Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Oct 2010.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
87 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
17 people listed on the 990; $1.3M paid to officers and key staff.
Donna Mercier’s $454K as Executive Director is at the 90th percentile of top reported officer pay among 661 $10–100M philanthropy & grantmaking 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 | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Donna Mercier | $454,103 | $376,287 | — | — | — |
| Donna E Palmer | — | $93,975 | $319,321 | — | — |
| Robin Rand | — | — | — | $155,729 | $287,500 |
| Michael R Thirtle | — | — | $281,231 | $215,075 | — |
| Robert Kilduff | — | $75,284 | $262,234 | $19,195 | — |
| James Ravella | $259,128 | $51,425 | $178,119 | $166,717 | $159,198 |
| Elizabeth Fields | — | — | — | $246,292 | $230,000 |
| Shannon Woodward | — | $163,631 | $245,737 | — | — |
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 2Yes
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Programs and updates
Supports military members, veterans, first responders, and their families through community programs, entertainment, education, and critical financial aid during times of crisis.
Questions for Gary Sinise Foundation
Your first name shows with your question. Gary Sinise Foundation answers here, for everyone.
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Through our R.I.S.E (restoring independence, supporting empowerment) program we're constructing one-of-a-kind specially adapted smart homes for our nation's most severely wounded heroes. This initiative predominantly supports our post 9/11 defenders, that were injured in combat operations or during training while performing their duties.
Relief and resiliency outreach supports our nation's defenders, WOUNDED/ILL/INJURED veterans, their loved ones and gold star families as they cope with trauma and loss. The foundation provided over 359 grants to these individuals in their time of urgent need.
Community outreach and education pivoted in 2020 to bring joy & relief to so many across the country. In 2020, the program provided 210 care packages to wwii veterans across the country. The program also documented 56 oral history stories from wwii veterans in their homes via video calling and analyzed over 400 recorded stories to format…
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 | $27.3M | $33.7M |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $18.4M | $19.0M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $2.0M | $2.0M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $51.6M | $61.4M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $3.1M | $1.7M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $48.5M | $59.7M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $9.7M | $9.7M | ||
| Grants to domestic individualsLn 2 | $3.3M | $3.3M | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $884K | $482K | $203K | $199K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $3.0M | $1.6M | $680K | $666K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $34K | $19K | $8K | $8K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $213K | $116K | $49K | $48K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $291K | $159K | $67K | $65K |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $250K | $146K | $73K | $32K |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $232K | $2K | $230K | |
| Investment management feesLn 11f | $77K | $77K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $4.0M | $3.4M | $267K | $307K |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $269K | $1K | $266K | $2K |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $733K | $536K | $99K | $98K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $455K | $176K | $160K | $118K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $581K | $362K | $111K | $108K |
| TravelLn 17 | $321K | $170K | $140K | $12K |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $199K | $191K | $7K | |
| InterestLn 20 | $18K | $6K | $8K | $3K |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $498K | $271K | $114K | $112K |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $114K | $82K | $16K | $15K |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $13.5M | $13.1M | $342K | $65K |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $362K | $178K | $91K | $93K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $39.1M | $34.1M | $3.0M | $2.0M |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest | $85.5M | $82.7M | $2.8M | $83.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $81.4M | $75.1M | $6.3M | $80.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | Not on file | ||||
| FY2022 | $61.3M | $59.2M | $2.2M | $74.3M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $58.1M | $36.6M | $21.4M | $78.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 Viewing | $48.9M | $39.1M | $9.8M | $59.7M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2020 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $48,867,816 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 8 of 8 board members independent, 1 to look at
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $48,867,816 across 8 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $39,064,882 across 22 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $61,399,972 assets, 17 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $59,740,977 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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