Amid a fount of veteran charities, how do donors know which to give to? How do they know which charities are actually helping veterans and which ones may be using the funds for overhead or self-promotion?
Now, there is a solution — CharitiesForVets, an organization that helps donors vet military veteran charities based on how much in donations they take in, and how much they spend on actual veteran services.
Here’s the ‘good housekeeping’ seal for veterans aid groups https://t.co/2kNOsN1ICU
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) May 15, 2023
The organization rates charities based on how much they spend on actual veteran services, according to their public tax filings.
Charities that meet a threshold of using 75% of their donations for actual veteran services are rated “recommended,” and those spending at least 85% are “highly recommended.”
Ratings of about 100 organizations can be found on its website at www.charitiesforvets.com.
“Our rating system is comparable to a Consumer Reports for veteran charities. We provide the public a free gauge to evaluate a veteran charity organization prior to donating,” its website reads.
The organization also seeks to provide other information donors could find useful, such as information on any insider relationships, offshore investments, and scandals.
The organization was founded in 2022 by RAM Veterans Foundation, named after Robert Alexander Mercer, who died on November 11, 1944, during the battle to liberate France from the Nazi occupation.
It was conceived by philanthropist Rebekah Mercer, public-relations executive Rick Berman, and financial consultant Jim Bruyette, according to a recent profile of the organization in the Washington Examiner.
The website yields interesting results. Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) is listed as a “not recommendation” charity. The website reads:
Based on its 2020 tax return, we calculate that Veterans of Foreign Wars spent 57 percent of its $89 million budget on overhead. This is higher than our recommended 25 percent overhead spending.
Meanwhile, the Gary Sinise Foundation rates as “highly recommended.”
Based on its 2019 tax return, we calculate the Gary Sinise Foundation spent 88.1 percent of its $38.9 million budget on programs and 11.9 percent on overhead. This meets our recommendation that a charity spend 75 percent of its budget on programs.
Only 50 of 99 charities analyzed met the 75% threshold.
“We are really the Consumer Reports for veterans charities,” retired Marine Col. Peter Metzger, the pro bono chairman of the CharitiesForVets Advisory Board and the officer who carried the “nuclear football” for President Ronald Reagan told the Examiner.
“We run a public information campaign that is free and available for anyone,” he said. “I spent 25 years on active duty and I want to make sure veterans get the help they deserve.”
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