Dr. Smith: Thank you for this enlightening post. This demonstrates the miracle
of the internet. I have such sympathy for paralized vets that I never thought an
agency helping them could be no good! I dealt briefly with Soldiers' Angels
and something didn't feel right, so I drifted away. It too has a failing
rateing on your list. Now I'm a conservative, so my fur rises a bit just
reading the names of the sources of the information! }:-) But sometimes one has
to take oneself with a large grain of salt! This list is very useful. And I
thank you for it. I am saving the post. :-D Anne M.

Dr. Bill Smith wrote:
> Beware the Paralized Veterans of America received an F Rating. 
Read the following which is also posted at http://arkansasgopw ing.blogspot.
com/2007/ 12/caution- some-alleged- veteran-charitie s.html
>  
> Dr. Bill Smith, ARRA Editor: Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame
on me!  Some veterans charities stiff vets , I learned about non-profits formed
to support veterans and their families who in fact are not receiving the money.
As a 22 year military veteran, I admit I was angry when I check the list and
found I was supporting certain of these agencies. Please save and share the
following information and check out which veterans support agencies are truly
helping our veterans. First, consider the following MSNBC report Studies fault
charities for veterans
> One egregious example, Borochoff said, is Help Hospitalized Veterans, which
was founded in 1971 by Roger Chapin, a veteran of the Army Finance Corps and a
San Diego real estate developer. The charity, which provides therapeutic arts
and crafts kits to hospitalized veterans, reported income of $71.3 million last
year and spent about one-third of that money on charitable work , the
philanthropy institute said. In its tax filings, Help Hospitalized Veterans
reported paying more than $4 million to direct-mail fundraising consultants. The
group also has run television advertisements featuring actor Sam Waterston, game
show host Pat Sajak and other celebrities. Chapin, 75, the charity's president,
received $426,434 in salary and benefits in the past fiscal year, according to a
filing with the Internal Revenue Service. His wife, Elizabeth, 73, received
$113,623 in salary and benefits as "newsletter editor," the Post's review of the
tax filing showed. Chapin
and other leaders of Help Hospitalized Veterans did not return calls for
comment. But the charity e-mailed a statement stating that it is among "the
finest veterans' charities this nation has to offer." The statement also said
its "fundraising expenses, accounting methods, and executive salaries are
comparable to other nonprofits in this field." Next, The Washington Post in an
article - "How They Fared" identified that the American Institute of
Philanthropy, a leading charity watchdog , issued a report card this month for
29 veterans and military charities. Letter grades were based largely on the
charities' fundraising costs and the percentage of money raised that was spent
on charitable activities . The charities that received D or F grades are in bold
black type and those with grades of A are in red and should be considered as
nonprofits serving our veterans and their families:
> Air Force Aid Society (A+) American Ex-Prisoners of War Service Foundation
(F) American Veterans Coalition (F) American Veterans Relief Foundation (F)
AMVETS National Service Foundation (F) Armed Services YMCA of the USA (A-) Army
Emergency Relief (A+) Blinded Veterans Association (D) Disabled American
Veterans (D) Disabled Veterans Association (F) Fisher House Foundation (A+)
Freedom Alliance (F) Help Hospitalized Veterans/Coalition to Salute America's
Heroes (F) Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund (A+) Military Order of the Purple Heart
Service Foundation (F) National Military Family Association (A) National
Veterans Services Fund (F) National Vietnam Veterans Committee (D) Navy-Marine
Corps Relief Society (A+) NCOA National Defense Foundation (F) Paralyzed
Veterans of America (F) Soldiers' Angels (D) United Spinal Association' s
Wounded Warrior Project (D) USO (United Service Organization) (C+) Veterans of
Foreign Wars and foundation (C-) Veterans of the
Vietnam War & the Veterans Coalition (D) Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (D)
VietNow National Headquarters (F) World War II Veterans Committee (D)
> Source of article: http://arkansasgopw ing.blogspot. com/2007/ 12/caution-
some-alleged- veteran-charitie s.html
>