Not Forgotten Outreach veterans group continues apace despite setbacks
When Don Peters tried to convert his nonprofit organization’s accounting software in March 2020, he never expected to lose all its financial data. But even worse, by failing to file tax returns for the last three years, his group lost its tax-exempt status.
Peters, executive director of Not Forgotten Outreach, a veterans organization, said despite the software error and the revocation of its 501(c)(3) status from the IRS, the veterans’ group was able to continue to serve the Taos community.
“That did not change any of our day-to-day operations. We were able to adjust so that we would not have any downtime,” said Peters. “We went right over to the Taos Community Foundation and asked them to be our fiscal sponsor.”
Not Forgotten Outreach trains veterans from across the country in therapeutic and recreational farming, and helps provide food security to the Taos community. Formed in 2012 by Kym Sanchez, the nonprofit offers instruction and benefits to hundreds of veterans every year, according to Peters.
Pandemic pivot
Like everyone else in 2020, the group was forced to adapt to the health and safety guidelines of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We were able to switch to online agricultural training, rotating onsite staff with teleworking to ensure we were in compliance with capacity restrictions, and closed all three locations to nonessential NFO members,” said Peters.
To help meet the needs of the community, the group trained Vet Corps members to grow vegetables, restore pastureland, row cropland, raise bees and install fencing. It also donated all of its fresh vegetables to the Taos School District and local food banks.
In past years, NFO has hosted local events including the Poker Run, Taos Creative Arts Festival, Fall Festival, Veterans Day Picnic and a yearly ski event. In 2020, it made its Memorial Day flag dedication virtual, and hosted the “Great Pandemic Pumpkin GiveAway,” a drive-thru event that donated over 700 pumpkins to the Taos community.
The path forward
“By utilizing the Taos Community Foundation as our fiscal sponsor, we are on the path to receive our [tax-exempt] status back around March, 2021,” said Peters. “The loss of our status has only affected our AmeriCorps grants — we lost both AmeriCorps State and the AmeriCorps VISTA grant. Losing AmeriCorps, along with a decrease in donations, added to our budget deficit.”
But NFO did secure a number of other grants in 2020, including: NMCount2020, for outreach to the military community in Taos County for the US Census; The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, for an ADA-compliant walking trail through Memorial Park; USDA-NIFA Enhancing Agricultural Opportunities for Military Veterans, providing three years of funding for Vet Corps; USDA– NMDA Specialty Crop Block Grant Funding; and Department of Veterans Affairs Adaptive Sports & Therapeutic Arts.
The organization also secured multiple COVID-19 relief grants to serve New Mexico during the pandemic including: NMFMA COVID19 Local Food Supply Grant; The Con Alma Health Foundation COVID-19 Relief Fund; The Taos Community Foundation All Together NM Fund; and the New Mexico Community Foundation Neighbors Helping Neighbors Fund.
“We’re putting in a grant for an aggregate building for more freezer storage, cold storage and dry storage for the local farmers. Working with USDA for a fall, temporary farm labor housing, that would be 16 units, and then affordable housing in the next two years, which will be about 20 units,” said Peters. “So, yeah, we’re still going strong.”
For more, visit notforgottenoutreach.org.
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