Politics
Warning — charities ‘for veterans’ don’t always deserve your support
This week, Americans will pause to honor the brave men and women who have served our nation in the military. And as they celebrate, many will show their support by donating to veterans’ charities.
When it comes to charitable contributions, few causes resonate as profoundly with Americans as supporting our veterans.
The proof is in the numbers: There are roughly 45,000 charities in the veteran support space, and the 100 largest raise more than $3 billion. And much of the money will undoubtedly help those vets and families in need.
But, unfortunately, millions will also be wasted.
While many of these organizations are genuinely effective, others exploit patriotic Americans’ goodwill to enrich themselves. In some cases, well-intentioned donations will end up in the hands of unscrupulous actors who will pocket most (or all of) the donations for themselves. Other charity executives may be incompetent. Though well-intentioned, they have no business running a convenience store, let alone a multimillion-dollar organization. Some with the most virtuous-sounding names perform the worst, while others are sitting on gigantic endowments instead of spending them on America’s heroes.
It’s not easy for donors to figure out whom to support.
That’s where a ratings service called Charities for Vets, provided by the RAM Veterans Foundation, comes in. It is the only online resource laser-focused on evaluating the 100 largest veteran charities. Together, these charities raise more than $3 billion every year, and some of the most virtuously sounding names perform the worst. Some are sitting on gigantic endowments instead of spending them on America’s heroes.
Others do amazing work, behaving like public servants instead of profiteers.
Now — finally! — you can tell them apart.
Unlike other rating systems, at CharitiesForVets.org, there is no averaging of performance. No one gets partial credit for being halfway virtuous. Thanks to generous donors, you get their research without a fee or subscription. No one on the senior staff or Board of Directors takes a salary. And RAM does not accept donations from any charity they grade.
RAM employs four simple and transparent grading metrics on its website. These shouldn’t be tough to pass, but 39 of the most prominent veterans charities don’t. Together, these veterans’ charities will collect more than $1 billion this year. Have you donated to one of them? Don’t feel bad, but Veterans Day is a good time to perhaps rethink or redirect your next contribution to an organization that’s hard-working and frugal and doesn’t play hide-the-ball tricks with accounting.
There are 61 of them on the website. Both the naughty and nice lists include familiar brands. The Fisher House Foundation, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, and Semper Fi & America’s Fund are among the best, keeping their overhead (staffing, office space and advertising, for instance) below 10% of their budgets. Paralyzed Veterans of America, however, spends 44% of its budget on overhead. And at the Purple Heart Foundation, 70 cents of every dollar you donate goes to the professional fundraiser who tugged on your heartstrings.
Most Americans have never heard of an IRS Form 990 (the tax return for charities), nor could they analyze the spending practices it tracks. People respond more to ads and slick mailings than to hard financial facts. Veterans can be especially sensitive to the need for donor dollars to reach the right hands.
The stakes are too high: Millions of vets struggle to live civilian lives, with anxiety, depression, and even suicide all too common among those who proudly served their country.
Given the number of veterans with acute needs, it’s all the more vital for nonprofits to act in good faith — and for donors to reward the good-faith actors. This is where third-party charity evaluators come into play. Fortunately, several charity-rating organizations aggregate information on nonprofits for givers to consider before ever donating a dime. Charity Navigator, CharityWatch and the RAM Veterans Foundation are a few.
Charities for Vets is run entirely by volunteers and donations to their organization are used instead to promote their service and connect more people to military charities that are most effective at getting contributions to the intended recipients.
Americans who have the resources, commitment and generosity to support our veterans should be applauded — and protected. Do your research and give wisely, so your decency and goodwill are not squandered.
___
Rick Berman is president of RBB Strategies and is on the Board of the RAM Veterans Foundation.
Mills was a day-one Byron Donalds backer in the gubernatorial race.
A former House Speaker and current candidate for Governor is leading the charge for Republicans as scandal swirls around a Congressman.
Saying the “evidence is mounting” against Rep. Cory Mills, Paul Renner says other candidates for Governor should “stand up and be counted” and join him in the call for Mills to leave Congress.
Renner made the call earlier this week.
But on Friday, the Palm Coast Republican doubled down.
He spotlighted fresh reporting from Roger Sollenberger alleging that Mills’ company “appears to have illegally exported weapons while he serves in Congress, including to Ukraine,” that Mills failed to disclose conflicts of interest, “tried to fistfight other Republican members of Congress, and lied about his party stature to bully other GOP candidates out of primaries that an alleged romantic interest was running in,” and lied about his conversion to Islam.
The House Ethics Committee is already probing Mills, a New Smyrna Beach Republican, over allegations of profiting from federal defense contracts while in Congress. More recently, the Committee expanded its work to review allegations that he assaulted one ex-girlfriend and threatened to share intimate photos of another.
Other candidates have been more reticent in addressing the issue, including Rep. Byron Donalds.
“When any other members have been involved and stuff like this, my advice is the same,” said Donalds, a Naples Republican. “They need to actually spend a lot more time in the district and take stock of what’s going on at home, and make that decision with their voters.”
The response came less than a year after Mills, a New Smyrna Beach Republican, spoke at the launch of Donalds’ gubernatorial campaign.
___
Staff writer Jacob Ogles contributed reporting.
Netflix’s $5.8 billion breakup fee for Warner among largest ever
Stormi Bree Hot Shots to Celebrate Her 35th Birthday!
Early voting underway for Miami Mayor’s runoff between Eileen Higgins, Emilio González
-
Politics8 years agoCongress rolls out ‘Better Deal,’ new economic agenda
-
Entertainment8 years ago
New Season 8 Walking Dead trailer flashes forward in time
-
Politics8 years ago
Poll: Virginia governor’s race in dead heat
-
Entertainment8 years ago
The final 6 ‘Game of Thrones’ episodes might feel like a full season
-
Entertainment8 years ago
Meet Superman’s grandfather in new trailer for Krypton
-
Politics8 years ago
Illinois’ financial crisis could bring the state to a halt
-
Business8 years ago
6 Stunning new co-working spaces around the globe
-
Tech8 years ago
Hulu hires Google marketing veteran Kelly Campbell as CMO