Honor Flight - Southeast Florida

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Local group, Southeast Florida Honor Flight, gives almost all money raised to veterans

By Joe Crankshaw

STUART — A Treasure Coast veterans organization is one example of a veterans group that uses nearly all of the money it spends to help those who served in the military.

Southeast Florida Honor Flight Inc. flies World War II veterans to see their memorial in Washington, D.C. The nonprofit solicits money throughout the Treasure Coast and Southeast Florida. What sets it apart from many other groups raising funds is nearly every cent donated goes to the achievement of its program.

The organization has no paid staff and devotes almost all its revenue to flying veterans to and from Washington.

But a review of its official filings with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the Internal Revenue Service would provide little information.

Like many small charities whose annual income is less than $500,000 a year, Southeast Florida Honor Flight files an IRS Form 990EZ, which conveys only basic information. It’s similar to a Form 1040EZ, the IRS form used by individual taxpayers who don’t itemize deductions.

Anyone who wants to check out the organization’s operations must do as charity watchdogs recommend — ask Honor Flight for more details.

Tony Reese, treasurer of the group and a veterans service officer in Martin County, provided the organization’s complete financial statement for 2010 to Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers, before filing any of it on official forms with the state. It showed the group had total revenue of $235,576. The group spent $175,936 on flights and had fundraising expenses of $6,260 and administrative expenses of $2,863.

Honor Flight’s 2009 total financial report showed it received $75,609 in revenue and had total expenses of $40,726. Of that number $38,837 was for flights, $1,789 was for printing, postage and fundraising.

"No one makes any money from the work," said Michael Roberts, the group’s president. "Our volunteer escorts and support personnel … have a good experience, pay their own way."

UPCOMING EVENTS

Dine to Donate Fundraiser: For SEFL Honor Flight. Applebee’s Restaurant, 10501 S US Hwy 1, Port St. Lucie, 11 am-12 am, Feb. 24. 772-781-2212; honorflightsefl.org.

Honor Flight SE Florida Talent Show: Dinner, entertainment by TC High School Performing Arts Academy. Sons of Italy, 765 SE Dalton Cir., Port St. Lucie, 5 pm social hour, 6 pm dinner, 7:30-10 pm show, Mar. 19. $25/person includes meal. Benefits Southeast Florida Honor Flight. 772-807-4300; info@honorflightsefl.org.

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