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I’M NOT A VETERAN, CAN I HELP?
Absolutely! You don’t have to be a Veteran to help Veterans. You can help by registering using our JOIN button on our website. Unbroken Spirit is currently 100% staffed by volunteers and would love to have you join our team. We will equip you with everything you need to partner with us whether that is volunteering to help during our fundraising events, community engagement, or program support. Contact us at info@unbrokenspirit.org
HOW CAN I DONATE?
The easiest way to support our Veterans is to select the DONATE button on our homepage or any place else you see it on our website. We can use virtually every means available to you to make a donation:
- Check – If you prefer to write a check you can endorse it to Unbroken Spirit and mail it to Unbroken Spirit, 10 Deep Creek Trail, Arden, NC 28704 or drop it off at that Walnut Cove address. Checks help you avoid processing transaction fees.
- Credit Card
- PayPal
- Venmo
- GooglePay
- Donor Advised Fund (DAF) – This lets you combine the best tax advantages with the freedom to easily donate cash, appreciated securities, and other assets to Unbroken Spirit. DAFs allow you to support Unbroken Spirit and immediately receive tax breaks. A qualified charitable distribution from your IRA can also provide tax benefits
HOW DO I MAKE AN ONLINE DONATION ANONYMOUSLY?
If you haven’t yet submitted your online donation, you can choose to remain anonymous by checking the box that says Hide my name or amount from public view before completing your donation. This option is located on the last page of the checkout flow. You can choose to anonymize/hide the following options:
- Both your name and amount (by default, both will be hidden if you check this box)
- Your name (will appear as “Anonymous” on the campaign page)
- Amount donated
Your information will always be privately shared with the campaign organizer, and you will still receive an emailed receipt. Any messages or images you add to your donation will still be displayed publicly.
If you’ve already submitted your donation and would like to remove your name or amount from the public campaign page, you can contact Megan Wayne at megan@unbrokenspirit.org
- Amount donated
HOW SECURE ARE MY ONLINE DONATIONS?
Unbroken Spirit utilizes the world’s very best payment encryption technology and security: Payments are processed securely through our PCI compliant payments partner Stripe, which is where the funds are securely held until they are ready to be withdrawn via bank transfer. Our fundraising platform does not have access to donor credit card information, and we take every measure to protect users’ personal information on our site.
Additional security measures: From a technical standpoint, our fundraising platform uses best-in-class security standards applied to all systems including but not limited to firewalls, network and database ACLs, VPNs, encryption where possible, log retention and auditing, data backups, and private server networks.
We never store any payment information: When users enter payment information on our fundraising platform, or when administrators withdraw funds to their bank accounts, we never store, transmit, or otherwise use this private information in our system. All this data is used directly with the relevant payment processing service (i.e. Stripe) and upholds their security standards, as well as PCI compliance.
DO I HAVE TO PARTICIPATE IN YOUR EVENTS TO DONATE?
Absolutely not! We would love to see you, but we know scheduling can be difficult at times. When you select our DONATE button on our website you can easily make a donation. We have included categories so you can easily see how we would use your donation to help purchase items for our Veterans.
WHERE DO VETERANS COME FROM FOR YOUR PROGRAM?
Our primary goal is to find and help Veterans in Western North Carolina. If we cannot fill all our program seats with that pool of applicants, priority will be given to Veterans from the rest of NC followed by the Upstate of SC, Northeast GA, and the Southeast.
WHAT IS A VETERAN SCHOLARSHIP?
A Veteran Scholarship currently costs $2,500 and is usually packaged with a Golf Foursome Sponsorship for $5,000.
A Scholarship covers the cost to send one Veteran through our 12-month program. The cool thing about these sponsorships is the donor(s) get an opportunity to actually meet their Veteran in Walnut Cove at one of our events or a celebratory dinner. That intimate connection for both the Veteran and sponsor is priceless. The Veteran gets to see firsthand how much you care about them and you see the impact of our program and your dollars for yourself.
CAN I SHARE THE COST OF A VETERAN SCHOLARSHIP?
Of course! While it is always great for someone to outright purchase these $5,000 packages that cost can be spread out numerous ways such as split by two couples for $2,500 or 4 individuals for $1,250. You just have to inform us what your intent is and we will invoice you and/or your friends appropriately. These packages are all-inclusive! In other words, in addition to changing a Veteran’s life, you receive 4 tickets to all our events.
CAN I PURCHASE A SINGLE TICKET?
Absolutely. When you visit our online event platform you will see the option to buy just a single ticket. It’s super easy and takes less than a minute. If you are not comfortable using our online platform you can always call our founder, Colonel Peter Champagne, at (828) 333-1941 for ticket information.
WHAT CAN I EXPECT AT YOUR EVENTS?
You can expect our events to be thoroughly planned, coordinated, and executed to the highest standards possible. We have a 10 year track record in Walnut Cove so don’t take our word for it, ask your friends and neighbors who have been to some events that our founders hosted. From the time you get out of your vehicle you can expect to be greeted warmly with a friendly smile, directed to our registration tables, efficiently checked-in and enjoy snacks, food, and beverages before, during, and after each event. Since Unbroken Spirit was founded by Veterans for Veterans, you can expect our events to salute our military, fallen, Veterans, our flag, and country.
We promise you a meaningful, memorable, patriotic experience.
HOW WILL YOUR ORGANIZATION AND VETERAN SPONSORS MEASURE THE IMPACT OF YOUR PROGRAMS?
Unbroken Spirit has already gone to great lengths to develop a survey instrument to measure the impact of our program on the lives of Veterans and their families. Since you will have an opportunity to actually meet the Veterans in our program you can hear directly from their mouth how the program changed their lives. Our impact report will be very comprehensive and measure virtually everything we do. We will publish it on our website and mail a copy to all our donors and sponsors.
HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED?
You can help by registering using our JOIN button on our website. Unbroken Spirit is currently 100% staffed by volunteers and would love to have you join our team.
HOW CAN I NOMINATE A VETERAN FOR YOUR PROGRAM?
You can nominate a Veteran for our program by simply contacting our founder, Marlene Champagne, and giving her your Veteran contact information (Marlene@unbrokenspirit.org or (828) 782-8322). Marlene will handle it for you from there and reach out to the Veteran and send him or her an application to begin the onboarding process.
HOW CAN I BECOME A MENTOR?
Unbroken Spirit’s Post-Deployment or Learn, Lead, and Serve Program needs volunteers to act as mentors for Veterans. If you are interested in connecting with a Veteran one-on-one and helping them on their life journey, please contact Marlene Champagne at Marlene@unbrokenspirit.org or (828) 782-8322. We will send you a copy of our mentor guide that outlines your role, responsibilities, and time requirements which wouldn’t be more than one hour per month.
WHAT CUSTOMER SERVICE CAN I EXPECT?
Since Unbroken Spirit was founded by two Walnut Cove Members who have been in the community since 2009, you can expect a concierge—level of service and responsiveness. Although Unbroken Spirit was founded in 2023, the founders have 10 years of nonprofit experience in Walnut Cove.
We are not perfect, but excellence in all we do is the Unbroken Spirit standard. Call, text, or email us any time and you can expect a timely response: peter@unbrokenspirit.org (828) 333-1941 or marlene@unbrokenspirit.org (828) 782-8322.
WHAT IS THE UNBROKEN SPIRIT FUNDRAISING STRATEGY?
Unbroken Spirits fundraising strategy is based upon what we require to deliver our program in any given year – no more and no less. Our intent is to ask for your donation only once, up front, and only ask for what we need, not how much we can raise. That philosophy allows us to be a good community partner that allows donors to spread their precious resources to help other worthy nonprofits to make our community stronger. We are all about impact, not how much money we can raise.
WHAT FINANCIAL CONTROLS DOES UNBROKEN SPIRIT USE?
Preserving charitable assets is one of the most important responsibilities of Unbroken Spirit’s Board of Directors and Executive Director. Unbroken Spirit has implemented strict financial controls to include:
Separate financial duties. Unbroken Spirit’s internal controls limit any single individual from having control over two or more phases of a financial transaction or operation.
Reconcile and examine bank statements monthly. Unbroken Spirit’s bank statements will be reconciled on a monthly basis by their CPA. Copies of checks, wire transfer information, and other information relating to deposits and withdrawals will be maintained along with the monthly statement.
Cash handling procedures. Unbroken Spirit does not encourage cash donations but if they occur, it will maintain a receipt book used in the collection of cash. With respect to fundraising events or other situations in which Unbroken Spirit receives cash, it will arrange for two people to accept, record, and monitor the collection and a third person to arrange for its deposit. Cash transactions will be recorded into a journal or log to enable account reconciliation. Any cash revenues will be deposited in Unbroken Spirit’s bank account as soon as possible, and that the treasurer verifies that the amount deposited matches the amount collected.
Document income from sources other than cash. Revenue from sources other than cash (i.e. credit cards, checks, etc.), will also be entered into a log.
Control the use of credit cards. The Unbroken Spirit Executive Director is the only individual authorized to use a credit card. Credit card statements, bank statements, and supporting documentation will be reviewed monthly by the treasurer. The reviewer will confirm that each charge is supported by a receipt and documentation of the business purpose of the expense.
Control the disbursement process. All disbursements, whether made by check, positive pay, or an e-pay system, will be approved by the treasurer or someone other than the person who physically makes the payment. The approver will confirm that the payment is supported by an appropriate check request, invoice and/or purchase order, that the same invoice is not paid more than once, and that the stated amount of goods or services were truly received by Unbroken Spirit. Unbroken Spirit’s list of vendors will be reviewed for reasonableness, duplication, and “ghost vendors” on a regular basis.
Utilize budgets. Unbroken Spirit will develop an annual budget process in which it estimates incoming revenue and outgoing expenses for the year. The budget will be tracked and actual results compared to budgeted projections. Unexplained variations from projections will be explained by the Executive Director to the board.
Adopt a conflict of interest policy. Unbroken Spirit has a written policy that clearly states how conflicts should be disclosed, how a majority of disinterested board members make decisions, and how a conflicted board member would be excluded from any situation that might prevent them from being impartial or from appearing to be impartial. Written records of how and when this policy is implemented should be recorded in board minutes.
WHAT CAN I EXPECT FOR MY CORPORATE SPONSORSHIP?
You can expect the same concierge—level of customer service that our donors receive and a customized plan developed with you to help further your brand in our community.
As a Corporate Sponsor your company’s logo and link to your website will be visible on our website (www.unbrokenspirit.org) and depending on your level of sponsorship, you can expect an opportunity to speak from the podium at our events and receive recognition in the form of event signage, print, digital, and social media. One cool thing about our Golf Event is the opportunity to interact with all participants on the golf course. Contact peter@unbrokenspirit.org to set up a meeting.
WHO HOLDS UNBROKEN SPIRIT ACCOUNTABLE?
Unbroken Spirit is governed by a Board of Directors consisting of 5 Walnut Cove Members. Please see About Us on our website to review our current Board of Directors. The Executive Director of Unbroken Spirit serves at the pleasure of the Board of Directors and is not a voting member. He follows the direction of the board on all matters including how Unbroken Spirit accomplishes its mission, financial efficiency, transparency, fundraising events, and expenditures for overhead, programming, and fundraising costs.
WHAT LEVEL OF TRANSPARENCY CAN I EXPECT FROM UNBROKEN SPIRIT?
At Unbroken Spirit, transparency means being open and honest about our nonprofit’s finances, policies, staff, board members, impact, and more. We will willingly share information to help donors make an informed decision about giving to our nonprofit.
- Make financial reports available. To increase financial transparency, we will make our annual Form 990 available for download on our website.
- Create an annual or impact report. We will put together a solid annual report (also called an impact report) to increase donor trust and publish on our website. It will showcase everything we accomplished for the last year. This includes the following information:
- Our impact
- Our finances
- Our key staff members
- Our board members
- Our Programs and activities over the last fiscal year
- Our Pictures
- Send reliable donor receipts. If you make a donation online on our donor platform you will immediately receive a receipt. We will also send you Donor Acknowledgement Letters thanking you for your donation with the amount given and any benefits you may have derived.
- Communicate with our donors. In addition to sending you donation receipt with all the necessary information, Unbroken Spirit will continuously communicate with donors in these other ways:
- Send thank-yous with impact data. We will include information about how your gift was used.
- Mail out that annual report.
- Own up to any mistakes. If we make a mistake, we will own up to it and reach out to you and explain what happened and how we will fix things in the future.
- Nonprofit Ratings. Unbroken Spirit has already subscribed to Charity Navigator and GuideStar. Since we are a new nonprofit it may take a while to get the highest ratings since we have not completed a fiscal year yet. We are striving to get the highest rating possible so you are fully confident in making a donation.