In a discussion on another thread, Koz got me thinking about the plight of veterans. As a veteran of WWII, I share many of koz's concerns for the men and women who bear the burdens of our many wars, including the ongoing one I consider unjustified. Because my collection of return address labels from various so-called charities is sufficient to paper my walls, I have attempted lately to limit my donations to organizations purporting to benefit ex-military.
Because these various 'charities' exchange sucker lists, it soon becomes evident that it will be necessary to limit the amount of my donations or the number. I have since discovered a website which rates the thousands of charities of every description operating in this country. The Network For Good provides a service called Charity Navigator. It is interesting to note that there are 37 charities making use of the key word Veteran(s). Sadly some of the worst take advantage of the public sympathy for veterans. Firefighters, police are also favorites of fundraisers.
For example: AMVETS Program Expenses are 81.3%, Administration Expenses are 11.2%, Fundraising Expenses are 7.3%. If one makes a donation of $30.00 $24.39 goes to Progam Exps., $3.36 to Administration, $2.19 to Fundraising exps., For a total of $29.94. The Veteran Benefit is 6 cents! Charity Navigator
10 Inefficient Fundraisers Excellent charities succeed because their resources are not tied up in fundraising. They find creative ways to spend less to raise more, thereby maximizing the resources they can devote to their programs. These 10 charities are not so fortunate or efficient. They spend more than $0.50 to raise each dollar in support, making them four times less efficient than the average charity. This inefficiency forces them to devote more than 40% of their budgets to fundraising, limiting the difference they can make with your dollars.
Rank Charity Program Expenses and Professional Fundraising Fees:
1 Disabled Veterans Associations 2.3% 96.4% 2 The Committee for Missing Children 10.2% 88.1% 3 American Veterans Relief Foundation 6.4% 85.9% 4 Junior Police Academy 3.7% 84.6% 5 Firefighters Charitable Foundation 11.0% 82.8% 6 Foundation for Children with Cancer 10.3% 82.8% 7 National Children's Leukemia Foundation 14.4% 78.9% 8 Children's Charity Fund, Inc. 10.0% 78.3% 9 Wishing Well Foundation USA 12.6% 77.9% 10 American Association of the Deaf-Blind 23.8% 62
I would recommend that anyone research any charitable organization before giving them a dime. Just because there are a few unscrupulous “charities” out there please don’t let them limit what you would like to be donated to Veterans in need of assistance, just weed out the bad ones. Our Veterans still need our help.
I choose the organizations that I donate to the best to my abilities; I consider them to be good and very worthwhile.
I have recently gotten involved in a very small local organization that specifically helps Veterans in my county, in particular they help Veterans returning from a war I feel is unjust. That won’t stop me from helping those Veterans as they don’t pick the wars they fight in.
Most times I shy away from small local organizations. I got to know two of the people heading it personally over the years and know that they are very good people so I will give them a shot, but I will still keep a cautious eye out.
A couple of large organizations that I donate time and money to because I find them to serve their purpose well are:
Perhaps I'm overly suspicious of the motives of people who make a career out of collecting money from others. There are far too many tax-exempt organizations in this country - something over a million, I believe. Attach a key word to evoke the sympathy of at least a sizeable segment of the general public and a fundraiser can preside over the accumulation of considerable funds. Should we be surprised when most of the money collected ends up in the pockets of the fundraiser? In the expense of sending unwanted junk mail to millions, dimes, dollars, blankets, bags, pads and flags, and the ubiquitous return address labels? I think it is an insult to Veterans that they should need charity in this country. They were wounded or killed serving the nation that sent them into harm's way. I contend that they should never need any kind of "charity", ever.
We are allowed to add a voluntary extra contribution on our income tax return to pay for political campaigns. Wouldn't a similar one for Military Veterans Needs accomplish much more than the proliferation of so-called charities? More efficiently?
Originally posted by frankvan: They were wounded or killed serving the nation that sent them into harm's way. I contend that they should never need any kind of "charity", ever.
Technically they can walk into any Veterans Hospital and get the medical or psychological attention they need (yes I am fully aware of the issues and problems in the system but help is available), but financial assistance is another matter. Problem is many don’t seek assistance. I know this from personal experience seeing others not do it and not seeking the available assistance myself when I really needed it. You don’t need to be physically wounded to be scared emotionally.
I think your idea of a voluntary extra contribution on income tax is a great one. I would love to see that happen and unlike the box on my DMV registration paperwork that asks if I want to donate $1 to the political party of my choice I would be happy to contribute that way, unless of course the Washington burocrats get their paws into it. (And they most likely will )
I really don’t know this as “fact” as it is just an observation of mine, but it seems to me as Veterans don’t seek or want a “hand out” from anyone more than those who never served do. I am not bashing anyone who never served at all it is just what I notice around here for people struggling financially, physically, or emotionally.
I agree that there are too many charities in this country, and that the cost of sending out all that stuff in the mail is money that could be better spent someplace else. I too am suspicious of someone earning a (very good) living off of donated money. I guess in order to have a very good management core they must be paid close to market rate if they are good at their job so the charity sets and meets its goals. Big charities are “big business”.
Unfortunately poorly organized and run charities that often start out with the best intentions let the greed get the best of them or get too big too quickly and lose their course. Sometimes they just fade away, other times they become corrupt.
Attaching a key word such as “Veteran, Children Cancer”, really bugs me too when that tax exempt organization is less than desirable. It tries to feed off of empathy for their own personal financial gain and that is appalling.
I am overly suspicious too Frank, that is why I usually avoid the small local charities all together. The one I have become involved in has the best intentions. 100% of the donated money goes to the cause. The dinner they are hosting this week has no expenses. The catering hall, food, and beverages are being donated by the owner of the business. It is a very nice place that usually does upscale weddings, corporate affairs and the like. (I have to wear a suit )
The printing of the fliers (hand delivered legally) was compliments of a local print shop. The band is donating their time to perform. That was my involvement, I helped find a good band that would do this and I knew the owner of the print shop and asked if he would help, I also helped distribute the fliers.
There will be raffles of items donated and all (100%) of the money raised there and by the entry ticket price will go to the cause. It is a rather unusual arrangement. All the time and effort in putting this together is done by volunteers. The goal is to raise about 20K in this one event and I think that it will be close to being accomplished.
My cynical side whispers in my ear that sure while that is all fine and dandy will it go to their heads? I mean this small organization has so far only raised and distributed about that much money total in the couple of years of its existence and now they will raise that in one night? Sure it did take countless hours of planning and executing but will they continue to be as “upstanding” as they have been? How will they distribute the money?
I will keep a close eye out and bail the second I see anything I feel is inappropriate. If it is bad enough I will report them.
I don’t like the name of the organization at all but there is not much I can do about that. I did discuss my feelings about the name with the man who started the organization, but by that time it was too late (so he says) to change it and they had already gone through the process of getting the legalities required. The name is a pretty big issue to me and I am not really sure I can “get over it” and might not offer my assistance in the future, but I am not sure about that yet.
Posts: 4125 | Location: Long Island, New York USA | Registered: 06-03-02
I too am suspicious of someone earning a (very good) living off of donated money. I guess in order to have a very good management core they must be paid close to market rate if they are good at their job so the charity sets and meets its goals
I'm sure that's the reason they give, and it sounds reasonable. But I suspect that in many cases the only reason there is such a charity, is to provide the very lucrative employment in the first place. Doesn't it seem simple enough to get some retired business executives to donate their time to a really worthy cause. Remember the "dollar a year" men?
Phrased the way 'fuse just did, "sending a check to have it spent to send out letters asking more people to send checks" sums it up pretty well. Sometimes I think we are a nation of sheep just asking to be sheared.
"In fact," the letter claims, "the Veterans Administration has shown that it cannot meet the bare minimum of service to our veterans."
Au contraire. In Tucson and across the country, the VA has extensive programs for homeless veterans. VA does, in fact, provide hospice care for terminally ill homeless veterans, as well as services including medical, mental health, consultation, transitional housing and case management for all VA and community programs. The U.S. Postal inspector and Arizona Attorney General's Office are now investigating the U.S. Veterans Hospice Foundation.
I used to regularly receive phone calls from an organization called Safety Publications, which calls past donors on behalf of various charities -usually police, fire fighter and veterans groups- and hassle you into giving money -even if you haven’t donated in the past. I battled with them for years until I finally got to a supervisor and was able to have all of their calls stopped. What a relief! But I recognize a number of the charities they represented on the list Frank posted. No shock to me! I try to give to causes that matter to me, and if there is a local charity that provides that service, I prefer to go that route where I can actually see my dollars at work in my community, if I want to. Large national charities do good, sure, but there is so much overhead and administration, a lot of the funds get funneled out of actually helping people.
Posts: 4759 | Location: Rochester, NY, USA | Registered: 06-03-02
Large national charities do good, sure, but there is so much overhead and administration, a lot of the funds get funneled out of actually helping people.
It seems to me that the main beneficiaries of far too many so-called charities are the fundraisers. The more free junk and soliciting letters they can send out, the bigger their share. If the vet or the cop or the sick child gets less than half the funds collected should the 'charity' even exist, and clutter our mail boxes with reduced rate postage that adds to our constantly rising price of 'first class letters?? Do we need to be subsidizing the price of our own fleecing?
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