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.

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Rick Berman is president of RBB Strategies and is on the Board of the RAM Veterans Foundation.