We the Veterans Foundation

We the Veterans and Military Families (We the Veterans Foundation) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that seeks to empower veterans and others in the military family community to strengthen the United States. We the Veterans and Military Families builds patriotic engagement programs and convenes organizations and leaders, in an effort to work together on issues relevant to the veteran community. 1

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At-A-Glance

Type: Non-profit, 501(c)(3)
Issue Areas: Healthcare Policy
Website: www.wetheveterans.us
Formation:

2022

President:

Ellen Gustafson

Location: Alexandria, VA View on map
Tax ID: 87-1144807
Most Recent Filing: 2024
Budget (2024): Assets: $1,847,189 Revenue: $3,837,303 Expenses: $2,661,762

Contents

Vet the Vote, a campaign that aims to recruit veterans and members of military families to serve as poll workers for elections, is the flagship project of We the Veterans and Military Families. 2

Vet the Vote

Vet the Vote, a project of We the Veterans and Military Families, is a nonpartisan, national campaign that aims to recruit veterans and members of military families to serve as poll workers for elections. The goal of this campaign is to prevent a poll worker shortage, support safe and secure elections, and reestablish confidence in the U.S. election system. 2

Vet the Vote’s coalition of supporting organizations includes AmVets, BlueStar Families, the Civic Alliance, Combined Arms, Count Every Hero, the Disabled Veteran Empowerment Network, First Amendment Voice, Grey Team, the Elizabeth Dole Foundation, Hiring Our Heroes (a project of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation), , the Leadership Now Project, Microsoft, Minority Vets, Mission Roll Call, the Military Officers Association of America, More Perfect Union, NASCAR, the National Basketball Players Association (NBA), the National Military Family Association, New Politics, the National Football League (FL), the Pat Tillman Foundation, the Veterans and Citizens Initiative, Union Veterans Council, Veteran Business Project, Veterans for All Voters, Veterans for Common Sense, Vets for American Ideals, VetsForward, the Veteran Tickets Foundation, the VetVoice Foundation, and Witness to War. 3

Funding

We the Veterans Foundation is funded by donations from individuals, foundations, and businesses. While We the Veterans Foundation does not disclose its donors, tax filings confirm donations from the Democracy Fund ($100,000 in 2022), 4 the Driscoll Family Foundation ($100,000 in 2022 Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America), 5 and the Center For Internet Security ($84,000 in 2023). 6

Leadership

Ellen Gustafson is the co-founder and executive director of We the Veterans Foundation and co-founder of the Military Family Building Coalition. Gustafson formerly worked at the Summit Institute, the Council on Foreign Relations, the United Nations World Food Program, and ABC News. Gustafson sits on the board of We the Veterans Society for American Democracy. 1

Ben Keiser is co-founder, executive chair, and co-chair of the board of We the Veterans Foundation and the chief risk officer of Elutions. Keiser sits the board of the We the Veterans Society for American Democracy. 1

Jeremy Butler is the chair of the Vet the Vote Coalition. Butler formerly worked as CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) and in various roles at the Department of Homeland Security, the Joint Staff, and the Department of the Navy. Butler sits on the boards of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America and Veterans for Political Innovation. 1

Joe Plenzler is co-founder of the Vet the Vote Coalition, a co-founder and partner at Cassandra-Helenus Partners, and a veteran of the Marine Corps. Plenzler formerly worked as director of communication at the Wounded Warrior Project, executive vice president at the U.S. Naval Institute, and a strategic advisor for the International Security Assistance Force. Plenzler sits the boards of the We the Veterans Society for American Democracy and the Veteran Business Project. 7

Anil Nathan is the co-founder and co-chair of the board of We the Veterans Foundation. Nathan is a former general manager for aviation at Uber. Nathan sits on the board of We the Veterans Society for American Democracy. 1

Glenn Schatz is co-founder of We the Veterans Foundation and vice president of community partnerships at Care Access. Schatz sits on the board of the We the Veterans Society for American Democracy and is the vice president of Veterans for Responsible Leadership. 8

Maggie DeLany is co-founder of We the Veterans Foundation. 1

Other members of the board include Noah Kanter and James Patrick. 1

Financial Statistics

Total Assets

Total Revenue

Total Expenses

Year Total Assets Total Revenue Total Expenses Filing
2024 $1,847,189 $3,837,303 $2,661,762 View
2023 $617,671 $1,061,694 $739,420 View
2022 $243,521 $711,867 $484,163 View

Revenue Detail

Expenses Detail

Employee Compensation

  • Number of Employees: 9

Highest Earning Employees

Employee Title Total Compensation
Ellen Gustafson Executive Director/President $137,715
Ben Keiser Executive Chairman, Treasurer $125,511
Joe Plenzler Secretary $45,000
Anil Nathan Co-Chairman $9,500

Grant Activity

All-time grants received statistics from Candid dataset:

  • Total Grant Value: $2,318,684
  • Number of Grants: 14
  • Number of Funders: 10

Selection of highest value grants received from the last seven years:

Amount Year Funder Subject
$600,000 2024 The David and Lucile Packard Foundation for general support
$450,000 2024 New Venture Fund CIVIL RIGHTS, SOCIAL ACTION, ADVOCACY
$345,000 2024 Houston Endowment Inc Program Support to Increase the Number of Veterans and Military Family Members who Serve as Poll Workers in Greater Houston
$250,000 2023 New Venture Fund CIVIL RIGHTS, SOCIAL ACTION, ADVOCACY
$175,000 2024 Democracy Fund Inc General support
$100,000 2024 Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, Inc. CIVIL RIGHTS, SOCIAL ACTION & ADVOCACY
$100,000 2023 Democracy Fund Inc General support
$75,000 2024 The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation for general operating support
$70,000 2024 The David and Lucile Packard Foundation to support a media and communications strategy, and ecosystem alignment
$50,000 2025 Bader Philanthropies Inc This Grant supports the Grantee's efforts to promote veteran and military family involvement as poll workers in Wisconsin
$50,000 2025 Bader Philanthropies Inc This Grant supports the Grantee's efforts to engage veterans and military families in civic activities and information integrity initiatives
$30,000 2022 Center for Internet Security Inc FOR UNRESTRICTED USE
$15,000 2022 Jewish Federation Bay Area PUBLIC/SOCIETY BENEFIT
$8,684 2025 American Online Giving Foundation Inc GENERAL SUPPORT

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Financials, employee compensation, and grant information provided by Candid.

Mentioned in this Article

References

1. “About Us.” We the Veterans Foundation. Accessed October 28, 2024. https://www.wetheveterans.us/about-us-1.
2. “About.” Vet the Vote. Accessed October 30, 2024. https://vetthe.vote/pages/about-us.
3. “Home.” Vet the Vote. Accessed October 30, 2024. https://vetthe.vote/.
4.  Democracy Fund, Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2022, Part XV, Line 3.
5. Driscoll Family Foundation, Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2022, Part XV, Line 3.
6. Center For Internet Security, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2023, Schedule I, Part II.
7. “Joe Plenzler.” LinkedIn. Accessed October 28, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/joeplenzler/.
8. “Glenn Schatz.” LinkedIn. Accessed October 28, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/glennschatz/.