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← VETERANS DEFENSE PROJECT

Form 990-EZ for tax year 2023

Filed by VETERANS DEFENSE PROJECT.

Totals

Total revenue
$75,281
Total expenses
$44,392
Contributions and grants received
$73,875
Grants paid
not reported
Program service revenue
$900
Membership dues (line 3)
not reported
Investment income (line 4)
$506
Gain or loss on sale of assets (line 5c)
not reported
Gaming and fundraising events, net (line 6d)
not reported
Gross profit on inventory sales (line 7c)
not reported
Other revenue (line 8)
not reported
Total assets, end of year
$240,177
Total liabilities, end of year
$10,109
Net assets or fund balances, end of year
$230,068
Program service expenses (Part III)
$21,414

Program services were 48.2% of total expenses calculated — Part III's total program service expenses over total expenses, both as filed.

Mission and programs · 2023

Primary exempt purpose

The purpose of the Veterans Defense Project is to conduct & support educational training, research & informational activities to educate criminal justice stakeholders as well as raise public awareness of issues affecting veterans involved with the criminal justice system & to expand Veterans Treatment Courts (VTSs) & veterans sentencing statutes throughout the United States, working towards a model that will make VTCs more consistent across jurisdictions.

  • Veterans Defense Project (VDP) advocates point to Minnesota law as a pioneering model for treatment over penalties. Since August 2021, when Gov. Tim Walz signed the Veterans Restorative Justice Act, or VRJA, allowing veterans to avoid jail time for certain crimes by instead taking intensive steps to treat the underlying trauma related to their service.We became frustrated with the way the courts were dealing or failing to deal with them, said Brock Hunter, a criminal defense attorney in Minneapolis & co-founder of the Veterans Defense Project. Hunter has worked on cases involving veterans for decades.In 2023, VDP co-founders Brock Hunter & Ryan Else worked with the Veterans Justice Commission, a national project chaired by former U.S. Defense Secretary & U.S. Senator Charles Hagel & includes former Defense Secretary & White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta to assess & make recommendations around policies that can improve outcomes for justice-involved veterans & their communities. That work led to the adoption of the Veterans Justice Act by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) in August 2023. Nebraska became the first state to pass the Veterans Justice Act in early 2024.On November 9, 2023, the VDP hosted a large event at the University of St. Thomas School of Law to draw national attention to how the restorative justice approach is working in Minnesota & to highlight how it is being used as a model for veterans sentencing legislation in other states through the work of the Veterans Justice Commission. Senior Distinguished Fellow & law professor Hank Shea & Ryan Else, a St. Thomas School of Law alum & co-founder of the VDP, both played pivotal roles in making this law a reality along with many other VDP members.The VDP has also been working to collect & analyze data related to justice-involved veterans & the outcomes from their involvement in veterans treatment courts. At the request of lawmakers, the VDP helped craft a Minnesota statute directing the Courts & the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission to collect & report on the number of veterans sentenced under the VRJA & whether or not they succeeded on probation. The VDP has applied for grant funding to study directly the improved life outcomes of veterans in the Twin Cities Metro Area veterans treatment courts.In late 2023, the VDP began a project to recruit mentors from Minnesota corporations to serve as mentors to justice-involved veterans.

    Expenses $21,414

As filed on the 2023 return.

Listed in Part IV

  • EVAN TSAI

    CHAIR

    Total calculated
    $0
    Compensation
    $0
    Benefit plans
    not reported
    Expense account
    not reported
    Hours/week
    3

  • HANK SHEA

    VICE CHAIR

    Total calculated
    $0
    Compensation
    $0
    Benefit plans
    not reported
    Expense account
    not reported
    Hours/week
    6

  • BRUCE RICHARDSON

    Treasurer

    Total calculated
    $0
    Compensation
    $0
    Benefit plans
    not reported
    Expense account
    not reported
    Hours/week
    4

  • LAWTON NUSS

    Secretary

    Total calculated
    $0
    Compensation
    $0
    Benefit plans
    not reported
    Expense account
    not reported
    Hours/week
    4

  • DAVID HOLEWINSKI

    PAST CHAIR

    Total calculated
    $0
    Compensation
    $0
    Benefit plans
    not reported
    Expense account
    not reported
    Hours/week
    1

  • JOHN KINGREY

    Director

    Total calculated
    $0
    Compensation
    $0
    Benefit plans
    not reported
    Expense account
    not reported
    Hours/week
    1

  • BERLYNN FLEURY

    Director

    Total calculated
    $0
    Compensation
    $0
    Benefit plans
    not reported
    Expense account
    not reported
    Hours/week
    1

  • MIKE HURLEY

    Director

    Total calculated
    $0
    Compensation
    $0
    Benefit plans
    not reported
    Expense account
    not reported
    Hours/week
    1

  • ANDERS FOLK

    Director

    Total calculated
    $0
    Compensation
    $0
    Benefit plans
    not reported
    Expense account
    not reported
    Hours/week
    1

  • NONI KARKOSKA

    Director

    Total calculated
    $0
    Compensation
    $0
    Benefit plans
    not reported
    Expense account
    not reported
    Hours/week
    1

  • JUDY TILSEN

    Director

    Total calculated
    $0
    Compensation
    $0
    Benefit plans
    not reported
    Expense account
    not reported
    Hours/week
    1

  • RAY WILSON

    Director

    Total calculated
    $0
    Compensation
    $0
    Benefit plans
    not reported
    Expense account
    not reported
    Hours/week
    1

  • SAM VERDEJA

    Director

    Total calculated
    $0
    Compensation
    $0
    Benefit plans
    not reported
    Expense account
    not reported
    Hours/week
    1

  • LINDSEY ERDMANN

    Director

    Total calculated
    $0
    Compensation
    $0
    Benefit plans
    not reported
    Expense account
    not reported
    Hours/week
    1

  • LYNDSEY OLSON

    Director

    Total calculated
    $0
    Compensation
    $0
    Benefit plans
    not reported
    Expense account
    not reported
    Hours/week
    1

  • CARI LEMACK

    Director

    Total calculated
    $0
    Compensation
    $0
    Benefit plans
    not reported
    Expense account
    not reported
    Hours/week
    1

  • BRYAN CUNNINGHAM

    Director

    Total calculated
    $0
    Compensation
    $0
    Benefit plans
    not reported
    Expense account
    not reported
    Hours/week
    1

  • CHITRA RAGAVAN

    Director

    Total calculated
    $0
    Compensation
    $0
    Benefit plans
    not reported
    Expense account
    not reported
    Hours/week
    1

  • TRAVIS KOWITZ

    Director

    Total calculated
    $0
    Compensation
    $0
    Benefit plans
    not reported
    Expense account
    not reported
    Hours/week
    1

  • KEITH LEBLANC

    Director

    Total calculated
    $0
    Compensation
    $0
    Benefit plans
    not reported
    Expense account
    not reported
    Hours/week
    1

Compensation is as filed in Part IV of the Form 990-EZ: compensation, contributions to benefit plans, expense account, and hours per week. The total, marked calculated, is our sum of the three dollar columns, with a blank column counted as $0; the form itself has no total.

Grants on this return

No itemized grants to organizations on this return.

Provenance

Return type
form_990_ez
Tax year
2023
Filed
12 November 2024
IRS schema version
2023v5.1
Source object
202433179349201983

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