Operation Gratitude: Our Mission

Tens of thousands of American Service Members are deployed in hostile and remote regions of the world, including the Middle East, Afghanistan, and on ships throughout international waters. The physical conditions they must endure are difficult and they may be separated from loved ones for long periods of time.

Operation Gratitude seeks to lift morale and put smiles on faces by sending care packages addressed to individual Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines deployed overseas. Operation Gratitude care packages contain food, hygiene products, entertainment items and personal letters of appreciation, all wrapped with good wishes of love and support.

Through Collection Drives, Letter Writing Campaigns and Donations of funds for shipping expenses, Operation Gratitude provides civilians anywhere in America a way to express their respect and appreciation to the men and women of the U.S. Military in an active, hands-on manner.

Operation Gratitude is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, volunteer-based corporation, funded entirely by private donations. For safety and security, the assembling of all packages occurs at the Army National Guard Armory in Van Nuys, California.

Our Finances

Operation Gratitude is a California corporation, granted 501(c)(3) exempt status by the IRS and recognized as a charitable organization by the California Franchise Tax Board.

Donated funds are used to pay for production, shipping and communication expenses. We do not pay for fundraising campaigns (e.g. direct mail, staged events, etc.).

Operation Gratitude's administrative expenses are so low (less than 2%), and our management so efficient that Charity Navigator would not compare us to other organizations of similar size.

This is a tribute to the patriotic spirit of the many key volunteers who devote themselves to the organization without pay in order to express appreciation to the Military.  Our Directors, Executive Director and key personnel have agreed to forgo any payment to ensure the fulfillment of our donors' charitable intent that all service members receive care packages.

All contents of the packages are donated by individuals and groups through collection drives, or by companies that donate their own products. Our budget for 2010, to ship 100,000 packages, is $1.5 Million, of which $1.1 Million is postage. Our overall cost per package is $15; the donated contents of each package are worth ~$125.

Tax Returns, Audited Financial Statements and the Annual Report are available  online at www.guidestar.org or by clicking on the Download links above.