California · Nonprofit
NATION'S FINEST
NATION'S FINEST (California) receives grants from 33 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,313,248 to it, the largest being THE ALBERTSONS COMPANIES FOUNDATION ($275,000). 8 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $39M
- Funders on record
- 33
- Grants received
- $1.3M
- Net assets
- $2.9M
What Nation's Finest does
Mission
Nation's Finest, formerly known as vietnam veterans of california, inc. And formerly doing business veterans resource centers of america (vrca) was established in 1972. Nation's Finest offers community based activities for veterans and their families. (see schedule o)with 14 services centers in california, arizona and nevada, we are focused on the complex realities of veterans' issues and work diligently to design innovative programs, which respond to the needs of veterans.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Homeless prevention/rapid rehousing - Nation's Finest provides supportive services to very low-income veteran families living in or transitioning to permanent housing through the supportive services for veteran families grant. Nation's Finest provides eligible veteran families with outreach, case management, and assistance and other mainstream benefits that promote housing stability and community integration.
$26,233,436 spentof which $12,144,367 as grants75% of program spendingPermanent supportive housing - Nation's Finest provides case management, supportive services, and permanent supportive housing. Nation's Finest operates 210 permanent supportive housing units. Transitional housing - Nation's Finest provides transitional housing for homeless veterans to promote the development and provision of supportive housing and or supportive services with the goal of helping homeless veterans achieve residential stability, increase their skill levels and/or income, and obtain greater self-determination. Nation's Finest currently operates 112 beds of housing where homeless veterans may stay for up to two years. (see schedule o) Nation's Finest also has transitional housing projects which offer a safe environment where veterans are supported in their efforts to overcome a variety of obstacles.
$5,118,462 spent$89,104 earned by the program15% of program spendingProvide outreach, case management, and supportive services to veterans at risk of suicide. The program focuses on early intervention, connection to mental health care, and stabilization through peer support and community resources. The goal is to reduce suicide risk factors and promote long-term well-being among veterans through a comprehensive, veteran-centered approach.
$697,000 spent2% of program spendingBehavioral health treatment - Nation's Finest provides emergency shelter for homeless veterans to promote the development and provision of supportive housing and/or supportive services with the goal of helping homeless veterans achieve residential stability, increase their skill levels and/or income, and obtain greater self-determination. Nation's Finest currently operates 62 beds of housing where homeless veterans may stay for 90-120 days.
$3,141,775 spent9% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $35,190,673.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2023 to 2024, from $7.4M to $8.6M (+17%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2017 96% · 2018 97% · 2020 99% · 2021 98% · 2022 99% · 2023 99% · 2024 94%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
99% of NATION'S FINEST’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (30% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 3 of the last 7 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Chief executive
Chris Johnson
President and CEO (thru 08/24)
Board chair
Philip Williams
Board chair
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 6 funders to 7 funders, grant income rose $205k → $207k.
10 of 33 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 20% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of NATION'S FINEST’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 33 funders by total. Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
NATION'S FINEST has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 21% of grant income, and it takes 4 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 4 funders to its left
84% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund NATION'S FINEST.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 49% · 2018 77% · 2019 57% · 2020 72% · 2021 57% · 2022 64% · 2023 72% — growing more concentrated.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
18% of NATION'S FINEST's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 24% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
57% of NATION'S FINEST's grant income comes from California funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $261k arriving through sponsors registered in 3 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
NATION'S FINEST has grown faster than half of the 269 public benefit nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 269 public benefit nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2024
Government funding NATION'S FINEST receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $256.0M on record.
- Department of Veterans Affairs$254.9M
- Department of Labor$1.1M
Federal grants vs contracts are distinguished; state line items keep their reported category. Matched by name + geography (the BMF), so coverage is partial and precision-first.
Organizations like NATION'S FINEST
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In California
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
90% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
100%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Part of a family of 1 related entity
- Veterans Housing Development Corporation · exempt
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for NATION'S FINEST: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds NATION'S FINEST?
- NATION'S FINEST (California) receives grants from 33 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,313,248 to it, the largest being THE ALBERTSONS COMPANIES FOUNDATION ($275,000). 8 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does NATION'S FINEST have?
- IRS filings report 33 organizations giving $1,313,248 in grants to NATION'S FINEST, 8 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of NATION'S FINEST?
- THE ALBERTSONS COMPANIES FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $275,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like NATION'S FINEST find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in California. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 33 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing