Military-Oriented Charities

There a literally hundreds of charities around the country that support our military members and their families. Before you donate, be sure to investigate.

The Corte Bella Vets became exempt from federal income tax under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 501 (c) (3) and designated as a Public Charity on April 15, 2015. While there are many other worthwhile organizations out there, as an organization, we chose to only provide our support to charitable organizations that meet all of the following criteria:

  1. Must not have more than 15% “overhead”
  2. Must be supporting military in Arizona
  3. ​Must be able to provide tax receipts and/or tax credits

​In 2016, we expanded our charitable donations to include assistance directly to needy Veterans or Veteran Families. We named this effort our “Veterans Emergency Assistance Fund”. In order to make sure our funds would be put to good use without having to create our own screening and vetting process and duplicate the efforts of others, we chose to respond primarily to requests generated by the Social Workers at the Northwest Veterans Affairs Health Care Clinic in Surprise, Arizona. Requests from other accredited organizations that are able to properly vette a request for assistance are also considered.

Our primary support takes the form of $25 gift certificates good at Fry’s or Walmart (food and/or gas) distributed by the Social Workers on an “as needed basis”. Occasionally, $25 is not enough to meet a Veteran or Family emergency and we support to the maximum extent we can.

For more information about the organizations we support, please click on the “MORE” menu button above and then click on a specific organization you are interested in. You may also download the document below for your use.

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Support Provided

Since organizing in April 2014, the Corte Bella Vets have raised and donated over $500,000 in cash or gifts to needy Arizona Veterans and Veteran Families.

 

Contributions to Arizona Veterans and their Families including:
 $35,500 Homeless Vet Shelter Support
 $33,500 America’s Mighty Warriors
 $26,000 Soldiers Best Friend
 $21,440 Disabled American Veterans (DAV)
 $22,900 SEE4Vets
 $19,500 Project Veterans Pride (Walton Home)
 $23,000 Horse Rhythm Foundation
 $12,000 Fisher House Arizona
 $68,931 Direct to Veterans for emergency
 $ 9,000 Veterans Furniture Warehouse
 $10,000 Other Veteran Service Organizations
 $ 5,000 DAV Foundation
 $ 4,500 Honor Flight Arizona
 $ 4,000 Hunt for Heroes
 $ 2,000 District 11, American Legion
 $ 1,500 Veterans for Veterans in Arizona
 $ 3,500 US Vets
 $242.171,000 Thanksgiving + Christmas Support

America’s Mighty Warriors

 http://americasmightywarriors.org/_a/

Mission: Our mission is to honor the sacrifices of our troops, the fallen and their families by providing programs that improve quality of life, resiliency and recovery. America’s Mighty Warriors an Arizona 501c3 was founded in 2008 by Debbie Lee in response to her son Marc Lee’s last letter home, he was the first Navy SEAL killed in Iraq. He challenged his family and friends to “pass on the kindness, the love, the precious gift of human life.” (Marc was one of the main characters in the movie American Sniper.) AMW hosts retreats for Gold Star and wounded warriors, provides Hyperbaric Oxygen treatments and other therapies to help with TBI and PTS, provides random acts of kindness, educates and advocates for our troops, hosts families of our fallen at the Heroes Hope Home in Surprise AZ. AMW has supported, honored and helped thousands of our veterans and families of our fallen heroes in AZ.

Disabled American Veterans, Department of Arizona

 http://www.azdav.org/

Purpose: The purpose of the Disabled American Veterans, Department of Arizona, shall be to uphold and maintain the Constitution and the laws of the United States; to realize the true American ideals and aims for which those eligible to membership fought; to advance the interests and work for the betterment of all wounded, gassed, injured and disabled veterans, to cooperate with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs and all other public and private agencies devoted to the cause of improving and advancing the condition, health, and interest of all wounded, gassed, injured and disabled veterans; to stimulate a feeling of mutual devotion, helpfulness and comradeship among all wounded, gassed, injured and disabled veterans; to serve our comrades, our communities, and our country; and to encourage in all people that spirit of understanding which will guard against future wars.

Honor Flight Arizona

http://honorflightaz.org/

Mission: The mission of Honor Flight Arizona is to pay homage to our WWII, Korean War and Vietnam War veterans by providing the support needed for them to complete a three-day journey of honor and remembrance to their memorial in Washington, D.C. at no cost to them. To accomplish this, we plan to raise adequate funding to send 250 veterans on eight trips in 2014. Our secondary mission is to educate our youth about the impact of WWII and our WWII veterans on the freedom of our nation.
 
They are 100% all volunteers. Another thing that we even like is let’s say you have a WWII veteran that has not travelled. Corte Bella could sponsor the vet. You could raise $900 in whatever manner you would like. He or she would likely be pushed up on the waiting list because your group provided the funding. The $900 would cover the veteran’s round trip airfare, 2 night’s hotel stay, food for the 3 days and the seat on the nice coach bus we use to get around the Baltimore/DC area. That $900 could go directly to sponsoring that veteran’s travel. We could provide a vets name to sponsor from our list if you did not have one also.

HORSE RHYTHM FOUNDATION (HRF)

​HRF is designed to offer specialized services for veterans, first responders, and their families suffering with mental health disorders, PTS, physical disabilities, traumatic brain injuries, amputation, etc. due to combat or public safety tragedies. HRF offers educational equine assisted services in an effort to bridge the gap between the effects of combat incidents and the restoration of wellness. They work with individuals or groups allowing the interactions between the veteran and horse to facilitate emotional and physical healing.

Madison Street Veterans Association (or MSVA): M.A.N.A House

 http://madisonstreetveterans.org /

Mission: Madison Street Veterans Association is a peer support organization of homeless and formerly homeless veterans. At our Outreach Center veterans are able to access transportation to Veterans Administration and employment facilities, obtain copies of military service documents, use computers for job search, email, and benefits applications, local and long distance telephone service, and check out bicycles. Veterans are also encouraged to participate in volunteer and community action events and activities, and collaborate with other partner veterans’ organizations such American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and Vietnam Veterans of America. As of May 2010, MSVA operates the MANA House (Marines, Army, Navy, Air Force), a transitional housing facility for 50 veterans located on the top floor of the YWCA in central Phoenix, conveniently located just 1.5 miles from the VA Hospital.
 
Madison Street Veterans Association is a program of Lodestar Day Resource Center which is a 501 (c) (3) organization. Donations are made to LDRC but can be designated for MSVA only.

THE SOCIETY OF ST. VINCENT DEPAUL

 

SOLDIERS BEST FRIEND

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Since January 2011, Soldiers Best Friend provides U.S. military veterans living with combat related Post Traumatic Stress (PTS) and/or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) with Service or Therapeutic companion dogs. Most of the dogs are rescued from local shelters. The veteran and dog train together and take an average of 6-9 months to master all the skills they need to succeed. All placement and training fees are at NO cost to the veteran.

Veterans Furniture Center

 http://unitedforchange.org/

Mission: We are community partners with Project H3: Vets, a program aimed at getting medically vulnerable veterans off the street. United for Change administers the VASH Bridge Program, a partnership with the Arizona Department of Veteran Services, the Phoenix Veterans and Military Foundation and HUD/VASH.
 
We operate the Veterans for Veterans furniture bank, which provides furnishings to veterans (at no cost to them) as they transition from homelessness into housing. We also sponsor, provide and serve home cooked dinners for local veterans living in a transitional facility.
 
Many members of our group have volunteered at the Arizona Standdown for several years in a row and in addition to supporting this organization with $5,000 donations in 2011 and 2012, we have furnished hygiene kits for the veterans, 1,200 kits for 2012! We partnered with KUPD radio station and the great Fitz Madrid who in 2009 sponsored a blanket drive. In 2010, 2011 and 2012, it was towels.
 
United for Change also helps veterans on an individual basis. We have provided funding for rent, utilities, and food to a number of veterans in need.
 
No one in our organization is paid for what he or she does. We give our time, our money, our sweat and our tears to make the lives of our struggling veterans a little better. After all, that same veteran was willing to put his/her life on the line to preserve our freedom.