval of the department Executive committee is required as well as the national executive committee now there are a couple of caveats and there are a couple of Exceptions to that rule one of those I'll get to you here in a second, but if whatever entity it is whether it's a chapter a unit a department or a State entity of the DAV auxiliary is Doing something at a function like a good example is a 50-50 or We are generating funds and asking our active participants who are here in the room We'll say this was a one big chapter meeting. This would probably want to be one of the biggest chapter meetings. I ever attended but just using this as an example if I As the fundraising chairman brought up the idea, you know what let's I propose that we do a 50-50 raffle at our meeting here tonight And we start selling raffle tickets. That's fine. That doesn't need to get the approval of anybody Because our bylaws allow for chapters and auxiliary units to Have the freedom to raise funds amongst its members and friends and families of members Without any prior approval so long as it does not Expect to generate more than five thousand dollars now I know we've got a lot of money in the room So if looking at it this big crowd right here, we end up generating more than five thousand dollars then of course we're gonna have to stop the process get the prior approval, but In most cases, of course as we all know, you know, that that's a pretty lofty goal to meet So as long as you don't Anticipate raising more than five thousand dollars and you're limiting your opportunities to those members Guests and family members that are present then no prior approval is required the other exception is forgive me not drives I think if those of you that were in the Business session this morning and heard the report of the Constitution and bylaws chairman Rob Reynolds one of the proposed resolutions this year is to make an amendment to Article 15 and specifically the section that pertains to forget me not drives Currently as the bylaws read today Chapters and DA VA units can conduct a forget me not drive For a period not to exceed seven consecutive days and you can't see it too well, but I put consecutive in red on the The screen up there because that's the proposed change that Will be voted upon During the final reading of the Constitution and bylaws committee So essentially as it reads today DAB entities can do forget me not drives without prior approval for seven consecutive days without the prior consent of the department the proposed Amendment is Going to or would allow if it's favorably approved Chapters departments auxiliary units To hold forget me not drives whenever they want throughout the year so long as The total number of days that they're soliciting for forget me not drives do not Exceed seven days in total during the year so what's the difference obviously right as it reads today consecutive days that means that you Start on a Friday Sitting out in front of Kroger or Walmart or wherever you're going to be selling forget me not or offering forget me knots And then you're going to run through The following Thursday, right? We all know that we're not going to get a whole lot of participation on Monday Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday, right? so The interim committee of the Constitution and bylaws committee thought it was a great idea to put the power obviously in the hands and this has Been this has been in the bylaws for years and years and years and years And it makes sense to allow the chapters and the departments and the units to determine on their own When they're going to have these forget me not drives because there are festivals. There are carnivals. There are different events there are different times of the year when a Chapter a department or a unit can certainly capitalize most on Doing a forget me not drive now obviously a Little advice and a little suggestion is to really try to focus on veteran related activities So Memorial Day 4th of July anything is patriotic Veterans Day obviously these would be great opportunities To do forget me not drives rather than having to do it or pick and choose. Okay Well, we're going to do our seven consecutive days over Memorial Day weekend We're going to do our seven consecutive days over 4th of July We're going to do our seven consecutive days over Veterans Day Now you can break it up if this amendment is approved, and I'm pretty sure that it will be approved Now here's the thing as well And as I mentioned prior approval for forget me not drives is not required from the department However, it's always a good idea to notify your department of when and where your chapter is going to be raising funds Or I'm sorry conducting a forget me not drive because in this day and age We have many causes out there that are Claiming to be supportive of veterans and disabled veterans some of them are even so bold and brazen to use our name When they have nothing to do with our organization So that if a concerned citizen or a donor wants to validate or verify that You are who you say you are and they call the department or they call the national organization They say hey, you know somebody's claiming that they're Chapter 17 in Waldorf, Maryland. They're standing out here in front of Walmart. Are they legitimately raising money for DAV? Then the department can favorably or can tell them and assure them that yes They are there conducting their annual forget me not drive One thing that's really under Utilized I think in a lot of cases are the opportunities for departments to do for get me not drives now we all know departments are really representative and made up of our Active chapter members in our chapter leadership who are otherwise doing their own forget me not drives, but there's certainly nothing wrong with a department doing a forget me not drive at Any time throughout the course of the year without prior approval to raise funds for the department service programs unlike other Fundraisers that might be approved throughout the course of the year. It's very important that we all know that Every dollar that we raise for or through the forget me not fund drive fundraising program Must be for our sole charter purpose of providing service to disabled veterans and their families That's part of the reason that there's no prior approval required in that um We all know that we are very fortunate to have the support of Golden Corral and each and every year they host Or allow the opportunity for DAV entities to come into their restaurants and their stores and Conduct fundraising activities for DAV The intent of this since it first began was It was developed as a relationship between the national organization and the corporate headquarters of Golden Corral and the idea was that you know, there are many opportunities for Chapters to do various fundraisers throughout the course of the year, of course you know with departments being limited in terms of of Volunteers or active participants who are normally made up of chapter members there weren't many opportunities for departments to raise funds and generate income to support department service programs in order to Help purchase vans or to help pay the salaries of HSC. So the intent originally was For the Golden Corral Military Appreciation Monday events to be specifically a department fundraising program Now over the many years It has evolved into many different shapes There are some departments that allow Some fortunate departments that you know may have Reliable steady sources of income to allow the chapters to keep all the funds that are collected There are some that collect Ask for and receive half of the funds that are generated and allow the Chapter to keep the other half. There are somewhere the department receives 100% of the proceeds and either uses it directly for department service programs or On a case-by-case basis allows chapters to apply for a grant Using those funds for a specific service program that they're offering in their community that they can't otherwise support on their own One key thing about this partnership And it's very important to keep in mind is that well first and foremost not every department has golden corrals In their states that they can benefit from this relationship But those departments and states that do have golden corral restaurants. It's solely the responsibility of the department to determine which chapter or which chapters Can go in and actively solicit and participate in golden corral. I'll use an example of San Antonio just as an example anybody in here from San Antonio You got don't you guys have three chapters in San Antonio? I Think there are three three chapters in San Antonio City proper No, not not for no I'm talking about chapters DAV chapters. You guys have like three Okay. All right, you made my point. There are more than one DAV chapter Are chapters in San Antonio proper? So let's let's assume that there was only one golden corral in San Antonio the department would have to determine on You know their own by way of a vote of the DEC which chapter is going to go in and Solicit this year which chapter is going to go in next year are they going to allow all four Chapters to go in at the same time and then quarter the funds. So that's really something and again the national organization Certainly does not like to make micromanage Any activities of departments and chapters? That's why we leave it that decision solely to the discretion of the departments and Those members of the department executive committee that represent the chapters to determine who will be involved and who will not be involved the Last bullet on this slide is a relatively new program that many of you across the country have adopted And that's the DAV's just be kids program which benefits camp corral and one very important aspect in one One that's very well or much appreciated and well received by chapters and departments is that the national organization if funds are contributed by departments or chapters To the just be kids program and submitted to national headquarters the national organization will match dollar for dollar All of those funds that go through the just be kids programs and as you see as you saw during the opening ceremony That's a very worthwhile camp for Children of disabled veterans and their families We're gonna we're gonna If you wouldn't mind, please holding your questions to the end We're gonna have a good half an hour to ask any question you want. Thanks, Richard. I always like to report on These operations anytime I get a chance to and if you've been to my seminars before You know that I always report on the status of the bar lounge Operations followed by the bingo operations and the reason I like to do that is because each and every time you notice that the numbers shrink in terms of the number of bar lounge operations that are in existence and The number of bar lounge Operations that are not making any money or losing money, which is in conflict with our bylaws and The reason the reason that I point this out is because we are unlike Every other veterans organization. We are committed to service to disabled veterans and their families We do have How many do we have here? We have 19 bar lounge operations left throughout the United States in the name of DAB Six of them as of last year and of course financial reports are coming due here real soon, but as of June 30th 2015 Six of them were operating under the loss Of course, which is a violation of NEC regulation number four So therefore they got a letter from us stating that hey, you've got to provide a plan of profitability What are you going to do in this next year to turn the program around because we cannot subsidize a Losing operation that's supposed to be a fundraiser to generate revenue for service programs And of course of those 19 as I just mentioned six are operating at a loss and 12 are making just enough to justify their existence and when I say that I'm talking about an entity that spins a hundred thousand dollars in supplies in beverages or snacks to make $101,000 and so At some point you got to and we got to remind ourselves that these are supposed to be fundraisers These aren't supposed to be just Social paternal activities that are solely for our members only unlike other Veterans organizations if it's generating revenue and a significant amount of revenue to help DAV and the chapter support its mission Then that's great, but we certainly cannot allow them to operate at a loss because now we're taking funds that are otherwise Dedicated an earmark for service programs and Propping up a losing bar operation which certainly would not sit well with our donors And that's why we give them a year to provide us with a plan of profitability And give them a year to turn their program around and if they're not turned around then of course a hard call Decision has to be made on whether or not the continuation of that bar lounge program is going to be continued or not and of course we continue to monitor the bar lounge operations as I mentioned earlier through our annual financial reports that we receive at national headquarters and when Appropriate we certainly notify those entities and let them know that hey, you're not you're losing money. You got to Raise drink prices or do something otherwise to make it profitable So it's truly a fundraiser the other one I report on and again this this Activity is also covered by National Executive Committee regulation number four and again is a fundraiser cannot be operated at a loss Much like a Liquor license if you've got a bar lounge operation every state has some kind of governance or licensing or Registration or control over gambling or bingo operations if your chapter Or unit wishes to engage in bingo operations and upon the appropriate approval of the appropriate bodies, it's the subordinate entities responsibility to ensure that all of the Requirements for filing for the appropriate Local and state permits and any other permits that may be required are satisfied. There are oftentimes Cases where a chapter will start off on a bingo operation and then a month later when word spreads throughout the community they get a knock on the door from someone from the State Department of Taxation and Saying hey turn over all the money that you've raised in the last year because you've narrowed out the appropriate permit We don't know who you are you're operating in program illegally Oh, and oh by the way in addition to turning over all the money that you've Raised over the last month from the bingo. We're gonna charge you or we're gonna find you five thousand dollars so The key takeaway from this is just make sure and of course the national organization We absolutely positively cannot Understand or enforce or even be aware of Every requirement at every level whether it's a state requirement whether it's a county requirement whether it's a city requirement Or a zoning requirement, so that's why it's very important before The chapter engages in an activity such as bingo that you understand fully that There are certain laws that you have to comply with locally That certainly local laws trump the bylaws So just because you got the approval of the department executive committee to do a bingo operation Doesn't give you the authority to violate state law and do a bingo operation as of right now We have about 19 bingo operations and fortunately only one of them operating in the loss and then Three of them are barely surviving and of course we attribute this to the Expansion as we all probably know, you know, if you think back 20 years ago If someone wanted to gamble you'd either have to go to Las Vegas or to Atlantic City But today, I mean almost every state in the Union has a casino at least one casino in its territory, so you know people that Traditionally played bingo 20 years ago because that was the only place to go and gamble are not Supporting bingo operations anymore because they go play blackjack they go play slot machines So the number of bingo operations are continuing to dwindle throughout the year just because there's in a lot of cases No money involved in it thrift stores and again I always remind people and the only reason that I continue to leave this slide on their year after year after year is Because each and every year I'm contacted either by a department or a chapter with the idea of starting a thrift store Prior to August 1st 1989 It was permitted in accordance with our bylaws for chapters to engage in the thrift store business During our convention in 1989 it was Proposed by the Constitution and Bylaws Committee or or a department that would exclude chapters from getting into that business and that was for One reason and one reason only well actually it was for many reasons, but primarily it was because The chapter had a grand idea of opening a thrift store But had no idea how to manage it how to pay the bills how to track the money how to make the reports And in many of those instances It was not only a failing operation But ended up costing the subordinate entity whether it's a chapter or a chapter in most of those cases a lot of money because they entered Into long-term lease agreements with facilities that they could no longer support. Would you get that and tell them? I'm busy. I'll call them back though. Just as soon as I get a chance Made pay you well when we do the the role or the March Wednesday morning you can make a $15 daynation service foundation if you like that's Certainly fine, and you can tell them it's a penalty Because your phone went off during the during the seminar Bob of course that's it was Bob's phone, right? Okay. All right just checking so After now, of course, there were some chapters that were very successful in the thrift store business that were grandfathered in and are Still in existence today and operate very successful operations that bring in a lot of revenue to support chapter and department service programs So those that were in existence prior to August 1st 1989 and continue today Are certainly still allowed to operate their operations But after August 1st 1989 only departments were are able to get into the thrift store business I mentioned just a little while ago That financial reports are coming due We all know that the membership year and the annual financial reporting year Starts July 1st and ends the following July. I'm sorry June 30th and then that allows for Chapters and departments the opportunity to have 90 days to finalize their financial report and get it to their appropriate body Some of the things that We fail to do as members as good active members in DAV is make sure that We're holding people accountable and keeping people honest for lack of better terms so At our chapter meetings at our department meetings when the treasurer stands up and gives the financial report There's nothing wrong with a Asking questions and there's nothing wrong with B Asking for a copy of the bank statement because often times We'll find or or we'll hear about Chapters that thought that they had $15,000 in the bank because that's what the treasurer said we had and come to find out when the treasurer is no longer Treasurer because someone else was elected or appointed and now takes over the account. Oh, we only have $1,500 in the bank We don't have $15,000 in the bank. So it's just a matter of keeping people honest and Not that we're not honorable people But sometimes it's just a matter of very poor bookkeeping. So there's nothing wrong With asking for copies of the bank statements whenever your chapter treasurer gives the financial report One of the things that we are actually a couple of other things that we typically see that are Oftentimes problematic for the chapter and ends up getting someone into trouble is The way that we disperse our money in no case should we ever in many of these instances are by way of Helping a needy veteran or a needy needy veterans family in no case should a DAV entity either give cash to a veteran Because they say that they need help with their electric bill in no case should a chapter Make a check payable to a veteran because they say they need help with their electric bill We should always Account for our funds by requiring hey, we understand you need help. We're here to help bring us a copy of your utility bill Bring us a copy of your car repair bill bring us a copy of your eviction notice from your Apartment rental complex and we will gladly pay it for you, but we're gonna make it payable to whoever it's due to Because of course, you know, we all like to believe that everybody is who they say they are and Yet are truthful in what they're asking for but unfortunately in this day and age There are a lot of scammers out there that make a living going around from community to community and Asking different organizations for money and then either getting cash or a check written out to their name And that's how they survive and they literally move from state to state to do that So we certainly don't want to find ourselves in that position where we're Wasting DAV assets that were provided to us by the general public for a specific program of service to veterans and Losing that money to someone who is not really in need Course most of our Chapters departments operate with checking accounts and Most of our chapters require two signatures on each of the checks before it can be distributed to whomever In no case should a chapter commander Pre-sign blank checks for the treasurer to fill out later as needed and in no case should The chapter commander and the chapter treasurer Sign checks that are left blank for someone else to pay a bill the chapter because as the treasurer and the commander were ultimately responsible for That check because it's got our name on it. We're authorized signatures on it There's nothing to prevent someone from Making the check payable to cash and putting in whatever amount they want and going to the bank and You know just drawing out whatever they want And and that's common sense and and I you know, we all have common sense when we also talk about checks and Accountability and how we account for funds, you know, no no Pre-signing checks that haven't been properly made out yet another issue or another thing that we've identified is Debit cards or gift cards You know and again, we want to we want to make sure that we're there for needy veterans and their families so there's nothing wrong with handing out gift cards to say Walmart or to Kroger or wherever that whatever that the local Food market is so that the veteran can go and get groceries for The veteran and his family But we find We have to be careful in the distribution process. There's got to be more than one person involved in the distribution of those We've had a few instances where the chapter well-intended Decided that they were going to buy 10 $100 gift cards for needy veterans in the area and Allow one person to distribute those as needed and come to find out that needy veteran was themselves And so they would come back at the next meeting and say I handed out 10 $100 gift cards to Walmart to 10 veterans no No validation of Who it was given to how it was given to it where it was given to him and then of course that cycle just repeats itself so one of the things that We are going to and if you are a chapter treasurer or department treasurer this year you'll notice that the Instructions in the form changed a little bit It's asking for some additional information to Validate the expenditures, especially as it relates to our service program, so We certainly We certainly have no problem and we encourage chapters and departments to continue to support our VA medical centers and our VAVS programs and our state veterans nursing homes like many of us do But we when we do that we have to get a letter of Acknowledgement from the entity and a good example is if our chapter elects to give or votes to give $5,000 to the state veterans nursing home for new TVs we Should expect as a chapter to get a thank you and an acknowledgement letter from the state veterans nursing home This says hey, thank you for the $5,000 donation for the purchase of televisions throughout our facility Because right now quite frankly We have no way to validate those expenditures and we have an obligation to the internal revenue service as the parent organization To be able to justify each and every dollar not only that the national organization spends But our departments and chapters as well so it's really kind of a Two-pronged approach to the rationale for needing this a to satisfy the requirements of the internal revenue service, but then be to Really keep folks honest and again, I hate to I hate to say that You know sometimes people do things that they're not supposed to do But it's very easy for someone to make an annual financial report balance at the end of the year Simply by saying well, we're missing You know $2,500 Well, I'll just claim that we spent $2,500 and gave it to the state veterans nursing home With no validation. So that's the real reason for that. It's just it's Better record keeping it's gonna require a little extra work But it's for the benefit of us all because again at the end of the day as we all know the internal revenue service is really Evaluating and holding Organizations accountable. So we really have to pay close attention and know where our Money's we're going and of course when we do fundraisers You know, no one person should be left alone to count the money to tally everything up So we should always get into the practice of Having two people count the money so that someone's not going one for DAB two for me One for DAB two for me not that that happens, but it's just common sense, right? And I learned a new term this week and it's it's called not common sense But horse sense and I told someone we were gonna be talking about horses earlier today and not Marines Because normally I like to talk about Marines, but Does anybody know what horse sense is? No, it's not a marine. Well, it could be Horse sense is a quality that is always found in a horse But never found in a jackass I Didn't say that I didn't say that So we we always have to get in the practice of using our common sense or our horse sense as it relates to money Must start to speed through these a little quicker because we're running out of time Of course as I mentioned earlier financial reports are due on September 30th Delays create delays so if you're a department and you're filing a financial report to the national organization and also Asking for a grant from the Columbia Trust to support your service program your HSC program or van program We cannot the Columbia Trust cannot favorably consider or even look at your grant request until We have received and approved your financial report because of course the Columbia Trust is a needs-based Grant entity and of course we need to know that there's an actual need for the funds before the Columbia Trust can administer it Those entities that I have three hundred thousand dollars of income Require a CPA review that was changed a few years ago to a review versus an audit simply because an audit Is in many cases ten times more expensive than a review But yet the required information that is captured in a review is very similar to an audit and we're able to justify it And again that last bullet what's new the supporting documentation? You're not going to be able to see these I tried to blow these up as best as I can but this is the new annual financial report that is asking for and requiring the additional information and It's not going to be such a requirement this year because in all fairness chapters departments didn't know about the change of On those forms until they were mailed out So next year starting July 1st of this year through June 30th Next year when the financial reports come due all of those required documents are going to be expected this coming year the What's going to keep us out of trouble with the internal revenue service? We all know and we've done a much better job And I commend a lot of departments for taking upon themselves to file the 990s for a lot of their subordinate entities because if we don't file some form of a 990 for three consecutive years we lose our tax exemption and if we lose our tax exemption We can no longer raise money as an organ as an entity So what you could raise money, but you just can't do it as a tax exempt organization Which means you're gonna pay tax on it, so It's very difficult to reestablish your tax exemption once you lose it So the the main thing that you want to remember is to always each and every year file the appropriate form 990 that's required and as noted up here What'll keep us out of trouble filing our officer reports in a timely manner Filing our financial reports in a time in the manner filing our IRS forms in a timely manner Very importantly safeguard DAB assets and lists There was another proposal in the Constitution by-laws It'll be discussed and voted upon on Wednesday morning that talks about our list and how important it is to Protect the names and contact information of our members in both the DAB and the auxiliary And always you know last case scenario When there is a chapter department or even an individual out there that Fails to comply. There's another 15 bucks. We're up to $30 um Nobody likes to do this, but obviously When a chapter is not compliant with the Constitution and by-laws of either the chapter of the Department of the National Organization the department commander in Those extreme cases certainly has the authority to suspend the charter the chapter until it becomes compliant again So that wraps up my part of the seminar I'm gonna turn over to Brian and Laura now and give me one minute while I find their power point on here And then when they wrap up We can do Q&A as a group and you can direct your questions to either myself or to Brian or Laura Real simple. It's E. Hartman at DAB org Hey everyone Good afternoon My presentation will be nearly as exciting as Ed's was but I'll do my best to keep you awake very happy to be with you today to talk with you about Exciting things going on with fundraising and also share with you mainly Some of the national programs that we have in place now to help you raise funds For veterans in your your local community, so When we spoke two or three years ago We really didn't have a lot of programs in place to assist you guys and We focused on that and continue to do so so happy to speak a little bit about those today. The newest being In April of this year. We launched a national car donation program Have you got has everyone heard about that our national car donation program and we launched in April and the program is designed to raise funds to help support Your mission of service as well as raise funds that you can utilize in in your communities in your states the program will be marketed and administered at the national level In partnership with VDAC who two of our VDAC friends are here up in the front row I think you guys may have seen their table out there, but VDAC is a a leading a leading firm in working with nonprofits In implementing car donation programs to raise funds to support their mission. So very excited to work in partnership with them the program is designed to help raise funds by Once once a car is sold or salvaged 25% of the net proceeds are given To the State Department, so any cars sold or salvaged in each state 25% of the net proceeds go to that state for the cars sold or salvaged in that state if that makes sense it's like a riddle and so While we are working to market the program on a national level We certainly encourage you all to go back and market the program as well Because doing so helps to benefit you by helping to raise more funds that you guys can utilize in your communities It's as simple as just going to DAV org slash cars You can refer people to the website on the website. There's a 1-800 number It is a national program. So when people go there, they can click on their state Or or actually they don't have to click on their state. We were on the back end identify which state they come from But if you go there now the site is live And it looks pretty good if you had a chance to take a look at it Today we've just been running the program for four months and you can already see that we've had some success Just in a few months of marketing the program We've grossed over seventy six thousand dollars. We've netted forty eight thousand dollars in Donations or cars have been donated in thirty seven states and again That's primarily from what we've been doing on a national level But we certainly want to encourage and galvanize You all to go back and help promote the program in your communities as well. It'll only make these numbers go up So to help you do that we have created a Toolkit that you can find on the membership portal which provides FAQs about the program how it works It's extremely extremely simple VAC makes this really simple They will have they will schedule someone to pick up the car. They will Come and make it arrange and coordinate the picking up of the car from the or the towing service They will help them with the vehicle the titling So it's extremely extremely easy. There's anything you'd want to know about the program out there. So Certainly it's in the toolkit. There's also marketing materials. There's flyers There's digital assets if you want to put a button on your website There's a button that shows you it's a button you can put on your website to donate There's social media messaging to put out on your social media pages There's also information of how you can order Premium items. I think you probably all got one of these while you were out there one of these nice looking cars There is information of how you can order Chatsky items as well in the toolkit and so Definitely if you haven't had a chance to look at I encourage you to go back and look at the membership portal and and check Out the toolkit also if you have not yet received one of these I believe there's some more over there. So take some on your way out I think there's also some at the table as well still so grab grab one of the cars I'm sure you're all stressed after being here a few days. So In addition to the car donation program We are excited. We are kicking off our third year of the fourth year fourth year I might say fourth year of our 5k program It is as you guys know the 5k program is a program It's a walk run walk run ride event That thanks those who serves and also raises awareness of the issues that disabled veterans were faced every day We're very excited about the program as those of you may recall when we launched our first one four years ago in Cincinnati our vision was to get to a point where we had ten of these nationally And we're very excited to have grown them since then This event is something that we want to be very unique and different from a lot of other 5k events and provide a you can Unique experience. I think those of you have been to a 5k. How many people has been to a dv 5k? It's great, right? I think you can attest to The unique and the wonderful experience that the participants have when they're when they participate in the 5k We have honor bibs where people can honor their loved ones and write messages on their bibs We have veteran custom t-shirts people usually love the t-shirts We have a motorcycle ride that kicks off all of our races, which is really an amazing thing to watch And we also have a post-party Which always seemed to be a big hit. So usually people stick around for the post party As I said, we had our inaugural event in Cincinnati Last year we had three events including our inaugural event in Atlanta. Anybody in here from Atlanta? Yeah, there we go. Someone's back there from Atlanta. We had over a thousand people to participate participate in Atlanta We had 6,000 participate overall We're very very excited about The the level participation that we have in our 5ks. We had 42 companies who participated in sponsoring the event And so what we're finding with the events which you know, you may say well house is helping us in our communities but I can attest being in Cincinnati and we and this is where the national office is that a lot of times We would talk about dv and people would not even know what dv was and and what we did and Being in Cincinnati now and having done three years of 5k events I can wear my t-shirt and I can't tell you and other staff will tell you how many times I wear my t-shirt and people go Oh, yeah, I know you guys do the 5k race and you support veterans So the 5k is a really great way to get awareness out in the community about our Organization and about our mission and what we do and what that then does it makes it number one It makes veterans know about our services in your community So they'll turn to you more when they need assistance But also it makes it easier for you when you go out and do your own fundraising because when you knock on their door They already know who dv is so we're really trying to do these things also to put an umbrella out there of awareness to make Your jobs easier as well and again just as the the card donation program does Once all of our 5k's or once a 5k event is profitable 25% of the net proceeds are also given to the the State Department as well Typically that takes about three years to do. It's not something that that happens overnight But our goal is to always be profitable with our 5k's over a three-year time frame We're gonna do this, but for the sake of time. I think you guys if you're Did anybody see this did everybody see this in the room in there when we were waiting for the president anybody see the video Most people saw it. Yeah, it's okay so in 2016 We will continue with Cincinnati and we will continue with Atlanta and we are also excited to bring on three new events in Tulsa, Oklahoma Remember from Oklahoma in Boston, Massachusetts There we go and also in Newport News, Virginia. That's what There you go. There you go So we're very excited to bring on these three new events So we get up to five events nationally and we're also happy to announce in 2017 we'll be expanding into two additional markets, which will be Wally, North Carolina and San Antonio, Texas, so Very very excited to to move into those markets now You may ask well, how do I get involved? How do how do I go about bringing a 5k to my state? We do now have an application process Early in 2017 we sent out a memo this year, but early in 2017 we'll be sending out another memo That announces that now we are accepting applications For the 5k if you are interested in bringing a 5k to your state All you have to do is fill out the application which contains information about your your department and the city That where you'd like to host a 5k event We do ask while anyone can fill it out since these are department Department functions that we do in partnership with the department we do ask that you get your department adjutant to sign off on your application and then we will be reviewing applications for 2018 early in 2017 and hopefully we will be standing here next year and I'm seeing who we will be expanding to in 2018 here next year So we encourage you again if we our goal is to get to 10. We're at we'll be at 7 next year, so we have three more to go. So if you're interested, please please fill out an application Also wanted to also share with you our newest program that we're doing in partnership with Ford It's Ford's drive for your community program We're going into our second year of our partnership and program with Ford's this this program and What this program allows you to do is raise easily raise up to $6,000 for your department. It's extremely extremely easy or your chapter. I should say If your chapter is interested in doing a driver your community event You just need to get approval from your State Department to participate, but it's extremely it's extremely easy to do Ford has National office has endorsed DAV is one of their national partners for this program So all their dealers know that we are an endorsed partner for this program So all you have to do is walk into a Ford dealership and say I would like to do a Ford drive for your community event can we partner together to do that and Mostly nine times a ten. Hopefully they'll say sure. It's as simple as that you're and then on the event date that you Host your drive for a community event which for it takes care of a lot of logistics like they take care of the cars and having the cars They're available to be test drove. So there's nothing you have to do with that But if anyone who test drives a car on those days We receive or your chapter department receives $20 for every car that is driven on that day So you literally could call all your friends and family that day and say let's go have some fun And let's just drive a bunch of Ford cars and you just go out there and you raise money for your for your chapter of your department There is also a toolkit online for that as well on the portal and It provides more information on it's just as on what I'm sharing with you today But it also has tools in it as well on how you can market the event so that you can go out in your communities and Talk about the event. So more and more people come who drive the more and more money that you earn as well Once you have a Ford dealership Ford dealer signed on who wants to partner with you They'll fill out an application or a form with Ford, which they'll take care of We also have a registration form as well. The link to that registration form is in the toolkit Just sort of it's easy to a couple questions to fill out Just letting also us know that you are participating in the event So anything and everything you'd want to know about how doing this is in the toolkit So please check it out as well This this year. We're starting to see a lot more of our chapters department's departments participate This is what the portal page looks like you probably have seen this before but if not, that's where both the VDAC Tool kit as well as the drive for your community toolkit reside. So Take a look at that Last year for the drive for community Campaigns there were two events one in Kentucky one in Boston you can see this year. We had six events There are two in Ohio that raised both raised over a thousand had one in Georgia and Michigan, Texas and Alabama So you can see they're raising thousands of dollars when they do these it's really not that hard and to be honest It's easy way to make raise money. So I hope we see eventually like 25 and 30 departments and chapters participating In the program. So please take advantage of that as well To to conclude, I know Ed mentioned just be kids as well I know there's probably gonna be some questions on that I do want to maybe one one thing I can do to help answer a question is to say that Yes, if you turn in and send in the money to DAB for funds you raised through Camp Crow You're if you're working with a Golden Crow store the store will get credit on the form There's a place for you to put information about if you're partnering with a store So I know that comes up. I get a lot of questions about that So, yes, the stores Do get credit and we do track all the funds including the funds that are matched So they not only do the stores get credit for the funds you raised They also get credit for those for the funds that we match and that is tracked. So Just want to make sure you're aware of that as well and That concludes my presentation. So we are we are available and open to answer any questions that you might have I think there there's a microphone in the center stage there if If you wouldn't mind making your way to the microphone for the benefit of everybody hearing the question it'd be greatly appreciated