What is Everyday Heroes Like You and what projects has it funded or partnered on?
This fact-check may be outdated. Consider refreshing it to get the most current information.
Executive summary
Everyday Heroes Like You is a small U.S. nonprofit founded by Erika Frantzve (also known as Erika Kirk) that describes itself as promoting and assisting other charities and “everyday heroes,” with national programs and some international projects such as a Romanian outreach; reporting shows named programs include Johnny’s Locker, PAWS for a CAUSE and a “Romanian Angels” effort that worked with the U.S. military to support an orphanage in Constanta, Romania [1] [2] [3] [4]. Public records are sparse: charity directories list the organization and EIN but ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer shows no available Form 990 data for Everyday Heroes Like You, and some commentators have flagged fundraising practices and gaps in transparency [5] [6] [7] [8].
1. What the organization says it is and who leads it
Everyday Heroes Like You is presented as a 501(c) nonprofit founded when Erika Frantzve was a teenager to “promote and highlight the everyday heroes in our communities,” and she is repeatedly named as founder and CEO in profiles and biographical entries [1] [2] [3]. Public charity listings on GuideStar, Charity Navigator and other nonprofit platforms list the group and its EIN, signaling it is recognized as a formal entity even where detailed filings are not easily accessible in aggregated databases [6] [9] [7].
2. Core programs and domestic activities
The nonprofit has publicly described two recurring national outreach programs—Johnny’s Locker, aimed at providing material support, and PAWS for a CAUSE, which raises funds for animal rescue and humane societies—alongside product-based fundraisers such as branded “HEROES” and “PAWS for a CAUSE” straps whose proceeds are said to support those projects [2]. Local work in Arizona has included partnerships with a veterinary clinic to support an anonymous fund for families facing emergency pet surgery costs, showing a mix of physical giveaways, merchandise fundraising and local grants or sponsorships [2].
3. International projects and the Romanian Angels partnership
Reporting and archived materials cite a “Romanian Angels” project that the group says sent gifts and support to an orphanage in Constanta, Romania; EHLY’s materials and later coverage claim a joint sponsorship or delivery arrangement involving U.S. Marines to get donations to the orphanage [2] [4]. Local press and fact-checkers note the organization promoted “adopt a child” style drives—where donors purchased wishlist items to be sent to named children—and that archived webpages and flier copy tied those campaigns to the Romanian outreach [4].
4. Fundraising, transparency questions and contested narratives
Multiple sources confirm EHLY used crowdfunding platforms like GoFundMe for fundraising and that archival traces of Romanian projects are publicly available, but independent financial disclosure is limited in some databases: ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer reports no Form 990 data for Everyday Heroes Like You, prompting outside observers to point to potential accountability gaps while not alleging illegality [5] [8]. Investigative and fact-check pieces have also pushed back on social-media claims that tied the charity to trafficking or other crimes, concluding that while the group ran Romanian gift drives, there’s no evidentiary link from those projects to the sensational allegations circulating online [4].
5. How to interpret the record and outstanding unknowns
The record establishes that Everyday Heroes Like You has run branded campaigns, local animal-aid partnerships and an international “Romanian Angels” program that involved military channels to deliver aid, but public financial filings and donor-disclosure documents are not easily found in aggregated databases—an absence that independent analysts treat as a red flag for due diligence rather than proof of wrongdoing [2] [4] [8]. Sources differ: organizational profiles and interviews present active charitable work and named partnerships, while watchdog commentary emphasizes atypical fundraising channels and urges scrutiny; reporting to date does not substantiate trafficking claims but does document fundraising methods and inconsistent public accounting [2] [4] [8].