Veteran Charity Watch Update – Donating Wisely

We all would like to help out vet.  In doing so it is prudent to know how your donation is being used so it can have the greatest impact. There are a multitude of veteran charities seeking you donation.  Some national ones have salaried employees that make higher salaries than the U.S. President. Some of these same charities are well supported by large corporations.  There are several charities that did good work with low costs for overhead until they hired a company to expand and advertise their charitable activities.  In some cases, they only realized 10% of the monies raised by these companies.  Veteran charities that that are run by Veterans and those that do things locally for Veterans and their families are often one's best bet for obtaining the most impact with their lower overhead.  If in doubt on where to make your donation you can refer to several websites that rate charities and the percentages that go into charitable work versus overhead. Here are a few:

1.  Charity Navigator - America's Largest Charity Evaluator at  http://www.charitynavigator.org.  Provides free ratings of the Financial Health and Accountability & Transparency of thousands of charities.  You can find  Alphabetical Listings, Top Ten Lists, 10 Charities Overpaying their employees, etc.

2. American Institute of Philanthropy CharityWatch Top-Rated Charities at www.charitywatch.org/toprated.html.  This is a nonprofit charity watchdog organization that helps donors make informed giving decisions.

3.  National BBB Charity Reviews, Ratings and Guides at http://www.bbb.org/charity-reviews/national.  Find information and reviews about charities and nonprofit organizations in National within the Better Business Bureau's Charity and Donor Information Center.

4.  The Christian Science Monitor's America's Top 50 charities: How well do they rate at http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Guide-to-Giving/America-s-Top-50-charities-How-well-do-they-rate.  

5.  GiveWell: Charity Reviews and Recommendations at http://www.givewell.org. In-depth charity research. Evidence-backed and thoroughly vetted.

6.  Your Money - MSN Money - Highest-rated charities in America at http://finances.msn.com/saving-money-advice/6889863.  You want your donation to go to the right organization, so here are some top places to consider according to charity-rating website Charity.

7.  New Charity Navigator Rating System Has Nonprofits Scrambling at http://philanthropy.com/article/New-Charity-Navigator-Rating/141427/. 

8. Charity Donations | Vetting Charities - Consumer Reports at http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2012/12/make-sure-your-donation-counts/index.htm.  Need help finding the best charities to give your donations? Consumer Reports has information on how to find charity ratings from the top three charity watchdogs

9.  NPR’s Charity Watchdog Shakes Up Ratings To Focus On Results at http://www.npr.org/2013/10/22/236392607/charity-watchdog-shakes-up-ratings-to-focus-on-results

[Source:  VFW Post 3848 | Lou Rothenstein | 17 Dec 2013]