Giving well
By Patrick Kelley
Originally published 01:55 p.m., December 18, 2007
Updated 01:55 p.m., December 18, 2007
The impulse toward charity is especially strong this time of year. The approach of Christmas prompts people who are doing well to remember those who are not.
The war in Iraq and Afghanistan have added thousands of people to the latter category — badly wounded soldiers who need all the help they can get to deal with the effects of their wounds and build new lives.
Last week, the American Institute of Philanthropy, which monitors how well charities do their jobs, issued a report that indicates that many of the charities that have been established to help wounded veterans are not doing a very good job. For one charity, only one penny of every dollar donated actually reached the people it was intended to help.
In its report, the institute found that 20 of 29 charities it studied were doing a poor job of providing program services to wounded veterans. Rating the organizations on how much of the money they collected actually went to help veterans, what percentage of their budgets were spent on fundraising, how much they spent on staff salaries and other factors, the institute assigned letter grades ranging from A to F. Only seven charities received A ratings. Three of those were then downgraded — one C and two F’s — because they were sitting on large piles of cash while continuing to issue urgent appeals for donations.
In all, 12 charities were graded F and seven were graded D. The charities at the bottom of the class included some well-known names. The AMVETS National Service Foundation and the Military Order of the Purple Heart Foundation both got F’s from the institute. Disabled American Veterans was graded D.
It is important to remember that the ratings do not apply to the local chapters of national organizations. In Emporia, members of the DAV and the Military Order of the Purple Heart work tirelessly and without any compensation to support veterans and their families. Their efforts and those of other local veterans organizations are well worth supporting, with donations or volunteer time or both.
But the management of the national charities is open to question.
The institute’s complete ratings — and a transcript of its president’s testimony last week before a committee of the U.S. House — are available at the organization’s Web site, www.charitywatch.org. The site also has ratings for charities in other fields. It is a useful tool for people who want to see the money they give put to the best use.
The ratings should also be used by the charities to show them how they can better do their job — helping wounded veterans.