Disabled American Veterans Charity Rating

What Are The Best Charities For Veterans

So what is the best charity for Veterans? Well, determining the best charity for a Veteran will vary by person. This is because there is a wide range of causes and ways to get involved. The best way to find the charity that is right for you is to find a cause that you can relate to or something that your skillset can help advance. Without further ado, check out this list of military charities that can help you find interesting ways to give back to Vets.

Disabled Veterans National Foundation

The Disabled Veterans National Foundation is an American registered charity that provides service for disabled veterans. Founded in 2007, the organization is based in Lanham, Maryland.

Schedule A Amvets Clothing Donation Toy Donation Or Household Item Donation Pick Up

Schedule your charitable AMVETS donation pickup for an AMVETS Thrift Store in a community near you. You can schedule a free AMVETS donation pickup for the time and place that is most convenient. The charity is responsible for leaving you a tax deduction receipt upon your AMVETS clothes donation pick up.

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Hope For The Warriors

There are key differences between the life of a military member and that of a civilian. Military lifestyles can be affected in many ways, some obvious and others not-so-obvious, so when its time to help Veterans transition into civilian life, some may need help. Hope For The Warriors provides Veterans with help transitioning into civilian life through various programs. The volunteers can also help Veterans through health and wellness activities as well as sports and recreation. Hope For The Warriors is one of the best charities for Veterans to volunteer at who enjoy an active lifestyle.

CharityWatch Program Percentage: 86%

Make Sure Your Money Goes To A Good Place

Some of these fraudulent organizations have solicitation down to an art. They know the exact words to say to get the best response. But technology is now good enough that you can put the power in your hands. You control your checkbook. So take a moment and review the organization before you write a check. Make sure you understand the organizations mission, how much of their money goes to the mission, and that you agree with both of these.

As we mentioned earlier, there are dozens of great charitable organizations that support the military and veteran communities. Here is a list of veterans service organizations, along with some organizations we have covered in more depth on our site:

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Are They Registered With The State And Federal Governments

All legitimate charities should be registered with the state and the federal government. Use a search engine to look for your state + charity list. That link will take you to Illinois, where I live. Just change the state to your state and verify the charity is listed with your state attorney generals office, or another regulatory office .

Charities should also be listed as 501 non-profit organizations by the government. They must meet certain requirements to be listed as a charity with the IRS by law.

The Fisher House Foundation

When Veterans require healthcare and need to travel, housing becomes a serious issue. The cost of lodging and the logistics that come with finding housing near a healthcare facility are the last things a family of a Veteran should have to worry about. This is where the Fisher House Foundation comes in. Located near military and VA health centers all over the world, Veterans and their families are provided free comfort homes near their healthcare facilities. Meals are not provided however, they are sometimes given through the generosity of volunteers. The foundation also helps through its Hero Miles program and Hotels for Heroes program, which provide airline miles and hotel accommodations for those traveling.

CharityWatch Program Percentage: 91%

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The Midwest Shelter For Homeless Veterans

The MSHV serves as one of the best charities for homeless Veterans. Its mission is to provide Veterans with the tools to reestablish their self-sufficiency. The program aims to provide employment, eliminate homelessness, and address the poverty-based and mental health issues that often surround such cases. Charity Navigator confirms that this non-profit is a great organization to contribute to and volunteer for, holding a financial rating of 82.68 out of 100.

Charity Navigator Rating: 83%

Dav Charitable Service Trust Receives 4

Organized in 1986, the DAV Charitable Service Trust is dedicated to one single purpose: empowering veterans to lead high-quality lives with respect and dignity.

In an effort to fulfill that purpose, the Trust awards grants to nonprofit organizations with programs that benefit service members of every era. Through financial assistance grants, the Trust carries out its mission by supporting: programs ensuring quality health care for veterans assistance to veterans suffering from PTSD, TBI, military sexual trauma, substance-abuse issues, and related conditions programs enhancing mobility for veterans with amputations, spinal cord injuries, and other physical afflictions and additional initiatives addressing the needs of veterans and their caregivers or families.

The Trust recently received the coveted 4-star rating from Charity Navigator for sound fiscal management and commitment to accountability and transparency, and its second consecutive perfect overall score. This marks the 16th time the Trust has received the highest rating from Americas largest independent charity evaluator since first being evaluated in 2002.

To learn more about DAVs Charitable Service Trust, go to cst.dav.org.

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Follow The Money: Beware Of Groups That Pass Your Donations To Inefficient Charities

Say that you hear on a news report that a veterans charity has a program percentage of 96%. You think, Wow, Im going to donate $50 because almost all of it will be used for the needs of veterans, and so without further thought, you go ahead and make a $50 donation that day. It turns out, though, that instead of about $48 of your $50 going to veterans services, only about $25 was used for such programs. If the charity really spends 96% on programs, how is that possible?

A charitys reported program percentage can sometimes vary greatly from the portion of donor funds that actually end up being used directly for charitable services, and that is very much the case with Disabled American Veterans Charitable Service Trust . CBS News referenced that the Trust spends 96 percent of its budget on vets when it was comparing some veterans charity program ratios as part of its coverage in early 2016 concerning accusations that the popular Wounded Warrior Project was wasting donations on lavish spending. The Trust did in fact spend 96% of its budget on grants to veterans organizations, according to its 2014 IRS Form 990 filing, but comparing the Trusts program spending to that of WWP was rather unfair given that WWP operates its own veterans service programs and the Trust does not.

Tragedy Assistance Program For Survivors

Though the service is available to anyone, Veterans who have experienced loss due to the death of someone while in the military can call TAPS for support. The phone line is available 24/7, and there are tons of resources and programs available, such as specialized support for children, men, women, young adults, and more. If you are in need of survivor support or know someone who can benefit from the service, TAPS is there to provide many different services and support you after a loss.

CharityWatch Program Percentage: 83%

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The List: Ten Of The Best Charities In 2018

Support our veterans by giving to the very best charities that focus on immediate and direct aid, as opposed to fundraising endeavors.

To take out the guesswork for you, we have compiled a list of the top ten charities that support veterans. Browse through and take your pick, with full confidence that your money will be rightfully used to help those in need.

Settlement With New York Attorney General

New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman signed a settlement with DVNF and its professional fundraising consultants on June 30, 2014. The settlement included fines that the state attorney general called the “largest amount of financial relief ever obtained for deceptive charitable fundraising,” and was widely covered in the news media. One consulting firm, Quadriga Art LLC, paid $9.7 million in damages, and another, Convergence Direct Marketing, paid $300,000. Quadriga also agreed to pay restitution to DVNF in the form of nearly $13.8 million in debt forgiveness. For its part, DVNF agreed to replace most of its fundraising consultants, to recruit new board members, and to prevent misrepresentations in future fundraising solicitations.

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Disabled American Veterans Vs Wounded Warriors Project

Hours of web searches indicate that DAV is the best place to spend your donations for veterans.

Wounded Warriors Project makes a WHOLE lot more money and provides more money to the veterans, BUT it is at a high price. Think about it! You see ads from movie stars, country and western singers, etc., that ask for your support. That costs a lot of $$$.

On the other side of the coin, we have DAV , who have been around a lot longer than the WWP. They bring in a lot less money than the WWP, but they make MUCH better use of it! Some sources report a veteran will see 58 percent of a WWP donation, while 97 percent of a DAV donation goes to the veteran in need.

Personally, I appreciate all the $$$ that goes to our veterans from WWP, BUT, as an individual donor, I want more of my $ going to the actual veteran, rather than administration costs.

DAV seems to have the best ratio of donations to veterans of any veteran organization.

It appears to me that the Wounded Warriors Project saw an opportunity and got on the bandwagon full force. It’s hard to ignore the stars we all recognize.

Bottom line: To maximize your personal $ donation to veterans, give to DAV and educate your friends/family as to why. Hopefully, this will GO VIRAL, and donors can best realize their purpose, and our veterans can best realize the benefits,

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About Ryan Guina

Ryan Guina is The Military Wallet’s founder. He is a writer, small business owner, and entrepreneur. He served over six years on active duty in the USAF and is a current member of the Illinois Air National Guard.

Ryan started The Military Wallet in 2007 after separating from active duty military service and has been writing about financial, small business, and military benefits topics since then. He also writes about personal finance and investing at Cash Money Life.

Ryan uses Personal Capital to track and manage his finances. Personal Capital is a free software program that allows him to track his net worth, balance his investment portfolio, track his income and expenses, and much more. You can open a free Personal Capital account here.

Featured In: Ryan’s writing has been featured in the following publications: Forbes, Military.com, US News & World Report, Yahoo Finance, Reserve & National Guard Magazine , Military Influencer Magazine, Cash Money Life, The Military Guide, USAA, Go Banking Rates, and many other publications.

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How To Verify A Military Or Veteran Charity Is Real

Advertiser Disclosure: Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the authors alone. This article may contain links from our advertisers. For more information, please see our .

There are dozens, if not hundreds of wonderful military charities dedicated to making the lives of service members, veterans, and their family members or survivors, a little brighter. Many veterans have given more than we as a nation could ever rightfully ask. And its great to be able to give back to our veteran community and show them we appreciate the sacrifices they have made.

Unfortunately, whenever money is involved the door is open for scammers to try and part you from your hard-earned money.

We dont need to cover all the scams and fraudulent military charities out there. This has been done by many sites, including this example of a man who took almost $2 million in cash as a retirement for his work and this person who bilked unsuspecting donors out of over $100 million over seven years.

Our goal is to show you how you can protect yourself when giving to military or veteran charities, and ensure that your intended recipients receive the bulk of your gift.

Highly Rated Wounded Veteran Charities

Charity Navigator Rating: Four stars

“Serving honor and need”

The Gary Sinise Foundation was established under the philanthropic direction of Gary Sinise, an actor and 40-year advocate for the nation’s military and defenders. The foundation’s outreach supported those who sacrifice to defend the United States: active duty, veterans, first responders and their families.

The foundation achieves its mission through a number of programs designed to show gratitude for these American heroes through entertainment, family support and acts of appreciation. The foundation builds specially adapted homes for severely wounded veterans, hosting daylong morale-boosting celebrations at military medical centers across the country and providing meals to veterans and their families across the country. The foundation is committed to ensuring veterans’ sacrifices are never forgotten.

Charity Navigator Rating: Four stars plus Impact

“Serving those who preserve our freedom”

The Semper Fi Fund was founded by a dedicated group of military spouses at Camp Pendleton, California, in 2003. The fund provides direct financial assistance and vital programming for combat wounded, critically ill and catastrophically injured service members and their families during hospitalization and recovery.

Charity Navigator Rating: Four stars plus Impact

“Providing support and assistance to the U.S. military’s special operations community”

Charity Navigator Rating: Four stars plus Impact

“Helping military families”

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How Much Of Their Money Goes To Overhead How Much Money Goes To The Mission Goal

Legitimate charities arent afraid to open their books to the public. They understand that if they are running a true charity, the vast majority of their income will go right out the door to support their cause. There are several third-party websites that monitor charities and give them a score based on how much money they spend on their mission compared to how much goes to things like overhead, fundraising, and employees. Here are a few sites to check before ever sending any money to a charity:

When researching charities on the above sites, be sure to look for a charity rating and see if there is information on how the funds are used.

What Makes Us Different From Other Veteran Charities

Rebuilding Lives is the most important aspect of our mission, therefore, we stay with our Veterans after home delivery. Homes For Our Troops provides a pro-bono financial planner for three years to assist in financial planning and household budgeting, in addition to home ownership education and warranty coverage to ensure that the Veteran is set up for long-term success as a homeowner. One staff sections sole focus is following up with our Veterans, and we also have a peer mentoring program consisting of Veterans in the HFOT program. To improve our post home delivery support, we continue to expand our network of non-profits, corporations, and government entities to provide assistance with employment, education, training, health, and other issues. We strive to provide the linkage between the Veteran and the assistance he or she needs. Other differences include a comprehensive selection process, building where the Veteran wants to live, and spending nearly 90 cents of every dollar to support the Veterans since our inception in 2004.

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These 10 Wounded Veteran Charities Have Big Impact

How do you find the best wounded veterans charities? With thousands of registered charities benefiting injured service members, veterans and their families, it can be hard to know where best to send your donation dollars.

Services like Charity Navigator, however, help donors sift through charities to find which have the best financial practices and impact. Charity Navigator uses a rating system to examine a charity’s financial health as well as accountability and transparency. Four stars is the service’s highest rating, while a “plus impact” designation means the organization has contributed an additional layer of results reporting data.

Charity Navigator recently shared a list of 10 outstanding wounded veterans charities that have been recognized for their efforts to assist injured troops and their families.

Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund

It is the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund mission statement that gives pause to readers and gives them a few moments to consider the profoundness of its wording. This compassionate charity focuses on the rarely discussed Invisible Wounds of War.

These invisible wounds refer to conditions such as PTSD and traumatic injuries to the brain and other parts of the inner body. With their candid, almost poetic mission statement, this one-of-a-kind charity states When our Servicemen and women return from the battlefield, we help them fight The War Within, by building world class, advanced treatment centers providing the best care possible.

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