Army Emergency Relief

“SERGEANT MAJOR OF THE ARMY (SMA) MICHAEL A. GRINSTON AND HIS WIFE, ALEXANDRA GRINSTON BOTH SERVE, WITHOUT COMPENSATION, AS EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF MANAGERS. THEIR EX-OFFICIO STATUS IS RELATED TO THEIR POSITION AND OFFICIAL AND UNOFFICIAL MILITARY DUTIES. SMA GRINSTON SERVES AS THE ARMY'S SENIOR ENLISTED ADVISOR AND MRS. GRINSTON'S ROLE IS AS AN ADVOCATE ON THE NEEDS AND CHALLENGES FACING SOLDIERS AND THEIR FAMILIES. Form 990, Part VI, Line 10A & B Army Emergency Relief (AER) disburses approximately 75% of its assistance through 200 volunteer AER Officers (AEROs) at 72 Army Installations worlwide. The 72 offices are staffed by AEROs who are Department of the Army Government Services employees. Their office space and equipment are integrated into the Army Community Services sections of the Installation. They implement the AER program by disbursing financial assistance however, AER HQ does not own/lease their office space nor pay their salaries. AER maintains Internal Control over the AEROs through an Army Regulation (AR 930-4) and written agreements with the Army Installation Management Command (IMCOM) as well as through annual audits, a 5-tiered training program, assistance visits and daily interactions between AER HQ and the individual AEROs. The AER Director (LTG (R) Mason) visited 15 of the 72 Installation offices personally in 2019, assessing their operations, supporting AEROs with their IMCOM leaders, and conducting focus sessions with Soldiers and Family members to better understand the challenges and opportunities at each location. The IMCOM Commander also serves as a member of the AER Board of Managers (BOM) along with representatives of the other Major Army Commands. These Board members monitor the AER Offices on installations that fall in their area of responsibility throughout the year and discuss performance and policies/procedures at BOM meetings. Finally, each of the 72 locations must undergo an annual audit by a senior member of the installation staff that is signed by the Garrison Commander. These section audits are reviewed by the AER Deputy Director and CFO for completeness as well as for possible corrective remedies.”

“Financial and operational performance data and governance policies and actions reflected in the Form 990 is provided to the Board of Managers throughout the year for information and appropriate action. The Finance Committee is briefed on the contents of the Form 990 and copies are provided to the Board of Managers prior to submission. In 2019, the Form 990 was prepared by an independent accounting firm.”

“All Members of the Board of Managers and Officers of Army Emergency Relief disclose on an annual basis potential conflicts of interest by declaring any other participation Boards and all potential sources for conflict of interest. Statements are reviewed for potential conflicts in business dealing and Members recused from areas where conflict or appearance of conflict may occur. Board Members and Officers are expected to self identify issues of potential conflict as they arise. The Director and Deputy Director monitor conflict of interest disclosure replies and are responsible for identifying potential conflicts of interest as they arise should it not be self identified.”

“An Executive Committee appointed by the Chairman of the Board of Managers determines compensation for the AER officers. They meet in executive session without the AER officers present when discussing officers compensation. All discussions are documented contemporaneously in the meeting minutes. They use similar comparatives for published compensation studies and from the other Military Aid Societies. They comply with IRS guidance in completing a "Rebuttable Presumption Information" form for each officer at the time of a salary change (except for COLA changes) for that officer.”

“All governing documents are available upon request. Selected governing documents such as Audited Financial Statements, Annual Report, Whistleblower Protection Policy, and Code of Ethical Conduct are posted on AER's website.”

“Army emergency relief (aer) provides emergency financial assistance to active or retired army soldiers and their dependents as interest free loans or grants based on financial need. Assistance to widow(er)s or orphans of deceased soldiers in the form of grants. Education assistance grants to dependent children and spouses. Form 990, part iii, line 1 upon merger with the army relief society in july 1976, aer assumed the mission of providing financial assistance to widow(er)s and orphans of deceased army personnel and assistance for education to dependent children. Form 990, part iii, line 4a emergency financial assistance: aer determines the breakdown of assistance between loan and grant by the individual's valid financial need. Financial assistance is offered across 30 different categories of assistance often associated with an emergency due to death or serious illness of an immediate family member or basic living expenses. Aer provided more than 12,000 grants averaging $786 per request, or $9.5 million dollars. Of these grants, aer provided $42k in aid to regular army, army national guard and army reserve soldiers to assist with evacuation and relief efforts for natural disasters such as california wildfires, hurricanes dorian, florence and michael, and midwest tornadoes/floods. Through the army wounded warrior (aw2) special access program established in 2012, aer assisted 360 wounded warriors by providing 164 assistance grants totaling $515k. Aer approved 28,748 zero interest loans, with an average of $1,840 per request, totaling $52.9 million. Of that, $25.8 million was for basic living expenses for items such as food, rent deposits, and minor home repairs. Form 990, part iii, line 4b scholarship assistance: between the two scholarship programs 5,583 students pursuing their first undergraduate degree received $7.6 million in scholarships. In order to be more responsive to the ever-changing needs of army families, aer now accepts scholarship applications from army spouses year-round, allowing spouses to more easily adapt and pursue their college degrees. Aer also pays the complete cost of college for spouses and children of victims of the 9/11 attack on the pentagon. Fifteen students - 12 undergraduate and 4 graduate - were awarded a total of $371,335 in 2019 as part of our pentagon vicitms scholarship fund. Over $3.3 million has been provided to 38 children and 12 spouses since inception. Form 990, part v, line 4b financial accounts in foreign countries: australia, austria, belgium, bermuda, botswana, brazil, canada, czech republic, denmark, egypt, eswatini, finland, france, germany, ghana, greece, hong kong, hungary, indonesia, ireland, israel, italy, japan, luxembourg, malaysia, mexico, namibia, netherlands, new zealand, norway, panama, philipines, poland, portugal, republic of korea, singapore, south africa, spain, sweden, switzerland, thailand, turkey, united kingdom, and uruguay.”