Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Sep 2003.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
93 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
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Who runs it and what they're paid
12 people listed on the 990; $930K paid to officers and key staff.
Margaret Barron’s $233K as Executive Director is at the 32nd percentile of top reported officer pay among 232 $10–100M public & societal benefit nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.
Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 8 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2024 | FY2024 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin M Schmiegel | — | — | — | $191,596 | $322,801 |
| James C Johnson | — | — | $274,904 | $133,846 | — |
| Margaret Barron | $232,935 | — | — | — | — |
| Carolyn Blashek | $141,204 | $215,888 | $170,037 | $160,447 | $155,929 |
| Steven Willett | $199,457 | $129,760 | $36,944 | — | — |
| Paul Cucinotta | — | — | — | $134,203 | $187,096 |
| Emily Pirman | — | — | $149,055 | — | — |
| Melisa Griffith | — | — | $148,730 | — | — |
Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.
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Questions the 990 asks
The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.
- Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Programs and updates
Connects Americans with military and first responders through service and gratitude.
Questions for Operation Gratitude INC
Your first name shows with your question. Operation Gratitude INC answers here, for everyone.
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The organization assembled and distributed care packages or their equivalents to approximately 621,000 military, veterans, and first responders worldwide, including approximately 81,000 military service members, 57,000 veterans, 16,000 first responders, and 16,000 military families through its traditional care packages programs, and…
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2020 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY20 | End FY20 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $2.2M | $4.5M |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $4.2M | $5.2M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $129K | $144K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $13.9M | $20.3M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $550K | $613K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $13.3M | $19.7M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic individualsLn 2 | $10.8M | $10.8M | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $669K | $361K | $164K | $144K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $1.9M | $1.6M | $241K | $65K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $85K | $73K | $5K | $7K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $174K | $133K | $26K | $14K |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $32K | $11K | $17K | $3K |
| Investment management feesLn 11f | $44K | $44K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $150K | $52K | $82K | $16K |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $19K | $14K | $3K | $2K |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $36K | $28K | $5K | $2K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $95K | $73K | $14K | $8K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $504K | $480K | $12K | $12K |
| TravelLn 17 | $30K | $23K | $5K | $2K |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $59K | $56K | $1K | $1K |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $78K | $60K | $12K | $6K |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $982K | $890K | $3K | $88K |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $93K | $57K | $32K | $3K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $15.7M | $14.7M | $667K | $376K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 | $12.7M | $15.5M | −$2.9M | $11.9M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | Not on file | ||||
| FY2022 | $22.2M | $25.8M | −$3.6M | $15.1M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $20.0M | $20.4M | −$404K | $19.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 Viewing | $21.6M | $15.7M | $5.8M | $19.7M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2020 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $21,556,347 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 7 of 7 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $21,556,347 across 6 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $15,729,119 across 17 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $20,318,773 assets, 17 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $19,706,249 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2020 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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