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18-0116_HOMEFRONT AMERICA, INC._E12_Correspondence 2REC VED JAN 1 1 2018 City Manager's Dept. Mayor and City Council City of San Juan Capistrano San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675 January 9, 2018 RE: Memorandum of Understanding: Homefront America and City support for the 1/ 11 Marine Battalion at Camp Pendleton Dear Mayor Farias and Councilmembers: 1/16/2018 Scheduled on the City Council's January 16th Agenda is a requested approval item- a Memorandum of Understanding between the City and our locally -based nonprofit, Homefront America, which has served to coordinate and support the City's efforts for our adopted Camp Pendleton Battalion, the 1/11. My wife and I are very supportive of Homefront America, and have been for more than ten years now. Having seen several poor judgments, misjudgments, scandals and sham "non -profits" for our veterans, (both locally and nationally), my wife and our extended family have been very much impressed at the transparency and integrity of Homefront America, led by Mamie and Adam Maywhort and WWII veteran and President Art Hasselbrink. Combined, their organizational skills, judgment calls, and their ability to get community folks involved to assist our nearby military families is clearly superior. Indeed, the City is blessed to have them as the key supporter for our 1/11 Battalion. For those of us who have worked with non -profits, Charity Navigator provides guideline metrics on the integrity of non -profits. Applying some of those metrics to Homefront America, the City can review the annual financial statements of Homefront America to find: • There are no paid salaries; this is an all -volunteer organization. • Administrative expenses are minimal and have been kept within a range of 93% -95% for the past several years. • In 2017, a record $22,000 was distributed in toys for military families this past Christmas. As such, we recommend that the Council commend Homefront America for its continuing efforts, and renew the Memorandum of Understanding to coordinate San Juan Capistrano's support of our adopted 1/11 Battalion. Thank you, and Sincerely, Gerry and Susan Gamble E12