Members may be dismissed summarily from membership for failure to support the purposes or lawful activities of the Association.

Initial annual dues, which must be remitted along with the initial Membership Application, cover the remainder of the calendar year in which the initial Application is submitted, as well as the subsequent calendar year. The fiscal year of the Association and all its State Chapters is the calendar year. After the initial full year of membership, members are expected to pay their renewal annual dues, or to remit a request for full or partial exemption therefrom, without specific notice, other than herein. Renewal annual dues are due and payable as of January 1.

Checks or money orders for initial dues are not deposited or processed until the Application for Membership is approved. Checks or money orders from non-qualifying membership applicants are returned to the applicant unprocessed.

There are at least 200 Al Quaida cells in the United States as of 2009 and, as part of all our solicitation campaigns in specific States, we urge the public to remember the service of all our Armed Forces abroad, to remember America, and to be vigilant for America. "Being vigiilant" means, in case there is any doubt, reporting activities to law enforcement in all cases where one reasonably believes there is a terror threat to America posed by that activity.

We ask the same question of the American public who are contacted on our drives, and the public in general, as the American Country song, a question which is also an exhortation to action:

Have you forgotten when those towers fell,

when our country was under fire, and where our heroes fell?

How their families live through hell every day?

Don't tell anybody not to worry about bin Laden.

Have you forgotten?

One frequently asked question we receive asks for the difference between a contribution and a voting membership. Simply put , a contribution is the promise, pledge or grant of (net after administrative expenses) money, property, or any other thing of value for a non-profit purpose of the Association. Voting Membership, on the other hand, means the relationship of the person to the Association that entitles the person to the privileges, professional standing, honor, and other direct benefits and services the Association may confer as a result of that relationship including, in addition to the right to elect officers, to hold office in the Association, and the right to attend the National Association National Convention and the Annual Meeting of the pertinent State Chapter; currently, the membership certificate; and membership card for those members requesting one (requires picture and signature); the right to e-vote on matters of membership concern such as endorsements of policy or legislative action proposals to government; the State Chapter "NavyVet" Newsletter (where available); the "NavyVets Yellow Pages (where available); invitations to members only events; a Yahoo email account, for voting members desiring one; invitations, as appropriate, to join delegations visiting government officials in Washington, D.C. or in your State capital; information support for Ship Associations through our Newsletters, as available; outplacement consultancies; VA benefits' advice; welfare advice and assistance; recruitment advice; and advertisement of Association related events via our Newsletters. 

Neither Voting nor Associate Membership is ever conferred solely for making a monetary contribution to the Association.

No portion of membership dues or contributions are ever used for political purposes or activities, in the support of or opposition to anyone seeking office. The Association neither sponsors; endorses; is connected to; affiliated with; controls; is controlled by; funds, in whole or in part; or is funded by, in whole or in part, any political action committee, political party, candidate or political organization. There is, moreover, no statement on this site, or, for that matter, any statement ever made by the Association, by implication or otherwise, which supports or opposes, promotes or attacks, the candidacy of any political candidate for public office. The McCain-Feingold Act may have an exception for this non-profit sort of "by implication" activity if made on the Internet, but even if it did not, we'd stick to our conclusion that we don't ever do that, and welcome them to bring it on if they think we have. Most veterans are eminently used to politicians, even in this country, who say "You said this," when in fact nobody said any such thing. 

DO NOT CALL LIST

No charitable exempt organization in the United States is subject to the Federal Trade Commission's Telephone Solicitation Regulations relating to the National Do Not Call Registry.

However, to have your name and telephone number placed on our internal  Do Not Call List in and for any state in which the Association does a public fundraising drive at any time, even before any first telephone call or contact is ever made, no questions asked, you may call, toll-free, 1-888-665-9359, or reach us in Washington at 202-736-1725, or call the pertinent State Chapter at its telephone number listed on the State Chapters Page, or email us at DoNotCall@Navyvets.org,  If you  email us, or connect with the Voice Mail and simply say or write: "Do Not Call," your full name (which should be spelled out slowly), and your full telephone number including area code, it will be done. (Takes about 24-72 hours.) It's as simple as that.  If you wish to quote this paragraph when you do so, please feel free, but, at the same time, include the following thought as a courtesy to all REAL Americans: those who denounce, in the name of pubic policy, the First Amendment right of others to free speech, especially those fundraising for the vibrancy of any and all American non-profit causes, need to beware that that same public policy may be turned on them someday to deny them THEIR same freedoms of speech and expression, as they were in Hitler Germany, in Stalinist Russia, and as Al Quaida seeks to do today in Iraq and Afghanistan  and throughout the Muslim world.

Rev. Al Sharpton and Rev. Pat Robertson,Virginia Beach, Virginia, 2008

It's American to disagree, and the Association certainly believes that our ability to disagree with each other as Americans is one of America's greatest strengths, and certainly not a weakness. But it is also American to come together in the face of a challenge, and America is certainly challenged today. 

These girls featured above from Girl Scout Troop _04_6 in Middlesex County, New Jersey, wrote to us at the U.S. Navy Veterans Association right after Thanksgiving Day, 2008.  They wanted to thank the Association for the good work it had done that they had seen with regard to our care kits program for all of our members from our U.S. Armed Forces serving overseas in the War on Terror.  Many of their parents had been solicited by the Association for this particular cause, and all of them willingly gave, without complaint, and then sent their daughters to have their picture taken thanking the Association for both its fundraising drive and the care kits program, and thanking our men and women from all our US Armed Forces for what they are doing for America in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Here is what some of their letters said (with original spelling): 

“Our country is free because of what the U.S. Navy Vets have done for it.  God bless you.  We are praying for you. 

P.S.  I hope our soldiers try to keep the peace in Iraq, even though they are not our ali.”

- Albina Z.

“Dear USNVA , we all pray for you.  I am in fourth grade.  I am nine years old.  We hope you win the war for the USA!  (Remember beat the bad dudes!)”

 - Love, April C.M.

“Thank you, USNVA.  My name is Victoria and I am in the fourth grade.  I play softball and basketball.  My favorite color is blue.  I live in New Jersey.

Go America.”

- Victoria C.

“Dear USNVA,

My name is Rebecca.  I am in fourth grade.  I go to school in New Jersey .  Thank you for fighting for everybody in the United States in your programs.

-          Rebecca

“Dear USNVA, Thank you for making this country safe.  My name is Rebecca Angela.  I am a fourth grade girl growing up in New Jersey.  My grandfather was in the Navy.  He fought in World War II and the Korren Conflict.  He even did the SECRET SACO mission!  He met my grandmother there.  Thank you again.”

- Rebecca Angela B.

“To a Sailor,

I live in New Jersey, my name is Cheyenne.  I am in fourth grade, Math is my favorite subject.  I also go to Hebrew school.  Stay safe and have a good.  Thank you for fighting for us.

-          Cheyenne

“To our Soldiers and Sailors,

Beat the bad people.  I am in fourth grade. I’m a person.  Thank you for serving.”

Sara also attached a drawing which you can see in the photo above.  It shows a tank of a soldier shooting a shell on the left hand side.  And on the right hand side in yellow she’s drawn an explosion which shows little stick figures falling out of it.  Underneath the tank she has written ’You’ (meaning one of our soldiers) and underneath the explosion with the little stick people falling out of it, she has written ‘Iraq people’.

-Love, Sara

“Dear USNVA, thank you so much for what you have done for our country.  I have three other brothers and sisters.  That makes four children in a family, WHOA!  Remember, beat da bad dudes until they pass out. 

Go America!

Pleage of alligance:  I pleage alligance to the flag of the United States of America, and the republic witch it stands.  One nation under God in the devisible with liberty and justice for all.

Hand on your heart.”

-Angela M.

“Dear USNVA, my name is Kaitlyn and I am in fourth grade.  In my math class we’re learning about right acute and obtuse angles.  Today we had a test on angles.  I worked really hard so I could get a good grade.  But not as hard as you are working to help our soldiers and sailors in Iraq.   Thank you again for helping our country!”

-Kaitlyn

“Dear USNVA and Soldiers,  my name is Kaitlyn.  I’m in the eighth grade.  I take Spanish I.  I’m also in Karate-Shin Ku Ru.  I currently rank with an orange belt.  I also play the trumpet.  I hope you all have an awesome and blessed Thanksgiving.  Jesus is watching out for you!”

-Your Friend, Kaitlyn

“Dear USNVA and Soldiers,

My name is Priscilla Ann.  I’m in fourth grade.  My favorite sport is soccer.  I am in first place.  I feel your pain when you are trying to help our soldiers and nobody seems to care. 

P.S.: Thanksgiving!!  happy.

-Priscilla N.

So, America and especially those of you out there who complain and whine about your so called rights of privacy not to be solicited for a good cause by a good charity, and that that so-called privacy trumps the right of such charities to solicit and to fundraise, remember the eyes of these little girls.  Remember what they are saying to you about your attitude toward fundraising, or towards the United States Navy Veterans Association and what it has done and is doing.  If you think that those former rights trump the latter in the United States legally, while we are willing very politely to accommodate you on our Do Not Call list providing you simply follow reasonable and legitimate procedures to do so and even though we are not required to do so, and you still believe that your right not to be solicited trumps a worthwhile charity’s right to solicit, our advice to you is simple:  Our members stand with these little girls, and our advice to you is: Bring It On!

Remember also, that since 1998 in our public fundraising drives in the United States of America, the United States Navy Veteran Association has had over 2 million individual and separate contributors , not a single one of which was a member of the Association.  All of these people gave willingly to the causes that we have historically represented, and do still represent today, and will continue to represent in the future.  Each one of them did so by complimenting us on the fundraising drives that we do, have done, and will continue to do.  Not one of them complained with some hyped-up fictional complaint about how they were wronged merely because they were solicited.  We receive emails and letters everyday citing these anonymous slam and slander-mongering sites on which so-called Americans are permitted to write in anonymously and then leave complaints about fundraising drives simply because they don’t like fundraising, or because they don’t like telephone fundraising, or because they don’t like the group which is fundraising to them or has attempted to fundraise to them.  While there may be approximately 250 of such complaints against us specifically that can be looked up online, as of June, 2009, all of them are anonymous, and most of them, apparently adults, cannot even spell in the English language, and one cannot even find out information on WHOIS as to who owns the site or set up the site in the first place.  As you can see from the above numbers those complainants are sorely, sorely, outnumbered by the total number of our individual and proud contributors in the United States of America.  It will be a cold day in heck, and you can read our lips, before we apologize to any such complainant, and we will meet them any time and any place they want in this country to dispute their particular allegations or point of view.  That assumes, of course, that they want to come out from the rock that they’re hiding under by leaving anonymous complaints in the first place.

These little girls are true patriots.  And those who suggest, say or imply that legitimate nonprofit organizations in the United States of America should not be permitted to solicit, or should be permitted to solicit in a manner  that only pleases the complainant, that manner meaning the effective denial of the right of such a nonprofit to solicit and to solicit aggressively, are not.  That’s our position.  That is the legal and constitutional position of the United States Supreme Court in the Riley decision in 1988.  Our members are also Americans.   And so say we all.

When the dust clears, we will be the ones left standing.  As we have been since 1927.  And since 1775.     

One little girl wrote to us and said that she was sending us her last five dollars out of her allowance for our care kits campaign.  She said that she was going to spend this money on Christmas gifts for her brother and sister but that, instead, she felt that the care kits campaign that we do, of which she was told about by her mother and father, was a more worthwhile endeavor to spend her last dollar on.  She did not complain or whine that she could not pay her other bills.  She did not complain or whine that she was just a child and should not be asked for a contribution. The Association graciously accepted her contribution, even though we had not directly solicited it from her.  This little girl is a REAL American.  For the relatively few of you who feel otherwise than this little girl does, while we most certainly will accommodate you on our Do Not Call List upon your request, you also have the most humble condolences of the Association.  

...

"(a) FINDINGS. - The United States Senate finds the following:

(1) President John F. Kennedy said, 'The raising of extraordinarily large sums of money, given voluntarily and freely by millions of our fellow Americans, is a unique American tradition...Philanthropy, charity, giving voluntarily and freely...call it what you like, but is truly a jewel of an American tradition.'

(2) Americans gave more than $300,000,000,000 to charitable causes in 2007, an amount equal to roughly 2 percent of the gross domestic product.

(3) The vast majority of those donations, roughly 75 percent or $229,000,000,000, came from individuals.

(4) Studies have shown that Americans give far more to charity than the people of any other industrialized nation - more than twice as much, measured as a share of gross domestic product, than the citizens of Great Britain, and 10 times more than the citizens of france.

(5) 7 out of 10 American households donate to charities to support a wide range of religious, educational, cultural, health care, and environmental goals.

(6) These charities provide innumerable valuable public services to society's most vulnerable citizens during difficult economic times.

(7) Congress has provided incentives through the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to encourage charitable giving by allowing individuals to deduct contributions made to tax-exempt charities.

(8) 41,000,000 American households, constituting 86 percent of taxpayers who itemize deductions, took advantage of this deduction to give to the charities of their choice.

(b) SENSE OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE. - It is the sense of the Senate that Congress should preserve the income tax deduction for charitable contributions through the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and look for additional ways to encourage charitable giving."

- Passed by the United States Senate (78-20)

 March 26, 2009

In opposition to the wishes of President Obama

"An article in the New York Times, on March 26, summarizing a study by the Nonprofit Finance Fund, led to this headline:  Financial Safety Net of Nonprofit Organizations is Fraying. 'Organizations are facing deficits, are running out of money, are seeing reduced contributions and grants, lack reserves, and are facing greater demands for services.'  This article contains the observation that there is a 'growing belief' in the nonprofit world that 'government and the public do not understand the role [the sector] plays in American society.'

  Truer words have not been written.  It's easier and more advantageous, especially for politicians and their staff, to bash charities than support them."

- Bruce R. Hopkins, Esq.

The U.S.' most pre-eminent nonprofit Attorney-at-Law

since 1973

Nonprofit Counsel Newsletter, Vol. 26. No. 6, June 2009

...

You can also contact us to have your name put on our internal Do Not Call List by using any of  the contact information on our Contact Us Page.

Please DO NOT USE the Contribution Processing Center addresses listed on the State Chapters Page to mail in a written Do Not Contact request. The Contribution Processing Centers are not set up to process such requests, and will neither process those requests or any other general correspondence for the Association sent to such a Center. 

Less than 10% of the charities in the United States are as accomodating as the Association is with regard to the ease with which you can gain access to our Do Not Contact feature.  In fact, most do not offer it at all.

Likewise, the Association will investigate and report back to you any specific allegations made with regard to any solicitation of the Association which involves a material affirmative misrepresentation of fact.  The Association has found in the past that no such allegation ever has been made against a staff member of the Association.  In all cases the allegations were made against independent professional telefunders with whom the Association had merely a contractual relationship, similar to the contractual relationship it has with many vendors in many different commercial activities.  In investigating such a complaint, the Association must get back in touch with the particular professional telefunding company which actually made the solicitation, to get their side of the story.  To do this we ask the full first and last name of the person who was spoken to on the telephone; we need the date and approximate time of the day or evening of the call; we need the identification of the individual caller as either being a male or female, or, if they gave a name, to state the name of the individual caller; and we need the actual allegation of the actual words spoken or acts taken which are alleged to be misrepresentation or otherwise harmful.  Without that degree of detail, the Association can neither investigate the complaint, nor make comment on the complaint for it has merely heard a complaint without specifics.  All of the contracted with professional telefundraising companies that the Association uses have institutional mechanisms in place in their companies that involve individual supervisors as well as individual telefunders, as well as other mechanisms, to prevent any individual telefunder from making a material affirmative misrepresentation of fact either with regard to the campaign they are working on or with regard to that particular charitable organization client.  These include rigorous training courses.  Nevertheless, just as an automobile dealership may employ a particular salesman who, in order to make the sale go down, says that car is not a lemon, when in fact the car is a lemon, this also can and does happen with telefundraising companies.  Unless such an employee is engaged in a concert of acting with his or her employer, or engaged in a conscious conspiracy with his or her employer to make that sort of misrepresentation a fact, this Association believes that situation can properly be classified as a “renegade deliberately going off of the reservation,” and on a basis that involves a limited number of such examples, that it is wrongful to lay the blame for that squarely on the individual employer or some person that the employer in that situation represents.  Other similarities abound:  we do not know, for example, of any strict rule of law currently enforced or enforceable in this country which says that when an active duty member of the United States Armed Forces commits an act of murder or wrongful homicide in clear violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, that the entirety of the chain of command up to and including the Commander-in-Chief of the United States Armed Forces, or the United States itself, is held liable for the wrongful conduct. 

The Association also points out that the Association will treat an allegation of wrongdoing which does not in any way, shape or form constitute a violation of U.S. statutory or common law, other than with the judgment of frivolousness that such a complaint deserves.  However, and again because the Association is not aware of a single such allegation being made against a staff member of the Association, as opposed to an employee of an independently retained professional telefundraising company, such complaints will be passed on to that professional telefundraising company providing they have sufficient detail for the Association to be able ascertain which professional telefundraising company is being complained about.

THE VIRTUAL NAVY WALL

The Virtual Navy Wall, administered by the Association, is a separate Page on this Site.The Wall lists in perpetuity Navy veterans who have died by rank, name, and years of birth and death or, if the submitter requests, just the name of the honoree. To submit a name, simply write us at our Internet address above. A $50 contribution is suggested, most of which covers our costs, but is nither solicited, requested or demanded. All donors receive a Certificate of Appreciation. There is a maximum of four veteran honorees per Certificate of Appreciation.

We also point out that the last time we checked the United States Marine Corps was still officially part of the Navy so, yes, we do list USMC honorees on the Virtual Navy Wall. Likewise, we will also list Coast Guard veterans from the World War I and World War II periods, when the USCG was integrally attached to the Navy, or from any period in the future when the Coast Guard might be so attached again.

CONTRIBUTION INFORMATION ON THE HOMEPAGE FORUM

For those contemplating membership or an unsolicited contribution, don't forget to check out our Homepage Forum for "reality TV" updates from officers, members and non-members alike on the programs and activities of the Association.

REQUESTS FOR PERSONAL OR GROUP ASSISTANCE

USNVA provides outreach services to needy USN, USNR, Marine Corps and Marine Corps Reserve members, veterans and their dependents as a priority, but members, veterans and dependents of all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, including the USCG, have been, and are being assisted by these service programs. Outreach services are provided without respect to veteran organization affiliation, and membership in USNVA is NOT required for service.

Financial and in-kind assistance to individuals, in all cases, is based on a minimum standard of indigency, or financial need approaching indigency, and honorable service to the Nation. Most of our financial and in-kind assistance programs in the United States are carried out in the mission districts of America, or in VA  or U.S. Armed Forces medical facilities, where those standards are readily and visibly verifiable.

In addition to requests for Association financial and in-kind assistance, we are also deluged with requests to find lost records and awards, and for assistance in obtaining military retirement and VA benefits. As to the latter three, we regret to say that we do not currently have the staff to assist everybody in need, and our first priority in those three areas lies with our members. Some of the best online assistance in finding lost records is to be found on our Links of Interest Page and, if we are not able to get back in touch with you personally after you've left us a message about your situation, we highly recommend those Links to you.

To find lost buddies, you can also always leave an Entry on the Guestmap on the Links of Interest Page.. 

We don't brag about our charity programs for veterans on this Site because we think that's unbecoming, and because a website is primarily a tool which should be used to communicate useful information to the public, not self-serving propaganda, advertising or promotions.

Our Forum Entries from the public on our charitable activities at the bottom of our Homepage, our awards for our outreach programs, and our official recognition by the Department of Veterans' Affairs all speak for themselves.

We think that those who constantly thump their chests about the charity work they've done miss the drift of St. Paul, who said in Corinthians that charity vaunteth not itself and is not puffed up. 

For a fuller description of our charitable outreach programs , click onto the United States Navy Veterans Association Outreach Programs Page.

 

 

NAVY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION FUND 

Navy Community Foundation Fund members are individuals or entities who have made a lifetime contribution of $25,000 to one or more of the purposes of the Association, qualify for voting or honorary membership, have paid membership dues, and would like to be recognized by the Association for their patriotism and contribution to this sea-faring Nation.

In addition to the regular benefits of membership in the Association listed above, Navy Community Foundation Fund members also may have, if they wish, their name, as well as information about them, listed on a separate Navy Community Foundation Fund Page on this Site, in perpetuity.




NAVY EAGLE CIRCLE

Navy Eagle Circle members are individuals or entities who have made a lifetime contribution of $10,000 to one or more of the purposes of the Association, qualify for voting or honorary membership, have paid membership dues, and would like to be recognized by the Association for their patriotism and contribution to this sea-faring Nation.

In addition to the regular benefits of membership listed above, Navy Eagle Circle members also are, if they wish, listed on a separate  Navy Eagle Circle Page on this Site, in perpetuity.

For further information on participation in the Community Foudation Fund or Navy Eagle Circle programs, you may contact us at our national telephone number on our Contact Us Page.

The National Association and all its official State Chapters are  I.R.S. tax-exempt and fully tax-deductible Sec.501(c)(19) organizations. Neither the National Association nor any of its State Chapters accepts grants or other direct funding from any branch of government, i.e., the American taxpayer, in support of any of the charitable program activities of the Association. In other words, the Association is not tax supported, but is tax assisted.