Veterans Honor Flight of Southern Illinois has achieved a new record of 98.9% donation efficiency. Completely donation funded, Veterans Honor Flight and the Board of Directors have continuously worked to ensure the maximum amount of donated funds goes directly to the Veterans being honored on each Mission. In 2017, the first year of operation, Veterans Honor Flight achieved 98.5% efficiency, meaning 98.5 cents for every dollar donated was spent on direct Mission costs.
Veterans Honor Flight does not employ anyone, nor is anyone affiliated with the organization paid or compensated in any way. Every member of the board, staff, flight team, welcome home committee, and other various teams are volunteers.
“We have amazing volunteers,” Chairman of the Board Bryan Questelle said. “We could not have started, and cannot continue without those amazing volunteers. The fact that we have achieved 14 successful missions is a testament to how hard they each work.”
Veterans Honor Flight of Southern Illinois has typically flown two missions per year at a cost of approximately $115,000 each. The largest single cost is the charter aircraft which allows direct transportation from Veterans Airport of Southern Illinois in Marion to Washington Reagan National Airport near Washington DC.
“Despite the cost, we feel the Honor Flight experience is so much better for our Veterans when flying directly from and back to Southern Illinois,” Questelle said.
The Board of Directors has maintained a policy of minimizing costs wherever possible to ensure the organization does not spend any money that isn’t absolutely necessary outside of Mission expenses.
“People who donate did so to send Veterans to DC,” said Treasurer Randy Youngblood. “We wouldn’t be doing right by those donors if we did not try to spend every last dime directly on flight costs.”
Some costs are unavoidable, such as insurance, postage, and basic office supplies, according to Youngblood.
Collectively since the start of Veterans Honor Flight, 98.9 cents for every dollar donated was spent directly on Mission expenses. Missions 12 and 13 flew in 2024. Mission 13 was fully funded by the Allan & Wanda McCabe Family Foundation with a donation of over $112,000.
“Every donation matters. We have a lot of Veterans still to fly, and we want to see that happen,” Questelle said. He said it’s important to remember that each donation adds up to the final product, whether a person is donating $10 or $10,000.
If you would like to support Veterans Honor Flight, donations can be made at www.veteranshonorflight.org or any Peoples National Bank or Banterra Bank facility in Southern Illinois. All donations are tax deductible. Additionally, donations may be made in association with sponsorships, such as a wheelchair banner sponsorship ($100) which places a banner on one of the wheelchairs taken to Washington D.C. in honor or memory of a veteran or with a personal message. For additional sponsorship information, visit www.veteranshonorflight.org.
Follow Veterans Honor Flight on Facebook (www.facebook.com/veteranshonorflight) or Instagram (www.instagram.com/vethonorflight) for the latest information.
Veterans Honor Flight of Southern Illinois is a hub of the Honor Flight Network and is dedicated to the service of the veterans in Southern Illinois. Veterans Honor Flight of Southern Illinois is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization with all available donations going directly to flight costs.
