The Naval Order Foundation
The Naval Order of the United States Foundation or simply the Naval Order Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation and granted exemption status from federal income tax under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code as a public charity. It enables the Naval Order to solicit and receive gifts, donations and bequests from individuals, trusts and other foundations and corporations; it is the funding source for all Naval Order projects. In compliance with the Tax Reconciliation Act of 1933, gifts are 100% tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law, since the Foundation provides no goods or services in return for contributions.
What We Do
The Naval Order of the United States initiates and supports various projects and monuments to preserve and commemorate the prominent figures, deeds and memories of our naval and maritime history. The Naval Order Foundation, formed in 2004 is the mechanism that enables the Naval Order to fund its projects relating to the history of all the maritime or naval services of the United States.
The Naval Order identifies and manages projects that embody fulfillment of our History, Heritage and Leadership Mission through funding from the Foundation. Although the Foundation has been very successful to date, we hope to establish a larger base, and funding sources to ensure that we are better able to effectively support future initiatives. Our approach has been to attract the interest of prospective donors in the philanthropic community that would be inclined to offer monetary support to the Naval Order through its Foundation for approved projects. We hope to complement this past practice by improving our ability to attract funding for the Foundation in advance and on a recurring basis and often before specific projects have been identified. We believe that this will significantly improve our credibility and ability to serve the Naval Order.
Past Projects That Preserve Our Naval History
The U.S. Navy Monument on Utah Beach, Normandy, completed in 2008, commemorates the 1,068 sailors who died in the epic invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944. It is the only recognition of U. S. Navy participation in the D-Day invasion.
Along with the Naval War College, the Foundation helped finance restoration and archiving of Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz’s “Gray Book,” his diary of the war in the Pacific.
A contribution, in conjunction with other organizations to fund the production of a replacement marble cover for the grave of Midshipman Richard Sutherland Dale, USN, at St. Peter’s Church in St. George’s, Bermuda. He died in 1815 from wounds suffered in combat at sea during the War of 1812.
A contribution, in conjunction with other organizations to erect a historical marker on the Isla del Ray (Hospital Island), Mahon Harbor, the Island of Menorca, Spain that commemorates the presence of the U. S. Navy, together with the establishment of the first U. S. Naval Hospital on the Island of Menorca, between 1815 and 1845.
Award of an Envisioning History, Inc. (EH) 1-year fellowship grant to develop an academic case study on a chosen event in naval history in the 1918 to 1950 era. Following peer review by three historians, the study will be imported into the EH digitized database with appropriate tutelage to convert it to “digitized history” that can be used in conjunction with other archival material as a teaching aid to undergraduate students in better understanding naval history.
USS Barry Stern Plate was to provide a permanent display commemorating the service of the crew and the namesake of the ship ‘Father of the US Navy’ placing the USS Barry stern nameplate at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center. The former USS Barry stern nameplate was salvaged from the ship prior to it being scrapped and is on display at GLAKES Navy exchange complex.
A monument to the Battle of the Atlantic was placed in Atlantic Beach FL at the Beaches Veterans’ Memorial Park recognizing the sacrifices of the Sailors, Armed Guard and Merchant Marine sailors during WWII Convoy operations.
Past Projects That Commemorate Our Naval History
A bronze statue of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz was installed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii adjacent to the Battleship Missouri Memorial facing toward the USS Arizona Memorial, which together represent the beginning and end of U.S. involvement in World War II.
A modest financial contribution was made in support of the 2015 visits to U.S. and Canadian ports by the French replica sailing ship Hermione. The namesake ship carried the Marquis de Lafayette to America in 1780 to join Washington’s military leadership in the American Revolution.
A “wayside marker” was erected in Washington, D.C. to honor and inform the public of Commodore John Barry, a father of the American Navy.
Ongoing Projects
We are pursuing the commissioning of a statue of Chief John Finn who was awarded the Medal of Honor as the result of his actions during the 7 December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor: the first recipient of this award in World War II. This statue will be located in a prominent site at Pearl Harbor. There are other worthy projects under consideration that are at earlier planning stages. We encourage companions and others to ensure that the Naval Order Foundation is near or at the top of their charitable giving priority list to enable us to support the efforts of many volunteer Naval Order members who are working very hard on our behalf to keep naval history in the forefront of our daily lives.
National History Day®(NHD) is a non-profit education organization based in College Park, Maryland. NHD sponsors the National History Day Contest that encourages more than half a million students around the world to conduct historical research on a topic of their choice. The Naval Order of the United States supports this program through its individual Commanderies. It seeks to encourage historical research in the areas of maritime, naval and Marine Corps history. The Naval Order also sponsors a separate internal program which recognizes the best presentation from among the Commandery Groups participating with Local commandery, State competition, and National NOUS Awards. Contact a local Commandery for more information.
Donating to the Naval Order Foundation
Naval Order companions (members) provide a large part of our funding base. The Naval Order’s Registrar General reminds companions about the Foundation in all correspondence, and many make donations when paying their membership fees or validating our membership database. We also encourage companions to contribute to the Foundation at the end of the calendar year as tax liabilities become clearer.
However, we believe that the most effective approach is to encourage support for the Foundation in conjunction with planned contributions to organizations that address causes that our companions believe in and wish to encourage with their support. We urge our companions and others to invest in naval history through the Naval Order Foundation when they are making planned contributions throughout the year, or in their estate planning.
If you would like more information or would like to donate to the Naval Order Foundation, please send your tax deductible contributions to:
Naval Order Foundation
Attn: Mr. Mark Sneddon
7847 Inca Road
Larkspur, CO 80118
*Please indicate "unrestricted", which means for any project or need, for National History Day or one or more projects of your choice.
SEE ALSO: (PDF Download) Tax Deduction Opportunity for 2024
Home • Leadership Lessons • Who We Are • Donate • Contact