Running head: VETERAN ORGANIZATIONS AND FUNDING 1

Nonprofit Veteran Organizations and Funding

Jonathan Hargrove AA Philosophy

South Texas College

ORGL-4361-BV3- Capstone II

Professor: Dr. Ruben Flores

April 19th, 2018

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Abstract

Nonprofit organizations and the ability to acquire funding are essential to their

survivability. There is a lot of bureaucracy involved when it comes to allotting grants for a

nonprofit organization. Proper paper work needs to be filled out and letters of requirements are

necessary if the money is only to be used for certain things. This paper is going to cover the

obstacles and requirements for nonprofits to receive federal grants as well as what they need to

do to raise their own funds. This assignment is also going to determine if there is a correlation

between the types of services rendered and the procurement of federal grants.
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Nonprofit Veteran Organizations and Funding

This paper will be focused on veteran nonprofit organizations and their funding. I am

going to identify what it is that nonprofit organizations need to do to procure federal funding. I

am going to investigate requirements that dictate how nonprofit organizations are funded. I will

identify the political restrictions on nonprofit organizations and government funding. Finally, I

am going to investigate what it is that nonprofit organizations can do to raise their own funds.

A) I.A. There is a relationship between the kinds of services a non-profit provides, and

the amount of grant money allotted for the organization.

Purpose

The main purpose of this research paper is to identify if there is a correlation between

nonprofit organizations, specifically veteran’s organizations, and the services they provide and

their funding. This paper will attempt to identify obstacles that nonprofit organizations face when

applying for funding. I will also investigate how nonprofit organizations procure funding through

other means such as donations and fundraising.

Research Questions

1. How do veteran nonprofit organizations apply for federal funding?

2. What are the requirements of a nonprofit organization to receive federal funding?

3. What are the political restrictions, if any, of nonprofit organizations for receiving federal

funding?

4. Do services offered by a nonprofit organization dictate the amount of funding they can

receive?

5. What can nonprofit organizations do to raise their own funds?

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Research Review

How do veteran nonprofit organizations apply for federal funding?

The way a nonprofit organization applies for federal funding is through research,

networking, and prospecting (Stombaugh, 2017). There are many organizations at the federal and

local governing levels that are willing to fund nonprofit organizations, specifically if they are for

veterans. There are many nonprofit organizations now, and they seem to be a growing in

competition to procure funding. As Kelly D. states, “The sources of funding for nonprofits (NPs)

are volatile and dependent on the socio-political-economic environment” (Kelly, et al. 2010).

Since the federal government has decreased the number of programs that nonprofits can use to

acquire funds, there has been a major impact on nonprofits ability to complete their missions.

One of the best ways to help ensure that a nonprofit organization receives the funds it requires is

to either have a professional grant writer on staff or train an employee to become an exceptional

grant writer.

As stated before, there are many places to go for a nonprofit to try and procure funds. The

official federal government site is grants.gov which has a list of thousands of grant programs and

over twenty-six federal agencies that can help with obtaining grants. As long there is a clear

purpose stated, and the organization is recognized by the IRS, the organization can go almost

anywhere to ask for funding. There are billions of dollars allocated by congress every year for

nonprofit organizations. (Stombaugh, 2017).

What are the requirements of a nonprofit organization to receive federal funding?

Requirements for nonprofit organizations to receive federal funding depend on a few

things. The type of grant being applied does not depend on the services the nonprofit provides,

but on how the nonprofit words its request letter. Nonprofits may or may not need a 501c3 IRS
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tax exemption to apply for a grant. The services provided do not dictate the amount of funding a

nonprofit organization can receive. Sometimes nonprofit organizations will have to sign an

agreement when accepting a grant or funding.

Some donating entities will require a nonprofit organization to meet certain expectations.

Usually the organization that is donating will write out their requirements for the nonprofit.

These requirements will dictate what the nonprofit can or cannot do with the money that was

given to them. AT&T, for example, donated to a nonprofit veteran organization called

Zero8hundred in the amount of twenty-five thousand dollars. The donation was given to the

nonprofit with the idea that the money would be used for “transitioning military families to a

broad range of resources and opportunities in the community, helping them successfully

transition to civilian life” (Glidden, 2017). There are certain types of grants that are issued that

do not require much at all. A start up grant is usually given to a nonprofit to do anything the

nonprofit needs to do to get up off the ground, such as buying computers or leasing an office.

What are the political restrictions, if any, of nonprofit organizations and receiving federal

funding?

When it comes to politics and nonprofit organizations, there seems to be the idea that if a

political entity funds a nonprofit, that nonprofit is under obligation to support the entities’

political agenda. “Recent history and sociological research has shown that civil society and the

state are deeply intertwined” (Salamon, (1995); Skocpol (1999); Smith and Lipsky (1993) as

cited in Chaves, et al. (2004)). There has been an increase of nonprofit organization’s

dependency on public money. Political organizations tend to support nonprofits that are aligned

with their own political policies or ideological goals. (Chaves, et al. 2004).
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Advocacy for a nonprofit organization does not legally restrict them from receiving funds

from any political group. It can however raise ethical questions about the motives of an

organization. The idea behind a nonprofit organization is that they are there to advocate for the

public trust and those who are usually in the minority, such as disadvantaged groups. (Jenkins,

2006). When nonprofits are given money or funded by a group with a specific political agenda,

the nonprofit is no longer a voice for the public. This raises concerns for those that support the

nonprofit and that may not have the same political ideologies. In turn, the nonprofit can end up

losing support.

There are many nonprofit organizations whose sole mission is to advocate for a certain

political agenda, the NRA is a perfect example of that. If a nonprofit organization provides social

services for disabled veterans and a specific group decides to donate money and the nonprofit

becomes an advocate for that group and its political ideology, then, there would be a breech of

ethical behavior. Even though there are no legal ramifications, it basically shows that the

nonprofit can be bought and paid for, essentially compromised. It also shows that the

organization and the funds that they donated are more important than the people the nonprofit is

supposed to be helping.

What can nonprofit organizations do to raise their own funds?

There are many things that a nonprofit organization can do to raise their own funds

without relying on grants or federal agencies to provide them with funding. However, the issue

with that takes away from what traditional nonprofit organizations are supposed to be about.

“Faced with rising costs, more competition for fewer donations and grants, and increased rivalry

from for-profit companies entering the social sector, nonprofits are turning to the for-profit world

to leverage or replace their traditional sources of funding” (Dees, 1998). I for example, am apart
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of a nonprofit organization called CheckPoint Veteran, and one of the ways that we are trying to

fund the organization is to open a subsidiary company that is for profit. Funds from the

subsidiary will go to both paying for the nonprofit as well as paying employees salaries.

Nonprofits can also raise their own funds by asking for donations from both large and

small contributors, mostly local businesses that are willing to support the cause of the nonprofit

organization. CheckPoint Veteran, for example, received donations from HEB as well as from

smaller business like Smokin’ Aces BBQ. The most successful nonprofits are shown to have

built up a large network of connections and are strategically diversified. (Crittenden (2000) as

cited by Kelly, et al. 2010).

Do services offered by a nonprofit organization dictate the amount of funding they can

receive?

To answer the question: No. Services offered by a nonprofit cannot dictate the amount of

funding they can receive. The amount of funding that is available for nonprofits has nothing to

do with the services they provide. Funding is based on who is providing the funding and the

requirements they set. If the nonprofit organization can prove that they need the funding to carry

out their mission and provide services, the amount of funds given to them is unlimited.

Nonprofits do have to follow the requirements of any organization that offers a donation. For

example, HEB provided CheckPoint Veteran with gift cards, but only if we used them at the

HEB location that provided them. These requirements are usually stated in a letter that outlines

how the nonprofit can use the money. Many organizations outline specific places the money can

be spent, or what kind of services the money can be used for.

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Conclusion

To reiterate my hypothesis, I.A. There is a relationship between the kinds of services a

non-profit provides, and the amount of grant money allotted for the organization. After

researching the topic, I have concluded that the amount of money allotted to a nonprofit

organization has no relationship to the kinds of services it provides. Nonprofit organizations can

obtain any amount of money they wish. The only determining factor as to whether money is

allotted to a nonprofit is based on where the funding is coming from i.e. federal grant money,

private donations, or fundraising ventures. This factor is only mitigated if the donating

organization has any restrictions or requirements for how the money is used and spent and if the

nonprofits chooses to agree to those requirements.

Nonprofit organizations can participate in any political activity, no matter who provides

the donations, if there are no ethical dilemmas that can take away from the mission of the

nonprofit organization. Most nonprofits choose not to rely on political groups for funding.

Nonprofits can instead choose to raise their own funds by obtaining donations from local

businesses. Nonprofits can also provide commercial services that they can charge fees for as

well.
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References

Chaves, M., Stephens, L., & Ph Galaskiewicz, J. (2004, April). Does Government Funding

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Glidden, S. (2017, November 27). AT&T Supports Veterans and Their Families With Grant

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