 Good afternoon, it's certainly good to see everybody here today Welcome to the inspector general seminar. My name is Ed Hartman DAV's inspector general and I'm joined by Brian cohort our chief Development officer and Laura Rushi who is our DAV 5k series manager We're going to kind of tag team this seminar into a couple different aspects. I'm going to give you a little bit of information on My world or as it relates to the inspector general and what we can all be doing as chapters and departments and members to safeguard DAV assets So that we all wind up Really making sure that we are protecting the funds that are being provided to us by the American people because at the end of the day We have to remember that when money is donated to DAV. It's not our money. It's the donor's money They've simply entrusted us as an organization to provide those funds In a manner that is specific to their wishes and that's providing service to veterans and their families One thing I always like to do before We get started in any meeting and that's just to remind everybody of DAV's mission statement I do this for a couple of reasons because it sets the tone of our Meeting why we're here what we're supposed to be doing as an organization each and every time we gather whether that's at a Chapter meeting a department meeting or even a national meeting This kind of sets the tone in terms of what we should be discussing and talking about because I'm sure that many of us have been in chapter meetings and unit meetings and department meetings where it seems like everything that comes up on the floor has Absolutely positively nothing to do with our mission statement, but rather something that is of personal interest to us and really has no place in being discussed and Decided during the course of a DAV meeting so bear with me just one moment and I'll read DAV's mission statement to Each and every one of you and of course these are found within our Constitution and bylaws But we are dedicated to a single purpose and that is 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? We do that by providing free Professional assistance to veterans and their families and in obtaining benefits and services earned throughout their military service And Provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs and other agencies of government providing outreach Concerning its programs and services 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 and the judicial branch as well as state and local government 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, so in a nutshell That's what each and every one of us as a DAV member should be interested in first and foremost when we attend any DAV function Whether it be at the chapter level department level or at the national level These are all things that we need to keep In the forefront and in our mind first as we go about our business So today as I mentioned earlier one of the things that we really want to spend a little bit of time discussing this afternoon is Protecting DAV assets now This has really It's not been a huge issue that we've had to address during the last year, but it's been Significant enough that we feel that it's important for us to address just to give some tools to each and every one of you as leaders within your chapters and departments on best practices of how to Safeguard DAV assets from theft or conversion And that is something that is required of us by our bylaws in article 14 section 14.9 It's our responsibilities departments and chapters to protect DAV assets from theft or conversion This responsibility includes without limitation Implementation of sound financial management practices and the purchase of insurance to cover theft and losses. So The question is what is the implementation of sound financial Management practices and we're going to talk a little bit about that In this next slide and some tools that you can go back and use within your chapter and department to make sure that All of DAV's assets are protected So As you can see the very first bullet point up there is handling cash now We're very fortunate as an organization that we don't have to handle cash on a On a daily basis, but we do on occasion have the opportunity and the need to handle cash Whether that's during forget-me-not drives whether that's during golden corral drives Thank you Or any other time where we are Provided cash that is intended for DAV One of the Biggest that's that's a lot louder isn't it? All right. I'm gonna try to Back it up here a little bit When handling cash and I'm gonna try to make this a little interactive as well back down a little bit. All right So blouse, maybe it wasn't just your hearing aids So when handling cash just like any other asset Is it wise and again, I'm gonna try to make this a little interactive so I'm gonna ask some questions of you During the course of the presentation Is it wise for one person and one person only to be entrusted with handling the cash of the organization and being Responsible for counting all the money you're absolutely right because the temptation is there in some instances where You know a dollar for DAV Dollar for me dollar for DAV dollar for me So a good practice to get into is any time that you have The need to handle cash Always make sure that you've got at least two members. They're doing that that can Not only ensure that we're counting money correctly, but also to keep everybody honest Not that we're not honorable people Not that we don't have a high degree of integrity But it just prevents the opportunity for somebody to do something that might be tempting to them and in many cases where we have In the rare cases Found theft of DAV assets, whether it be at the chapter level or department level It's always been because one person has single sole access to either cash or in some cases checking account funds so When we talk about having two people Handling cash counting cash accounting for cash. Here's another question for you. Is it wise to have a Two brothers or a husband and a wife Serving as those two people You're right and you know, you've heard the old saying that sometimes bad or apples don't fall too far from the tree or fault far from the tree so There are oftentimes when even though there are two people handling cash You know, that's not a safety net or a guarantee that everything is going to happen appropriately Sometimes people collude and especially when they're family members You know, there's a need for whatever reason in their own household or with their own family for money so they kind of collude to Ensure that or not to insure but to Deceive and hide monies from the chapter that they end up ultimately sticking in their pocket and again By mention of this, this isn't something that is widespread in any DAV entity, but it's happened a handful of times throughout the course last year that it's really important that we at least talk about this because at the end of the day and if you listen to the Business session this morning during executive director Barry Jezanoski's report our name is everything to us and having a very high level of integrity and a very high level of Transparency with the American public has allowed us not only continue as an organization in the coming years but has served us well in almost 100 years of our history and so The more transparent that we are the more accountability that we have with the American public And the higher Level of integrity that we have as an organization is going to ensure that we as an organization at all levels Are going to be there well into the future taking care of the next generation of disabled veterans in their family Depositing money so now you've got two people that have counted the money everything is Accounted for both people's agree or both individuals agree that we we come up with $525 next step is to get that into the bank right away, right? We don't want to take it home with us and hold it in our pocket you know because We're going to go to the bank in the next two weeks, so we'll just make the deposit then get the money deposited right away Any number of things can happen We've had individuals that have been Mugged or robbed It's not happened so much this year, but there have been examples in the last couple of years where Veterans out collecting monies for their chapter on forget-me-not drives have actually been mugged from the time that they've collected their funds in a bucket and made their way to a car or They had a very very successful forget-me-not drive So they had to take a full bucket of money Put it in their car go back with another bucket and and spend the rest of the day collecting money in another bucket so People are always watching and observing and people who want to do bad things are going to take advantage of an opportunity to really I Don't want to say prey upon veterans, but They people in the community see what DAB is doing. They see how much money is being collected and they'll certainly take any opportunity they can to steal from disabled veterans and their families so in addition to collecting the money counting the money Let's get the money in the bank right away so that there's no Lost funds. There's no opportunity for somebody other than the DAB member or the treasurer to get access to those funds And otherwise steal them No commingling of funds kind of getting along or Right in line with depositing the funds We should never take DAB assets and deposit them in our own personal checking account for safeguarding Now there's been the argument. Well the chapter's bank is 30 miles away But yet I've got a bank here in my own town It's better sitting in my account where I can simply write a check To the chapter at the next chapter meeting and then have those monies deposited in the account, you know what I mean in Reality I mean that makes perfect sense as long as everybody knows how much money went in how much money's coming out How much money's going back into the chapter account? but perception-wise you don't want to give anybody the opportunity to allege that You as a well-intended DAB member has done anything nefarious to hide or steal funds from DAB and so that's just a A common sense way of preventing that when you have money make sure it gets in DAB's account right away In addition to other organizations, we shouldn't be depositing DAB funds into other organizations accounts I know that many of us here in this room Serve not only as active members of DAB but as active members of other organizations like the Legion or the VFW or any Other number of organizations We should never deposit any DAB funds in the accounts of other organizations for the purpose of convenience and Until we're able to get those funds deposited into a DAB account So no commingling of funds with of DAB funds into another organization Loans and grants to other organizations. This is really two different things, but I kind of group them together into the same bullet point You know our bylaws are very specific that we as an organization should not be providing loans to Members other organizations. I mean we're not a banking institution Many times throughout the course of the year I get telephone calls from DAB chapters that say You know, hey, we loaned $5,000 to member a Because he or she needed You know to make a an emergent repair or they had to go on a trip and it wasn't a grant It was a loan and they promised to pay us back. Well, they don't pay it back The chapter's out of money and the only other recourse that the chapter has at that point is to take the Individual to small claims court to try to recover the funds that were loaned to them When we're talking about giving grants to other organizations remember what I mentioned earlier about DV monies that are held in DAB accounts really isn't DAB money, but it's the American public's money because they've entrusted us to Put that money to work for disabled veterans and their families when they find out that we're giving grants or loans to other organizations They're very next Mindset or their very next idea or thought is why am I giving money to DAB because they're not spending it in the manner in which I intended my donation to be spent for they're giving it to another organization. They're loaning it to The church they're loaning it to the Boy Scouts of America the Girl Scouts so we have a An obligation to spend the money that's provided to us by donors to provide service To disabled veterans and their families only and of course a lot of times it boils down to common sense When we have assets I mean we have any number of programs in DAB especially at the chapter level where we have an urgent need to provide Direct assistance relief to veterans in our communities, right? Whether that's paying a utility bill because the electricity is about to be turned off whether that is making an emergency repair on a veterans Vehicle because now he or she has is in jeopardy of losing their ability to make their way to their job to provide for their family When we do that and again, that's all very well and noble But when we do that, we need to make sure that a we have the authority from our chapter by way of a vote to expend those funds for that purpose and Secondly if it's approved by the body to make that financial distribution, we should do that by way of check made payable to in many cases the utility company or the actual if it's in the instance of a car repair to the Repair facility that is making the repair Last thing that we want to do is provide somebody with cash or make a check directly payable to a veteran where they're going to Utilize that money for anything other than the intended purpose for which they came to us asking for our assistance And then we provided the assistance so Always make sure that the checks that are being made out For veterans relief is made payable to the entity that it's due whether it's a utility company Whether it's a an apartment complex for a past due rent. They're about to be evicted Never provide cash a because you don't know that for sure that that money is going to be spent For the intended purpose and then also it's very very very difficult to track in terms of a Donation made on behalf of a chapter whereas if you provide a check you've got a canceled check that now you can prove to anybody That may question where that money went and In particular the internal revenue service, which we're going to talk about here in just a little bit That yes, we did make this Contribution to this individual for this very particular purpose One of the other Things that we see in terms in a common sense thing is gift cards You know, it's especially around the holidays It's very very common for DAB chapters departments to go out and buy a whole slew of hundred dollar gift cards That you know, we're gonna make available to needy veterans and their families so that they can help provide for their families over The holidays or at the beginning of the school year. We have to treat those credit those gift cards much like we would cash so we should never have one person responsible for holding on to 50 $100 gift cards and just distributing it at will and I'll use a very common example of What has happened in the past and we certainly will certainly want to take all steps that we can to eliminate the Opportunity for this happening again in the future is You know, well, hey, I'm the commander. I spend a lot of time over at the VA medical center I spend a lot of time down at the homeless veterans shelter I spent a lot of time over the state for veterans nursing home Give me all those fifty one hundred dollar gift cards and I'll hand them out, you know Whenever I'm making my rounds throughout the course of the month And in many cases, you know, they're they're used for their very specific purpose purpose, but a few times it's been discovered and it's been brought to our attention and We've had to try to find ways to recover this money those Fifty one hundred dollar gift cards were used by that one individual to buy their groceries go to Walmart buy their clothes So on and so forth so much like cash At the end of the day gift cards are cash, right because you can redeem it for anything So we just have to make sure that we have proper checks and balances in place in the instance of Distributing gift cards Best way to do that would probably have a committee Make the individual that is seeking the assistance come into the chapter Whether it's if your chapter is fortunate enough to have a building or At your next chapter meeting hair chapter meeting is next next week come into the chapter Tell us what you need and we'll we'll help you out But we've got to have some documentation as to what your need is so that we can provide some relief to you So gift cards are just like cash in addition to all the things we just talked about in terms of sound financial management practices How many of you have been to a chapter meeting and It's been a matter of whenever it comes time for the treasurer's report the treasurer stands up and says All right, ladies and gentlemen, we've got $5,000 in the bank we spent $100 last month We brought in $200 for forget me not our balance is $5,100 at the end of this month And then that's all the explanation that's provided that happens I know I know there's some hands that are gonna have to go up right that happens often, right? It's our responsibility to ask questions So even though the treasurer might be spot-on with his accounting and his or her Explanation of where the money is how much money we have in the bank and how much money was spent and how much money was brought in but show us show us the bank statements because Other times where we've identified a Laxed policy within the chapter where funds have wound up missing. It's typically been where The membership wasn't active enough to ask very specific pointed questions and requiring the Treasurer to provide not only a treasurer's report but provide us with a line-by-line item of where the money went How it came in and oh by the way show us the bank statement that matches up with what you just told us Just to use an example And I don't know how in the world they ever thought they were going to get away with it But you know a treasurer would give the finance report and in in this particular instance You know claimed that the chapter had $20,000 in the bank and all as well and then the very next year The treasurer was no longer Elected as the treasurer now the new treasurer steps in finds out that there's no money in the bank That the treasurer has cleaned it out, but yet continued to tell the chapter that we still have all this money so by being Wise and educated DAB members We should certainly always make sure that we ask questions especially those that are related to the finances of the organization to ensure That all of our funds are accounted for and not just taking someone's word for it every time that this instance happens You know the very first thing that said to me is man, I really thought we could trust him He's been the treasurer for ten years, and I never would have thought he would have done something like that so Let's just do our best to keep people honest and certainly ask as many questions as you'd like That's the the our obligation as members is to ask questions So know where the money is located know where the bank is In another example in in along the same lines is There are sometimes chapters that have multiple checking accounts And but yet the chapter is only aware of one checking account or savings account so Always make sure that you know where DAB's assets are being maintained In which bank so that we know what is happening with DAB assets Vouchers We all travel we're all here attending DAB's convention. I know that many of us here in this room are Here as delegates of our chapter and probably receiving some form of reimbursement If not full reimbursement of the expenses that are incurred whether it's airline housing meals travel or otherwise For participation here at the national convention When we get back we've got to account for all those funds So nobody should be getting more money than what they are otherwise Entitled or authorized to spend by the chapter coming to a convention whether it's a national convention to the department convention or In any other business activities official business activities of DAB So vouchers are very very very important and again getting back to the IRS that's something that When we start talking about the IRS, I think in the next couple slides That is really going to be helpful to each and every one of you as chapter leaders and departments To validate what your chapter or department is doing in terms of your expenditures Of course receipts are very important that go along with those vouchers We can't We can't justify making a payment to an individual who simply said well, yeah My room was $200 a night and I was there for five days Provide the receipt and if you provide a properly or provide a receipt and a properly completed voucher You know you're entitled to that reimbursement for those expenditure of DAB assets We were talking about proper approval Everybody knows before you know you come to a national convention or department convention who's going to be a delegate Who's going to be authorized to travel as an official representative of a chapter or department to a convention? so as a part of that approval process the discussion needs to be had How much are we going to? Provide to our delegates at DAB's expense for the purpose of attending this event Are we going to pay for all of the airfare all of the room all of the meals up to a certain amount? So that the individual that's actually attending knows what to expect whenever they get back in terms of reimbursement Many times we'll have issues right after a national convention, especially where Delegates will come back to the chapter and realize that they were only authorized $500 in total for their trip as a delegate to the national convention But yet they spent eight hundred and fifty dollars now they're out three hundred and fifty dollars of their own money And again, they were thinking that they had full reimbursement of all those expenses. So Know what the body has approved in terms of travel As a delegate to the national convention or department convention or in any other activity a lot of us are chapter service officers department service officers, so we have We have expenses that We have to incur maybe even individually In hopes of getting or with the expectation that we're going to be reimbursed by the chapter department for our expenses Before you spend DAB money know that you're going to be authorized to get reimbursement for those funds prior to spending it and my my Modo has always been in the 23 years that I've been with DAV is you know spend DAV money as if it's your own so You know don't go out and you know get that $75 full layman yawn Because DAV is paying for it You know treated as if it was your own because You know, we need to make sure that that we're spending DAV funds appropriately now It's it's not uncommon You know, we always talk about DAV money's being spent solely for the purpose of providing service to disabled veterans and their families now Your participation and your presence here is really a service because whether you're attending the One of the business sessions or one of the many seminars that you are Participating in your being you're taking back a wealth of knowledge It is going to help you and the organization fulfill its mission in your community. So That's an easily justifiable expense in terms of DAV assets When it comes to checks Always make sure that there are two signatures on a check I can tell you that I review a fair amount of Constitution and bylaws from chapters and departments that come in for approval by the National Judge Advocate and 99.9% of the Constitution and bylaws that come in have that requirement that all checks for Distributions have two signatures and it's usually the treasurer signature and the commander's Signature and in the absence of the commander the senior vice commander or another line officer of the chapter department but again, that's just that's keeping people honest making sure that DAV funds are being spent appropriately Now just because it requires Dual signatures should we ever find ourselves in the practice where at a chapter meeting? The treasurer says hey commander I've got I'm expecting five bills to come do in the next month We just go ahead and sign this blank check for me so that all I have to do is fill it out later and sign the name Right because once your signatures on there you are responsible for whatever he makes it out for and whatever amount He makes it out for so no pre-signed checks You know, this is all a matter of checks and balances and and implementing sound Financial practices that you know, we would otherwise use in our own personal Lives in our own personal finances. I would never Sign a check a blank check and give it to Brian Kohler because I know Brian likes motorcycles So I might Be surprised at the end of the month that Brian went out and used my pre-signed check to buy new Harley Just and you know, I say that jokingly, but I'm here to tell you it happens And you know, we have 1,300 chapters in this country and 52 state departments. So You know, it's not widespread. It's not Not widely an issue, but it does in fact happen so Any instance of those things happening is is one too many The next slide is talking about credit cards and or debit cards Credit cards and debit cards are their cash. Those are DAB assets that are that belong to the chapter belong to the department and They are really really really Not encouraged to have there's no provision in the by-laws. It says you can't have them but When you have one person who has a DAB issued credit card There's always the temptation To utilize that card for something that is needed Whether it's intentional whether it's on enact on an accident, but There's there's been an increase in the number of issues where a Department issued credit card or chapter issued credit card has been used inappropriately whether it's for you know stopping and filling up my gas tank Every other week or using it to do all my shopping at Sam's Club So the best way to avoid that or prevent that is to really get out of the practice if you do have Credit cards or debit cards getting away from those because really if you think about it There's absolutely and I know that we live in an electronic age where credit cards are used for everything but We as individuals. I mean if you've got a checking account There's a almost 100% chance that you've got a debit card that's associated with that checking account So if we're coming to a national convention a department convention, we're no we're coming We know we've been elected as a delegate to represent our chapter at a department convention or national convention We might not have the personal funds on our own to foot the bill up front and then wait until the next month to get Reimbursed by the chapter or the department for our travels There's absolutely nothing wrong with the chapter or the department to provide an advance To the delegate attending the department convention or national convention so that when they check in the hotel They've got their debit card that debit cards got those funds in there that they can Use for the purpose of their room their airline ticket their meals whatever that is And then at the end of the end of the event you come back you complete a voucher You know how much money was spent and in some cases you might have to give some money back to the chapter because you didn't spend all the money In some cases the chapter might owe you a little bit more money But everyone has a debit card or a credit card So we should really get into the practice of using our own debit card or credit card for daily business with the Thought and the intent in the plan that whenever the event is over. I'm gonna take all my receipts I'm gonna complete a voucher. I'm gonna present to the chapter. I'm gonna present to the department for reimbursement and again We all might not have the ability to do that That's why it's very important that as chapters and departments that we offer the opportunity for our delegates to get advances Well before the convention so that when they come they have the peace of mind knowing that I have money in my account That is tied to my debit card that I can Come to the convention and not have to worry about it Accurate financial reports As we all know We have updated the annual financial report and the schedules that are required of departments and Chapters starting this year So if you haven't already started working on your chapter or department annual financial report You really should be within the next a couple of weeks because those are of course due September 30th When you elect or appoint a committee to Validate those annual financial reports if you are elected or selected to Serve on the committee to validate the annual financial report You should never just sign your name So in other words when you certify that you've reviewed that annual financial report You're certifying sign in your name that everything on this I annual financial report is correct and accurate I can't tell you the number of times where we get an annual financial report and we have questions Something looks questionable in terms of expenses and where monies may be where they have gone That we'll call the the committee members and say, you know, hey, can you explain to us the rationale of? why there's $5,000 listed as Expenses to homeless and needy veterans whenever you can only show documentation to support thousand dollars of that Most of the time we get the reply from the audit committee members. Well, I didn't look at I just signed my name to it so It's again getting back to our own individual responsibility as as Engaged members at the chapter level of the department level to ask questions And if we're on the audit committee for those financial reports We should be looking at the bank statements the receipts the vouchers the expenditures and making sure that when we sign our name as an audit committee member that we fully believe and understand that the Funds that we're reporting as income and expenses are in fact what they are We talked about Purchasing insurance for you know to cover Losses and whenever I talk about losses they might be Physical losses like a building or property if we own property or a building as a chapter or department We should certainly even though we might not have a mortgage on it We should certainly make sure that we have the appropriate insurance in place to cover that property In the event of a tornado a flood or some other kind of vandalism or damage or a fire Because at the end of the day that DAV building is a DAV asset right because DAV funds were used to acquire build that property So in order to do that make sure that you work with a local insurance provider or a national insurance provider to make sure that All of DAV assets are Covered from loss We talked about buildings and property There's also a policy that can be provided and purchased at a very very low premium to cover the chapter of the department for losses related to theft of DAV assets, it's called a I think it's called a dno policy or a directors and officers policy This will basically cover and ensure DAV assets from theft or Loss by way of some kind of nefarious act by an individual whether they just outright Stole the money embezzled the money Laundered the money through some other source It's a very very Inexpensive policy to have and certainly is one that if you have a chapter that has any Amount of money should be interested in in getting Simple simple way to do that We have a carrier that we work with and Cincinnati that has been providing these policies to chapters and departments across the country We can certainly make Recommendation to you if you're interested in acquiring that kind of a coverage All you have to do is give us call will put you in touch with them or you can simply reach out to any local Even a mom-and-pop shop will provide dno policy for you in terms of insurance so as I mentioned Earlier We have an obligation to the internal revenue service and if you've been attending my seminars, whether it's at National Convention Or at midwinter conference over the years You'll know that I've really been Harping the last three or four years on the completion of the IRS form 990 the IRS I think it was in 2012 or 2013 Changed the law that required that each and every nonprofit organization with the exception of religious Entities have to file some kind of IRS form 990 To validate their expenses and income as an organization Most chapters in the country fall into the category of being required to file a 990 and otherwise known as an electronic postcard on the IRS website. So basically if your chapter Had less than $50,000 of income during our accounting period which runs from July 1st to June 30th the following year The only obligation that you have with the internal revenue service as it relates to a 990 is logging on to the IRS website and Filling out a 990 and which takes about three minutes All you need to complete that is the employer identification number for your chapter or your unit And then enter the name of the responsible individual, which is usually the treasurer of the Organization and then hit submit and when you hit submit you're validating and certifying to the internal revenue service that Your entity your chapter your unit had less than $50,000 of income and that's all you have to do If you don't Provide those IRS form 990s after three consecutive years of non-compliance and non-submitted of those 990s the IRS is going to send you a very nice letter. It says, you know, hey D.A.B. Chapter 1 were Unfortunately Notifying you that you've lost your tax exemption with the internal revenue service So now you are no longer considered a tax exempt the organization able to collect money from the general public on it on a Is a tax exempt organization? When that happens many things happen Of course, we all know as chapters we get dues distributions from the national organization based upon the size of our membership each and every year We put those on hold right away because when you lose that tax exemption Any money that comes into the name of the organization you now have to pay a tax on it And it's usually a very sizable tax so When we place a hold on it, you know, many of you who are very active, especially in your in your chapters And you're constantly looking at the membership system to look at the status or look at the officer report or look at your membership ship strength of your chapter you might see the Reportation on hold on hold just simply means that we are Holding all distributions that are that are otherwise supposed to be coming to you for the sole purpose of Allowing you the opportunity to get your tax exempt status back And then once you get that tax exempt status back All of those funds that we've been holding for you will provide to you in one lump sum and then of course continue to make those Distribution distributions year after year because the last thing we want to do is give you $10,000 in dues distributions and then have you Need to turn around and issue $4,000 of that to the Internal Revenue Service so our kind of an ender anybody work for the IRS in here All right good good because I'm gonna let you know a secret the reason we do that obviously is we just simply hold it We maintain it in our account and then once you get your tax exempt status back We make that distribution to you in full so that you don't have to otherwise pay tax on it Not that that's illegal Just wanted to make sure that there was nobody here from the Internal Revenue Service It was gonna say aha. I need to go back and work on legislation to correct that So when you lose your tax exemption It's a long painful process to Get that tax exempt status back anybody out there in the past Not because of your own fault or it might been an officer before you didn't follow those 990s And you wound up losing your tax exemption It's no fun trying to get it back In many cases it takes well over a year There's a lot of time spent on the telephone with IRS agents There's a lengthy IRS form 1024 that needs to be completed. There are fees that are associated with it So the best way to do it Is to simply make sure that each and every year we're filing those 990s and again in many cases It's simply a matter of spending three minutes online and filing that 990 in or that electronic postcard When your unit when your entity is on hold and we're holding those distributions for you That would otherwise be coming to you We can't allow that entity to go out and do any form of fundraising So forget me and I drives Golden Corral events anything else that the chapter would otherwise be involved with in terms of fundraising You have to put on hold because now Again any income that comes into the chapter is now taxable So as an organization of DAB we can't allow any entity to go out raise money in the name of DAB and Claim that you know, hey your taxes or your donation is tax deductible and End up having to turn around and spend a large portion of that donation to pay taxes to the federal government Those of you have been around for a number of years when we the very first year that we were hit with a big long laundry list of Chapters and a few departments that lost or tax exemption Will remember that that one particular year we had about 178 chapters that lost their tax exemption all at once We've gotten much better over the years by way of working with departments Communicating with chapters About these 990s that I'm happy to report that this year as of last month and last In June is when they typically released the listing of organizations that have lost their tax exemption We only had 25 So we're making a lot of progress and informing people of the 990s So this year we've only got 25 that lost their tax exemption But that's 25 chapters that are gonna now have to go through that long arduous process of applying for tax exemption getting their money back getting their tax exemption back and Just jumping through those hoops. I know that there are many departments out there that Have been very very helpful to the chapters within their state that they'll do the 990 for them again Because it's such a quick and simple process That if the chapter needs help all they have to do is reach out to the department and the departments will gladly in most cases log on spend the time and Fill out that 990 for you Matter of fact, many of them have written into their bylaws that any chapter under $50,000 during the course of the year that the department will go ahead and do that for you Just to save the chapters a little bit of work so This next slide IRS audits, they're coming and This is just a byproduct of when they changed the law in 2013 where all of these nonprofit organizations are now required to file a 990 that opens up the door for them to Cherry pick randomly. I don't know how they randomly do it, but DAV entities and I'm sure other Non-profit organizations to audit This year is the very first time that we're aware that DAV entities have been contacted by the Internal Revenue Service for the purpose of conducting an audit There was a chapter and and even one department that has Been audited this year, so we don't know what to expect in the future, but the only way that We can plan for them is to prepare for them make sure that we have the appropriate documentation that we're going to need as an organization To provide to the Internal Revenue Service to validate what we're doing as an organization Validate our income validate our expenses So what are what are some of the things that we're going to need to keep on hand? For the purposes of an IRS audit much like the documentation that you would use whenever you file your own taxes any large gift information if you get a Grant from a state organization or a state government or the county government Make sure that you keep that gifting letter that accompanies it saying hey Congratulations, we're giving DAV chapter one this grant of $5,000 to help veterans in their community Likewise anytime that we make a donation or a distribution For a particular program that's going to benefit disabled veterans and their families We need a receipt for that Distribution and that's one of the things that are required now in the new annual financial reports Not only to make Life easier for everybody to validate where our monies are going but also to protect the chapter or the department in the case That they are audited in the future That you know when you make a donation to like the V ABS program We all have V ABS programs in most of our states most of our departments that we support Many times by way of a cash donation Or to a state veterans nursing home That's all well and good and that's a Justifiable legitimate service expenditure that we can validate all day long To anybody that we're spending money on service programs to veterans and their families But the one thing that we have been a little laxed on doing is Requiring the recognition letter from the entity that we're given the gift to so much like We would do on our own personal Taxes if I make a donation to DAV DAV is gonna send me a letter Recognizing my gift notifying me that it's tax deductible and I can offset my taxes We need to require that same documentation from the entity that we're giving the gift to so that we can Validate to the internal revenue service that this is where that money went And that's just for gifts so We talked about travel and vouchers and receipts earlier right so any expenses that we have as an organization we need to keep Financial records of those transactions as well so Not only for the purposes of providing in our annual financial report each and every year But also more importantly being able to justify to the internal revenue service our expenses if we are audited in the future, so Unfortunately, we expect that over the next several years We'll see more and more DAV entities being audited and the best way to prepare for that is to keep good records and Make sure that we maintain those records for The IRS recommendation is seven years so I know I get a lot of phone calls from Chapters and departments asking, you know, well, how long are we required to keep records for how long are we required to keep? minutes from our meetings for and I always use our the IRS standard of seven years one of the other things that We've had to address with the internal revenue service over the last year and again, this would be something that would be a Red flag for the internal revenue service if they were to audit a department or a chapter is Where are your W2s? Where are your 1099s for your employees? I'm not gonna ask anybody to raise your hand because I don't want you to identify that you're doing something wrong but I Know that there are chapters. I know that there are departments that Give stipends to individuals whether they are officers of the chapter officers of the department stipends our Compensation it's pay When you Have a stipend that you're providing to an individual that stipend has to be accompanied by a an IRS form 1099 at the end of the year because That individual that is receiving that stipend that income that compensation is responsible for paying taxes on that so As an individual it's on our best interest if we're getting that stipend that we get a 1099 because if we personally get audited You know, we're gonna have to validate, you know that income And of course pay tax on that income But as an organization we could certainly also get dinged if we're found to be providing stipends to individuals that We're not issuing 1099s for That alerts the internal revenue service that hey John Doe has received a $20,000 stipend from chapter a and therefore Be on alert that John Doe should be reporting that on his IRS tax filings so the key thing to remember with 1099s if it's a stipend or if it's a Non-employee that is in some way shape or form getting a stipend a gift or otherwise in the amount of six hundred dollars or more during the course of the year A 1099 must be issued To the internal revenue service and the individual of course any active employee of the department Would otherwise get a w2 just like we all do in our own normal lives is Being employees of an organization or a company Now there's a difference between stipends and reimbursement Stipends is just basically a gift saying hey, we're giving you this money because we know you're gonna have some expenses during the course of the year And we want you to have this up front to make life a little bit easier for you That's a lot different than Reimbursement for expenses so using again the example of coming to convention you might get a $1,000 from your chapter or $1,000 from your department that you're Spending here Conducting official DAB business that's not included in the six hundred dollar or more figure Because you're basically being paid to travel for the business of the organization And in many cases you're being reimbursed you're being reimbursed for expenses that are directly coming out of your pocket So 1099s if it's a gift the stipend in anything else direct reimbursement for expenses that you're being Provided for official DAB activities is not included in that six hundred dollar amount for the purposes of it issue for issuing a 1099 At this point We're gonna I'm gonna try to save a little bit of time here towards the end I want to give some time to Brian and Laura so that they can go through their presentation and then at the end we will have opportunity to Do some questions and answering or do some questions and answers if We have time and not sure if we will or not you guys gonna be over 30 minutes Okay, so we'll probably have some time so with that I'll introduce Brian cohort our chief development officer and Laura Rushi our dv-5 case series manager Hello, everyone good afternoon Good to see some familiar and friendly faces First before I begin When Ed was telling the story about how I like motorcycles what he didn't say is he he did give me a blank check to get a Motorcycle, but I didn't cash it because Mark Burgess's name was at the top of it. So I didn't trust it. So If you get a check from Ed make sure you check who it's from That being said this afternoon we want to I just want to talk a little bit about some of the programs that we have in place to Help provide you guys with support and awareness and in your states and your communities Being a fundraiser myself and Laura being a fundraiser. We know how hard it is to raise funds Out in the marketplace. It's a challenging environment. So we certainly want to help all of you and Raising funds providing you guys with funds, but also want to make it as easy as possible for you to raise money When you're out there. So if there's some way we can help you in doing that We want to hear about it. Please let us know we do we do take that back and Try to come up with solutions to help you So today we're going to touch on four areas. We're going to touch on our car donation program Which hopefully you guys know about we're going to talk about the just be kids program Because I know a lot of you are out there raising money for just be kids and may have questions about that scholarship We're going to talk about our 5k series and we're also going to talk about the Ford drive for your community program Which is an exciting program that we hope more of you guys take advantage of to raise funds So our car donation program. We started about a year ago It's a nationwide program and since that program started we've raised over $600,000 in just a year's time with over 2200 cars donated The slides you're seeing here. These are the numbers for this year alone in just about six months. We've raised over Almost $500,000 and has netted DAV almost three hundred thousand dollars. We're getting cars from almost every state I do want to remind you that a Percentage of the proceeds from the cars donating to each state do go back does go back to the department and many of the States that we're getting donations from are getting fairly large allocations. Some of the states are seeing allocations Back in the in excess of $10,000 You can see the list of States that we've gotten cars from the ones at the top the top three Are really pushing Car donations in their states so the more that that program is promoted you can see the fruits of those labor of their labor and we really want to Encourage you guys to to help us get the word out about the program Because it really is an easy way to to raise funds for your departments Here's some of the ads that we do currently Mainly digitally to promote the program as well as through our magazine We've also heard from you guys and last year there was a lot of questions about how how can we get the word out? And so we've gone back We have a toolkit right now that you can download from the membership portal that talks about the program has all a bunch of answers to To questions in terms of well what cars can you donate? We pretty much take any car any car any vehicle that moves we take it And even if it doesn't move if you have a car that only has two wheels on it Or you have to push to make it move we'll take that and and it can be donated It has information about how you can promote it. We have flyers. We have brochures Emails that you can use Just to help get the word out about the program We also have developed promotional items that you can order you see those on the screen right now That you can order to promote the program as well so we've really tried to make it as easy as possible for you to promote the program in your communities and Hopefully it's really just a numbers game the more we get get the word out about the program We're definitely seeing the fruits of that already So we hope more of you will take advantage and help us get the word out about the the car donation pro DB's national car donation program Just be kids As you guys have heard and we're very proud of DAV has been partnering and supporting Camp Corral since its inception four years ago and Camp Corral has really grown because of DAV's efforts But what we've tried to do over the last three years is really number one help it easier Make it easier for you to fundraise But number two make sure that you're doing it in a way that aligns with our bylaws and guidelines When we first heard that many of you are out there raising funds for Camp Corral What we realized is that many of you are actually giving the funds to Golden Corral directly, which was a big no note Per our bylaws in Constitution bylaws Any money that is raised by someone who is Representing DAV must be accounted for by DAV and used to support DAV programs So you can't go out representing DAV even if it's for a worthy cause if you're raising money You're representing DAV is if you're collecting money for DAV You then can't turn around and say give it to someone else who even if they're doing good work Unless that money is first accounted for by DAV and it's being used in some way to support a DAV Program, so the just be kids scholarship was created For that purpose to allow you to raise funds to account for those funds and then give it back to Camp Corral We've been very pleased with the with the success and how much money we're seeing raised from the program over the last three Or four years. It's increased every single year As was mentioned in the joint opening session this year Over six hundred and twenty thousand dollars was given to Camp Corral through you through your efforts so we really really appreciate it and Part of that is from the funds that you're raising which from chapters and departments There was roughly almost two hundred and forty thousand dollars raised across the country and then national matched those funds dollar-for-dollar So it basically makes your money go further by DAV's headquarters matching it awful Also, I know many of you are working with Golden Crow stores to raise money And I know they're very competitive the stores because they win incentives and prizes From the funds that are raised and so also it's a very much a benefit to ensure that national matches those funds So how do you make sure that happens? We also have a Fundraising guide on the portal now for just be kids that you can go out and download it talks about How you go about fundraising for the just be kids scholarship and for for Camp Corral on There is part of the fundraising guide you can download this form that you're seeing up on the screen It's the just be kids form and I get a ton of questions coming my way I get a lot of calls where people are like well, how do I send the money in what do I do? How do I make sure the store gets credit? This form right here is what you should use when you're sending your money in for any funds that you've collected In support of just be kids supporting Camp Corral on here You can put how much money was collected when it was collected what stores you were collecting it for If you were collecting it for a store, which you don't have to but you must use this form If you want to have your funds matched by headquarters And if you want to ensure that any stores you're raising money for get credit for the funds raised for just be kids So that form is part of the guide Also, we heard you loud and clear last year and one of what we heard was can you give us some tools to make it easier for us to Raise funds number one We don't know about just be kids and really what it's about fully and how do we communicate to those who are donating to us about Just be kids and make it easy. So we went back. We created some materials We now have a bucket that's branded just be kids that you can you can order to raise funds We also have a flyer which you see on the screen which talks about just be kids and how it supports Camp Corral so if people are coming into stores or if you're standing somewhere collecting money You can give them a flyer that talks about the program So that's now part of the guide and you can order those as well And there's instructions on how to do that as part of the guide So we're very excited to to now have that tool and resource for you guys Who are out there doing this fundraising for this great this great camp for kids This here is a list of all the chapters have departments that have raised funds over the last year for For just be kids and like I said, it's just continued to grow every single year And I know camp crowds up here. They'd certainly be saying thank you to all of you And there could be more because I still know that some of you are I do I hear from cramp-crow that some people are Still sending money straight into either Camp Corral or they're sending it to Golden Corral And again, I just want to encourage you To please make sure that you send those funds into us so we can match those funds and also give you credit and make sure They get they get back to Camp Corral in the right way So now I'm gonna turn it over to Laura who's gonna talk about a couple of our other programs Hi everybody Good afternoon So DAV 5k how many of you by show hands have been to a DAV 5k event before? Good good number of you. So the DAV 5k Executive director just an asking mentioned a few remarks in the opening session today It is a run walk roll ride a motorcycle ride Hosted by the DAV we work with various departments across the country All to raise awareness of our great organization and to bring families together to celebrate Veterans Day all of our events are held either the first or second weekend in November It's a unique experience to honor veterans We have race bibs where you can write in the name of the veteran in your life that you're running for or walking for Veterans all receive custom shirts if they choose to register that way where we'll put the branch of service on the back of their shirts We have motorcycle riders that take place which creates a different level of energy for the runners in the motorcycle riders together And we always have a post-party after the race to kind of celebrate and bring the community together So it started in 2013. We've been growing every year Traveling across the country and getting to work with lots of great departments and last year We had five events with over eighty two hundred participants nationwide and half of all of those participants were veteran themselves Next year will be in six six markets across the country, and we can't wait. We hope we hope to see you all there We had 80 sponsors in the series So as Barry had mentioned today a lot of our sponsors continue to come back They grow with us across the country, and they tend to get more involved with DAV by being a part of this great 5k series American Airlines was in Tulsa blue line rental was in Newport news Lexotica was in Cincinnati Panera Brad handcook even uber dominion power were all new sponsors last year to the series Which we're really proud of Even celebrities get involved coach Marvin Lewis of the Bengals Coach Dan Quinn of the Falcons. They almost won the Super Bowl last year And even Gary Sinise did PSA's all to support the 5k last year And we had over a million dollars and earned media value So we didn't pay for any of that media, but the value of all the media from the 5k series was pretty phenomenal across the country These are the dates for for the next year. Well this year in November. It's just a couple months away if you can believe it So if you look up here, and if you live close to any of these cities or your friends with any of the department folks from these states We'd love to have you come out and register and be a part of any of the these events across the series And to give you a little extra challenge, and I have flyers up here if you guys want to come and collect them We actually have a member challenge this year, which is brand new And so it's to encourage you as a member of the organization to get involved with the 5k So you can register for any of the events across the country, and we would love for you to come You can even register as a virtual participant if you know, you can't come physically to one of those cities across the country And we'll be competing against each other to see who can raise the most money And to see who can have the largest team and so again you can do this by physically being at the event or being a virtual participant at the event and Next year will elect Like I said the top fundraiser or the top team captain and the winners the member winners will receive a trip to national convention And they will also receive an award on main stage at one of the opening sessions next year So we hope that excites you and gets it gets you interested There's a flyer up here, and there's also more information in a memo from mark Burgess that that's on the membership portal as well So we hope we hope to see you guys participate Another program that we have is Ford's drive for your community if you guys have been through the exhibitor area downstairs I know VDAC is there Golden Corral was there today and Ford is there as well So you can get more information from those those folks down there as well But try for your community. We've been participating for a few years now And this is a way for you to raise money for your department or for your chapter It is a test drive Event so you would definitely want to connect with one of your local dealerships in town And see if they were interested in hosting, you know, this event at the dealership This can run any time during the year So it can depending on the weather, right? You know people might not want to come out when it's snowing to test drive vehicles But the idea is that we you know work with a local dealership And you guys go out and kind of recruit family friends and your network to come in and for every test drive That's driven on that particular event day Ford will donate $20 The maximum donation you can receive is up to it looks like $6,000 And we've had some chapters have pretty good luck with this We do have a toolkit in the membership portal that toolkit is similar Well, it'll have kind of all the ins and outs all the instructions on how to get started It'll give you links to different web forms that you can fill out to submit your event request It will are also have Incentives, so if you want to order a banner if you want to order posters or things like that It's also included in the toolkit Ford is downstairs. They do have some drive for your community information So I would encourage you to go down and talk to them And it's definitely something that you guys can do to directly raise money for your local initiatives This is our slide that shows progress to date So, you know in the past we started we had a couple in 2005 and we've been growing this a little bit every year And so so far this year. We've actually been raising more money than we did last year and on average of all the states up There they're on average raising about $3,000 per event And again a lot of that is just about networking to get lots of family and friends and community involved that the more test drives You have the more the more funds that you can raise And this last is a screenshot of the member portal So as you guys are probably very familiar if you go to our website dv.org and you type in your membership number This is the membership resource page and we just kind of highlighted a little bit to show you all the things that Brian And I talked about there's more information there that you can download That's it. Thank you And if I just say one thing on the Ford drive for your community for those few chapters that have taken advantage of this They tell us that that's the easiest $3,000. They have ever raised so please You know look into it because it's really an easy way to raise a lot of money All right. Thank you guys At this at this time we've got about 11 minutes for any questions that you may have whether it's for me or Brian or Laura I would ask though if you do have questions, please come up to the microphone for the benefit of everyone who is still in attendance Okay, 11 minutes. There are like 25 people coming up All right For fundraising hold on a second. Please keep down. Please so we can hear just able American veterans have any kind of liability insurance for fundraisers No Well, hey Brian His question was deep does DAV have any liability in terms of fundraisers So in typical fundraisers. No would be responsible. It would be the responsibility of the chapter of the department get the appropriate Liability insurance for the fundraiser. I'm not sure if they have anything specific for dry for your community For drive drive for your community all the liability falls on Ford So if you do that event TV has no liability all that liability, they have all the insurance Okay, when people test drive for the Ford drive for your community They sign a waiver as well and Ford provides all that information Okay, because I've tried to get insurance Please keep it down if you're leaving please so we can hear. Thank you, sir Doug Boyd Commander chapter one with Wilson and Rolla Norcula two questions Uh What about bonding for the treasure those people that need them that that handle the money within the chapter and number two Talk to us about five of one C3 versus C4 as for its donations of concern Okay, that are identified as taxes. Got you So bonding for a treasurer falls under that director and officer policy that I talked about earlier So there are many different names for it a D&O policy or a bonding policy They're all really one in the same but it allows the chapter or the entity to identify which officers of the chapter and Primarily any entity that's responsible for handling money should be included in that D&O or that bonding policy So they're really one in the same The second question with regard to the differences between a 501 C3 and a 501 C4 Obviously, most people identify a 501 C3 as being a tax exempt organization Typically 501 C4 Organizations are not tax exempt unless you have a special Determination letter from the internal revenue service that allows you to be tax exempt all DAB entities are 501 C4s We also have that letter of Determination from the internal revenue service that allows us to be tax deductible in the reason that we're a C4 Versus the C3 Primarily is it allows us to be very active Legislatively, which is one of our main core aspects of the organization in addition to providing services we lobby Congress and the White House for Benefits that are are beneficial to veterans and their families. So that's why we're a C4 Which is also tax exempt versus a C3 C3s are not Usually permitted to do any lobbying on Capitol Hill So there's a document that the chapters can use to give us We have that document readily available. So if you have donors that want to provide a grant to you We can certainly and we provide it at we provide it at least once or twice a year that letter of determination that validates that Your chapter chapter number one is a tax exempt organization. So you can provide that to your donor Thank you. You're welcome. My pleasure. And if you need that just give us a call at national headquarters We can get it to you Yes, sir You ready for me Ed? Two questions one for the IG and one for Brian Okay, first one on the yet for the IG you mentioned about credit cards not necessary You were kind of like Could you give us like some more like don't do it, you know There's just that's why there's some confusion out there because well the way that thing is written Well, we don't want to tie the hands of DAV entities. We don't want to be big brother We don't want to micromanage DAV entities. So there are certainly chapters There are certainly departments that that may have a true justifiable need for a credit card So we don't want to say carte blanche you can't have them, but for a majority of DAV entities They're really not necessary and really could potentially lead to some problems. Okay, that's why it's that's why It doesn't say they're prohibited. They're really discouraged and you know, I wouldn't do that because I'm a Marine I'm pretty honest Brian one for you The we had confusion with this just be kids When we when I went down from chapter 22 in Portsmouth Golden Corral called us and asked us to come on down and I thought we had an agreement that at the end of the the Fundraiser that we would they would write a check to us and we would send it to national and they said no This was a separate fundraiser. So a lot of us didn't know that and The here's the problem for most for for like our chapter and probably other chapters. We were there from April till Like the 10th of June to do Camp Corral fundraising and then we're going back in September to do military appreciation from Yes, Labor Day till November. So how do we work in a just be kids and the Golden Corral who also wants us to support them? Or do we go? Can we go to somebody else besides Golden Corral to do the just be kids? Yes. Yes. Yeah, absolutely You do not have to work with Golden Corral to do just be kids Just be kids is a DAV scholarship and we can raise money Anywhere and any how we want to Now we do know that a lot of stores have relationships with you guys And so they call you and say hey come in and raise money for us And they're doing that because they get incentives like free trips and things like that So you're doing them a big favor by going into those stores They also now know that your funds are matched Which their funds are not which is another reason why they want you to come into their stores Which we're fine with that again But the only the only caveat is if you're in those stores raising money those funds must go back to us In order for them to be matched I also know that they're doing their own fundraising at the register sometimes when we're also in those stores and That what I'm hearing is sometimes they're giving us that money We cannot take that money number one. We didn't raise the money It's always about what is the individual's intent if the individual's intent was to donate to DAV We have to take the funds at the register their intent is to donate to Camp Corral Those people at the register those the Golden Crow staff are not saying hey donate to DAV They're saying donate to Camp Corral So we can't take that fun those funds because then they would be doing a misuse of those funds So you have to be clear and I've talked to our our Golden Corral friends to say you they have to get the word out to their Staff that says if you're doing fundraising for Camp Corral Those funds cannot come to DAV the only funds that DAV can account for the funds that we specifically raise and if they tell you Otherwise tell them you can't do it. Yeah, it was a little confusing because when you went to the link It says it's a DAV Golden Corral sponsored event So some of us thought that the money was come to us That's my question and I wanted to tell Laura that she's doing a great job Thank you Hello, Paul Harris with chapter 901 in the Cater Joy same Now we go out and collect this money at Golden Corral so that big bucket we have at the end of the day We posted what we do with that money You need to take it back to your chapter and deposit it and then use this form and write a check to DAV headquarters With the instructions that are on the form to send it in to us and on the form You can also put the store number that you were where you raised the money at It's that simple. So we're at the end they do not give them that but do not give them the money Do not that is money that should was donated to DAV So we need to account for those funds and that's another thing gets you in trouble with the internal revenue services because DAV is a tax-exempt organization Camp Corral is also a nonprofit tax organization So we can't raise money for other non-profit organizations So we can't go in as a DAV entity and say hi, you know, we're here from DAV chapter 9 We're raising money for Camp Corral Camp Corral Golden corral is the store entity camp corral is the nonprofit entity of it that is raising the money for Camp Corral Because we raise like this past year over $12,000 from two stores from two stores but another question is that in our chapter constitution bylaws, we have a clause in there stating that the commander gets $200 a month for her expense. They have to file the 1099 for that $200 Yes, if and again the magic number is six hundred dollars So if you get over six hundred dollars during the course of the year a 1099 has to be issued Okay, because they have to pay tax on it. Okay. Thank you. All right. You're welcome. Thank you. Yes, sir Craig Vance chapter 66, Oklahoma Can you explain the parameters under which a chapter can promote their fundraising events? poker run raffle Pancake dinner or whatever it is on social media They can simply indicate on social media whether it's by way of Facebook Twitter Whatever whatever the social media is even on the chapter's own website that hey chapter I'm sorry. Is it 66? Yes 66 is having a pancake breakfast or a poker run on this date Come out and join us. That's it. You can't make any appeal for you can't ask for donations You can't provide a link for any Registration or any other mechanism to raise fund but you can only Simply say we're having this event. This is when it is You know come be a part of it, but there can't be any method that allows for an individual to Submit funds pay registration or anything else nor can you run or a raffle you can't say how much the ticket is You can just say give a phone number for more information or something like that You could do that you could do that But you can't do anything that that is an appeal for money. You can't ask for money online Okay, you could just say for more information contact this phone number Okay, thanks. You're welcome Craig Yes, my name is James Austin commander from chapter 21 Durham, North Carolina. Have a very simple question It was stated that you could not make a loan or grant to another organization But it is okay to make a donation to another organization search as the city stand down It is okay to do that. Absolutely and we have to be very careful I mean because we as an organization when we raise money from the general public We do so in the name of DAV with the promise that we're going to support disabled veterans and their families so Where we find ourselves getting in trouble is when a chapter or department makes a donation to American Legion or BFW because they need to put a new roof on their building That's really hard to justify that we're spending our money on service to veterans and their families But in the same token if BFW or the American Legion is hosting a stand down or some other group is hosting a stand down That's going to benefit disabled veterans and their families We can validate justify that donation all day long that that part of our donation Even though it went to another organization was used specifically for veterans and their families. Yes, sir Thank you very much. My pleasure. Thank you Deb Olson Department of Massachusetts Question is 360 and Financial reports is that Going to happen anytime in the near future. Is that like a two-year project? Well, you know what? That's a very good question. Did you come to the membership seminar earlier? Yes, I was so I was asking they had they said 19 for membership is are we on the same time schedule for financial reports as well I would I would venture to see because that kind of falls under the realm of membership because all those financial reports come into the membership system Or to the membership department for review. So if they told you 19, that's probably when it's going to be fully So if I wanted to talk to somebody about pretty much how that three six who's going to work on financial reports I should speak to somebody in membership. Absolutely. Yep, and either find Doug Wells or Robin Higgins April be a better source for that since Handles the financial report probably not I mean, especially if you wanted an answer at this convention while you're here talk to either Doug or Robin Or if when you get back you can either call Doug or Robin or maybe even call April April's not here at the convention. Okay Thanks Tom Warrab in the specter general for state of New York head What do you see the role of the inspector general as? Investigative or watchdog or proactive or reactive should they be on every committee to make sure everything's being followed well That's a very good question my role as the national inspector generals to protect and preserve the good name of the organization and that is Really all inclusive that includes Ensuring that all of our department even the national organization the departments and chapters are following The Constitution and bylaws Ensuring that the use of the logo is appropriate in all cases Overseeing fund-raising activities. So in your role at the department level, certainly It's both reactive and proactive in the more proactive you are the less reactive you have to be so it's really a matter of just understanding that and and maybe even trying to Communicate with each of the chapters and the departments that you know Hey, I'm here to help if you have a question with regard to your constitution and bylaws Feel free to reach out to me now that puts an extra burden on you to not only know the department's bylaws and the national bylaws But maybe even that particular chapters bylaws Typically though in most departments It's a matter of conducting an investigation So if there is a chapter issue that that the department commander has identified, you know that There's there appears to be something some irregularities within their financial report I'd like for you to go in and look at their bank statements their meeting minutes to make sure that their Checkbook matches what the expenses are what the income is Make sure that the minutes of the meeting Validate that yes, they approve this expenditure someone and so forth. So it's really it's really broad I I I give the example all the time that I never know on any given day what I'm gonna have to deal with It's not anything that's really written in stone, but it could be any myriad of things Follow up that if you receive a complaint, do you have to get approval to do the investigation or yes? Yeah, so as the department inspector you're under the just like I am I'm under the The the the adjunct and the national commander and Work for them if they have identified a problem, you know, they will instruct me to go out and Interview conduct an investigation so on so forth. Okay. Thank you But but certainly is you if you identify things you can certainly bring it to their attention But it would require them to tell you go ahead and move forward with it And last question we're five minutes late. You're perfect chapter 45 Clarksville, Tennessee commander Want to have a yard sale as a fundraiser want to post it on Facebook not asking for money I'm asking for a donation of items. That's okay, right Yeah, yeah, see I mean I would I would say yeah, I would say yes Because you're not asking for cash. You're not competing for funds and in somebody that lives You know 50 miles away more than likely isn't going to drive all the way to the chapter to drop items off for the fund They may or may they may not but the intent is obviously that when you do a fundraiser online by virtue of the internet and the in the The worldwide web you are appealing to people well outside your chartered territory to support your chapter in It's Clarksville, isn't it? Yes. Yeah, so You know that the intent of the bylaws is is chapters are chartered to operate in a very particular area You have to stay within those boundaries That creates problems with other chapters because now you've got chapters that it might be in Oklahoma or California or in Louisiana saying you know, hey, you know Chapter 45 and Clarksville, Tennessee is appealing to donations in our area our chartered area So if it's for donated goods Yeah, anything that deals with a direct appeal for cash is Strictly prohibited But if it's something like that and somebody's willing to drive a hundred miles to drop off some Some goods for your yard sale. That's I don't see a problem with that. Good to go. Thank you. All right