'Tis the Season for giving to our favorite charities....

And some of the toughest to refuse are those that wear a 'Veteran' label. Unfortunately, too many of these organizations that cloak theyselves in the mantle of helping veterans are charlatans at best and thieves at worst. Congress has been looking into some of the scams, and are just now issuing their reports. The Washington Post (for a change) is actually printing some pretty good reports on their findings. It seems that some of these veteran's charities pass thru as little as ONE PENNY ON THE DOLLAR OF THEIR RECEIPTS! The rest goes for overhead and fundraising activities. By overhead, we mean big buck salaries for the founders and officers, and fundraising activities means paying for all those free little gizmo's and pre-printed address labels you get in the mail. A scary expensive way to try to raise money .... but not if you don't care ---- The American Institute of Philanthropy just rated 12 of the biggest 29 Veteran's charities with a BIG FAT "F"!!! Some of these are AMVETS, DAV, DVA, NCOA, Purple Heart Foundation, Paralyzed Vets and more... Some of those receiving A+ ratings: Air Force Aid, Fisher House, Navy-Marine Corps Relief. Tell you what Pardners -- why don't you look at the list I have linked here and then make wise decisions this year....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/12/AR2007121202439_pf.html