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Paralyzed Veterans of America

CharityWatch report issued
October 2022

F
CharityWatch Grade
Our independent grade based
on a number of factors.
 
31%
Program Percentage
Amount spent on programs
relative to overhead.
 
$53
Cost to Raise $100
Amount spent to raise
$100 of contributions.

Contact Information

Paralyzed Veterans of America
801 Eighteenth Street NW
Washington , DC 20006

Other Names

Paralyzed Veterans of America Research Foundation
PVA
PVA Education Foundation
PVA Research Foundation
PVA Spinal Cord Injury Education and Training Foundation
PVA Spinal Cord Research Foundation

Tax Status

501(c)3

Website

www.pva.org

Stated Mission

To be the leading advocate for: quality healthcare for PVA members; research and education addressing spinal cord injury & dysfunction; benefits available as a result of members' military service; civil rights & opportunities that maximize the independence of members.

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Data based on Fiscal Year Ended 06/30/2021

Program Percentage: 31%

The percentage of Paralyzed Veterans of America's cash budget it spends on programs relative to overhead (fundraising, management, and general expenses).

$94,000,000

Calculated Total Expenses

(rounded)

 

Cost to Raise $100: $53

How many dollars Paralyzed Veterans of America spends on fundraising to raise each $100 of contributions.

$104,000,000

Calculated Total Contributions

(rounded)

Joint Costs

Paralyzed Veterans of America's rating was adjusted for Joint Costs. If you are a donor who considers direct mail, telemarketing, and other Joint Cost solicitations to be true charitable programs, the below efficiency ratios, which were not adjusted for joint costs, may better reflect your goals.

Program % Cost to Raise $100
52% $34
Accounting rules allow charities to report some telemarketing, direct mail, and other solicitation costs as Program expenses. CharityWatch believes that most donors do not consider a charity's solicitation activities to be the Programs they are intending to support with their donations. We therefore adjust such expenses out of a charity's reported Program expense and add it to Fundraising expense prior to calculating its rating.

Government Funding

0% to 24%

Percentage of cash revenue
coming from government sources

 

Financial Documents

Entity Document Type Tax ID
Paralyzed Veterans of America Audited Consolidated Financial Statements multiple
Paralyzed Veterans of America Spinal Cord Injury Education & Training Foundation IRS Form 990 94-2733585
Paralyzed Veterans of America Spinal Cord Research Foundation IRS Form 990 52-1064398
Paralyzed Veterans of America IRS Form 990 13-1946868
Entity: Paralyzed Veterans of America
Document Type: Audited Consolidated Financial Statements
Tax ID: multiple
Entity: Paralyzed Veterans of America Spinal Cord Injury Education & Training Foundation
Document Type: IRS Form 990
Tax ID: 94-2733585
Entity: Paralyzed Veterans of America Spinal Cord Research Foundation
Document Type: IRS Form 990
Tax ID: 52-1064398
Entity: Paralyzed Veterans of America
Document Type: IRS Form 990
Tax ID: 13-1946868

Governance & Transparency

CharityWatch evaluates certain criteria related to a charity's Governance and Transparency. Donors may want to consider a charity's willingness to be open and transparent with CharityWatch to be a good litmus test for determining its commitment to public accountability.
Paralyzed Veterans of America
meets governance benchmarks.
 
Paralyzed Veterans of America
meets transparency benchmarks.
Transparency
Provides Financial Information
Audit Accessibility
Governance: Policies
Reports regularly & consistently monitoring & enforcing compliance with a written Conflict of Interest Policy
Reports required, annual disclosure by officers, directors, and key staff of interests that could give rise to conflicts
Reports having a written Whistleblower Policy
Reports having a written Document Retention and Destruction Policy
Governance: Financials
Reports providing copy of tax form to all board members prior to filing it with IRS
Reports that financial statements were audited by an independent accountant
Governance: Board of Directors
Reports at least 5 voting board members
51% or more of voting board members reported as independent
Reports documenting minutes of board and board committee meetings
Privacy Policy
Privacy Policy

  Name Title Compensation
1 Cheryl Topping CFO $247,632
2 William Blake Executive Director $237,659
3 David Fanning Senior Director, Planned & Strategic Gifts $195,936
1
Name: Cheryl Topping
Title: CFO
Compensation: $247,632
2
Name: William Blake
Title: Executive Director
Compensation: $237,659
3
Name: David Fanning
Title: Senior Director, Planned & Strategic Gifts
Compensation: $195,936

CharityWatch Analysts perform an in-depth analysis of charities' audited financial statements and IRS tax filings, and often review other documents such as state filings, annual reports, and fundraising contracts during their evaluations. Below are select notes that CharityWatch believes may be of interest to donors.

CharityWatch's rating of Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) also includes the financial activities of PVA Spinal Cord Research Foundation and PVA Spinal Cord Injury Education & Training Foundation, which are consolidated in the PVA audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021. Each entity is a 501(c)(3) public charity. All material intercompany transactions and accounts have been eliminated in the audit consolidation.

Not included in CharityWatch's rating of PVA are PVA's 33 remaining chapters. As stated in the PVA fiscal 2021 consolidated audit (Note 1 re: Organization): "PVA's 33 remaining chapters are not consolidated [in the audited financial statements] since PVA is not involved with the election of each chapter's officers or appointments and has no role in local chapter management or Board governance."

According to the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) consolidated audit of June 30, 2021 (Note 13, Contributed Services and In-Kind Contributions), PVA reports receiving contributed services and in-kind contributions in fiscal 2021 on which it placed a total value of $57,519,823. Of this amount, $56,550,480 consisted of donated public service announcements.

[Note: CharityWatch generally excludes the value of in-kind (non-cash) donations of goods and services from its calculations of Program % and Cost to Raise $100. More information on how grades are calculated and the treatment of in-kind donations can be found on the Our Process page.]

According to the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) consolidated audit of June 30, 2021 (Note 20, Related Parties):

"During the years ended June 30, 2021 and 2020, PVA paid $54,000 to a company owned by one of the [PVA] Research Foundation's directors for consulting services. In addition, PVA paid $862,876 and $169,372, respectively, to a university for research in which one of the Research Foundation's directors is a professor."

According to the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) consolidated audit of June 30, 2021 (Note 17, Concentration):

"Approximately 80% and 70%, respectively of PVA's consolidated public contribution revenue was processed was [sic] by two vendors for the years ended June 30, 2021 and 2020. Additionally, PVA has contracts with several other service providers that are collectively owned by a single parent company. PVA has no reason to believe that relationships with these service providers will be discontinued in the foreseeable future. However, any interruption of these relationships (i.e., the failure to renew the contract or withholding of funds) would adversely affect PVA's ability to finance ongoing operations."

According to the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) consolidated audit of June 30, 2021 (Note 19, Commitments):

"PVA is committed under agreements for conference space through the year 2023. The total commitments under the agreements are not determinable as it depends upon attendance and other unknown factors. There are cancellation penalties that would be due if the agreements were cancelled prior to the event date. The amount of the cancellation penalties increase through the date of the event. As of June 30, 2021 and 2020, the potential liability to PVA for terminating all such conference contracts is $696,749 and $739,421, respectively. At the present time, PVA has no intention of terminating any of these contracts."

According to the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) consolidated audit of June 30, 2021 (Note 1 re: Risks and uncertainties):

"PVA invests in various investment securities. Investment securities are exposed to various risks such as interest rates, market and credit risks. Due to the level of risk associated with certain investment securities, it is at least reasonably possible that changes in the values of investment securities will occur in the near term and that such changes could materially affect the amounts reported in the accompanying [audited] consolidated financial statements."


According to the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) consolidated audit of June 30, 2021 (Note 1 re: Economic uncertainties):

"On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) a global pandemic. As a result of the spread of COVID-19, economic uncertainties have arisen which may negatively impact PVA's operations.

"The overall potential impact is unknown at this time."