Annual Report 2018 - Chairman's Letter

Dear USO-Metro Supporters,

Thanks to your commitment to our military service members and their families, USO-Metro completed its 77th year of exemplary service… Service in the form of a warm smile from one our 3,000+ USO Metro Volunteers, a hot cup of coffee after a long flight at one our Airport Centers, a chance to reconnect at a parent-child dance at one of our facilities, or a new skill learned from one of our transition classes to enhance the search for employment after service.

As Chairman and on behalf of the USO-Metro’s Board of Directors, we are truly amazed on a daily basis the great work of this organization and to see first-hand how the dollars and items donated by you and all our partners are put to great use in the programs and services delivered throughout the year. The caliber of service and quality of this organization’s interactions with our military and their families are a testament to the unified commitment of its volunteers, staff and supporters.

Our Mission

Our mission is to strengthen America’s military service members by keeping them connected to family, home and country, throughout their service to the nation.

In 2018, your support of USO-Metro made possible 539,576 instances of service at 9 locations, Mobile Unit, special programs and events, and other venues across the region.

View the people and programs behind those numbers in the following four sections of this report as we highlight Locations & Events, Legacy of Bob Hope, Resiliency Programs and Volunteers.

New in 2018

In 2018 we completed our first full year utilizing the new digital tablet sign-in system across all of our staffed locations, which has allowed us to better analyze our statistics with the goal of better serving our guests. The system asks each guest at USO Centers around the world to create an account and to use either an app on their phone or a tablet at the welcome desk of each USO to sign in to their location and also note any programs they are attending. After a full year of analyzing check-in data, USO-Metro has been able to implement improvements such as calculating daily foot traffic, dependent usage and individual branches.

2018 also marked the first year we implemented an internal training program for all USO-Metro managers. Faced with a common mission but a wide range of experience levels, former industries, and leadership styles, Human Resources provided learning experiences for all leaders, covering topics such as employment law, interviewing skills and conflict resolution. Through this new avenue for professional development, USO-Metro has been able to provide useful tools to new leaders, and augment or re-enforce learning for more seasoned leaders.

2018 Circle of Stars

Thank you to our sponsors, without whom we could not continue this important work. Especially our 2018 Circle of Stars, an elite group of our largest corporate donors that make supporting our troops through USO-Metro a priority.

The Joint Services Color Guard posts colors while the USO Show Troupe sings the National Anthem at the Giant National Capital BBQ Battle on Pennsylvania Ave.

Thank you to the 2018 all-star team, especially the shining five-star members who made our mission possible through contributions of $300,000 and above:

In its third year as the title sponsor of the Giant National Capital BBQ Battle, Giant Food again provided multiple opportunities for public awareness, education, and financial support to USO-Metro, resulting in a fundraising total of $684,000, more than doubling last year’s record. Giant also supports USO-Metro’s Project Cinderella and Annual Awards Dinner.

The Boeing Company supports our Mobile USO, allowing us to reach our military service members outside of our nine brick and mortar USO centers in the National Capital Region. Additionally, as the presenting sponsor of our Annual Awards Dinner, Boeing continues to stand steadfastly behind our mission. Boeing also fulfills 400 Christmas wish lists for military children as part of USO-Metro’s Project USO Elf.

Mission BBQ supported USO-Metro through a year-long in-store American Heroes cup campaign. Donations to USO-Metro totaled more than $275,963 in just a few months through Military Appreciation Nights and countless USO American Heroes cups sold. Mission BBQ has proven their commitment to both our local military service members and our volunteers!

Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority are true champions for USO-Metro Airport Lounges. This year their in-kind donation of airport lounge space totaled $429,537 in value.

Our four-star partners each provided support of $150,000 and above, Maryland Aviation Administration, Washington Nationals Baseball Club, Harris Teeter, Northrop Grumman Corporation, MGM International, Walt Disney Corporation, Major League Baseball, and Monster Energy through sponsorship of fundraising events, signature holiday programs, vital program vehicles, six of our nine USO Centers, as well as budget-relieving in-kind support.

Our three-stars each provided support of $100,000 and above, SAIC, American Airlines, CenturyLink, Leidos, 300Brand, Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman.

Our two-star sponsors each contributed $60,000 and above: Prudential Financial, BMC Software, Booz Allen Hamilton, BAE Systems, General Dynamics IT, iHeartMedia DC, Lockheed Martin, Bell, Dollar General, Wawa, Raytheon Company, Live! Casino & Hotel, and Pratt & Whitney.

Our one-star sponsors each gave $30,000 and above: Dell EMC, Paradies Lagardere, Altria, Amazon Web Services, Campbell Fittings, DynCorp International, Consumer Technology Association, Southern Management Corporation, The Washington Redskins, Cisco Systems Inc., Military Times, EY, Guidehouse, Hewlett Packard Enterprises, Google, Inc., Verizon, National Capital Barbecue Battle, Citrix Systems, Inc., Valbin, DC Capital Partners, Tech Data Government Solutions, Harkins Builders, FireEye, Inc., Buchanan & Edwards, Culmen International, LLC, CACI International Inc, Delta Airlines, Emergent BioSolutions, Robert Irvine Foundation, TEGNA Foundation – WUSA*9, United, Baltimore Orioles, GEICO, NDIA Washington, D.C. Chapter, Cognitio, and The Safeway Foundation.

Financials

Since 1941, USO-Metro has been trusted by our military and our community. A big part of that trust is its impeccable reputation for being a responsible charitable organization. Every year it has been evaluated, USO-Metro has earned the highest rating on Charity Navigator, (4) FOUR STARS, for outperforming most charities in its cause and “exceeding industry standards.”

Click here to download our Audited Financials

Click here to download our 990

I would also like to extend a special thank you to the USO-Metro staff and volunteers for their dedication and hard work. They bring unparalleled enthusiasm to the support services they provide to our military and their families. In closing, thank you for your continued support of USO-Metro and for supporting the strongest military force in the world.

Paul McQuillan,

Chairman of the USO-Metro Board of Directors

Paul McQuillan, his wife, Adrianne, and children, Valentina, Sylvana, Gabriela and Jack.

Next: Legacy of Hope

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