American Institute of Philanthropy Study Claims that Some Veterans Charities are Defrauding Donors

On December 2, 2008, Newsday.com reported that congressional hearings and a study by the American Institute of Philanthropy reveal that some veterans charities are defrauding contributors.  Here is an excerpt:

The [AIP] studied 29 charities for veterans and found 20 engaging in such egregious practices as high overhead costs, high-cost solicitations and huge salaries for charities’ executives, with less than a third of the donations set aside for veterans. For every dollar raised, one group gave only one penny to veterans. Another paid its top executive and his wife a combined $540,000 in salaries and benefits. Only five of the 29 charities surveyed in the watchdog report earned A-plus grades; 12 got F’s and eight had D’s.

DAB