In the last two years, generous Americans answering appeals to help wounded and paralyzed veterans have given more than $464 million to charities that have been given an F in a new report card from a leading charity watchdog group.
Of the 27 military and veterans' charities reviewed by Borochoff's group, 13 were rated F, including the Amvets National Service Foundation, the Army Emergency Relief Fund, Freedom Alliance, the National Veterans Services Fund, the Military Order of the Purple Heart Services Foundation and the Paralyzed Veterans of America.
But it has meant six-figure salaries and prosperous lifestyles for some of the people running the F-rated charities.
As the founder of a charity called Help Hospitalized Veterans, which distributes craft kits to veterans' hospitals, Roger Chapin of San Diego pays himself and his wife more than half a million dollars a year in salary.
But according to their analysis, the American Institute of Philanthropy says of the $70 million Help Hospitalized Veterans took in last year, only 31 percent went to the actual charitable cause. The rest was mainly overhead and fundraising costs, meaning a grade of F.
I have benefitted from craft kits. When I was at the VA Dom, I musta put together a hundred of them. I got into the leather kits - moccasins, wallets, checkbook covers, and so on and so on. They were a wonderful way to pass the time and everybody did some kind of craft kit. There were all kinds of them. The hospital had a room stacked floor to ceiling with them.
I got an appeal from that outfit, and knowing what craft kits mean to hospitalized Vets, I sent in the suggested donation, about twenty bucks, and was glad to do it. In many of the kits I did, there was a prepaid postcard with the donor's name and address which you were supposed to send back by way of thanks, which I did. Not all the kits had them.
What made me a little suspicious of this 'charity' was that I got one of those cards back almost immediately, like someone in their office sent it. After reading the above article, I think that was probably the case. Instant gratification so you'll feel like sending more. The VA has so many kits on hand, at least where I was, that it should have taken months, if not years, for that kit to filter down through the system.
I now get fancier and bulkier appeals from HHV. They seem to have a pretty good budget to try to mine my wallet. I haven't sent them any more money and the hole in my lip has healed up.
I think craft kits for hospitalized Vets is a good idea from my own experience, but there must be a better way to get the kits to them than by lining the pockets of some CEO.
A footnote:
Iraq War veteran Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, told ABC News veterans deserve more.
"Veterans are not a place to make a buck. Veterans have served our country and have put their butts on the line, and they need these organizations to care for them when they come home," he said. "So if you're not serious about being in the business of helping veterans, go find something else to do."
And Rieckhoff encouraged all donors "to give but to think long and hard about it, and do a little research and find out who you're giving to so that you know your money's being used appropriately."
Hear, hear.
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