So where did that $5.6 million for "veterans" that Trump raised actually go?
Here is the list of organizations that the $5.6 million raised by Donald Trump when he blew off the candidate debate on Fox and did his fundraiser instead. They are accompanied by my notes on the groups after I researched them, including connections to golfing events where Trump may have a connection:
22Kill: $200,000 (Their 501(c) determination ruling was made in 2015 so they haven't had to file a Form 990 yet. Their stated purpose is to work to prevent veteran suicides, which average 22 per day.)
Achilles International: $200,000 (The word veteran doesn't appear in their mission statement which reads, "Enable people with disabilities to participate in mainstream athletic activities." Charity Navigator gives them a rating of only 77 for Accountability and Transparency. They held a golf fundraiser at Trump's in Boca Raton in 2008.)
American Hero Adventures: $100,000 (Their 2013 Form 990 makes it clear this is a small nonprofit and it looks totally legitimate. I'm so impressed by what they're doing, I might even volunteer to do their tax returns in the future.)
Americans for Equal Living: $100,000 (This is an organization that was just granted non-profit status by the IRS in September of 2015)
Americans Vet Dogs, Veteran Kanine Core Inc.: $75,000 (Their 2014 Form 990 showed that over 25% of their total expenses that year went for salaries and benefits for their CEO, CFO and Director of Administration. The CEO over $300,000 in salary and benefits in a year where the total amount spent by the "charity" was $2.1 million. They appear to hold an annual golf fundraising event.)
AmVets: $75,000 (AmVets has a long history of service to veterans and the nation at large. They hold golf tournaments to raise funds.)
Armed Services YMCA: $75,000 (Charity Navigator, one of the best at rating non profits, gives this organization 93.9 out of 100 as a rating and 100% for accounting and transparency. If only every non profit was run like this one. They do hold golf tournament fundraisers.)
Bob Woodruff Family Foundation: $75,000 (Not rated by Charity Navigator, but their Form 990s look very "clean" and their expenses are well within the norm for a non profit.)
Central Iowa Shelter and Services: $100,000 (Not rated by Charity Navigator and a clean Form 990. But it should be noted that this is not a charity dedicated to serving veterans, although one of their four programs is for transitional housing for veterans. I'd love to know if the funds donated through Trump's fundraising to this charity were restricted solely to the transitional housing activity. Oh, and they are going to host their first ever golf fundraiser)
Connected Warriors: $75,000 (a small non profit that provides healing yoga classes to veterans and their families.)
Disabled American Veterans Charitable Service: $115,000 (Rated 92.68 by Charity Navigator and 100% for accountability and transparency. Disclaimer: I am a member of DAV, the parent organization of this charity.)
Fisher House Foundation: $115,000 (Don't even need to look at their financials or tax returns. Charity Navigator gives them an overall rating of 96.87. I see their wonderful work every time I go to the West Los Angeles VA and drive by their facility there to house the families of veterans who are being treated at the West LA VA Medical Center as inpatients.)
Folds of Honor Foundation: $200,000 (Another non profit focused on educating the children of fallen veterans. The founder is a former USAF fighter pilot and PGA member and they hold golf fundraisers)
Foundation of American Vets: $75,000 (Another non profit that Charity Navigator can't rate because it is a 501 (c) (19) rather than a 501 (c) (3). Their Form 990 for 2014 shows they raised and spent just over $8 million. But $3.4 million was spent on professional fundraising services and another $1.7 million was spent on "billing/collectors and other fundraising expenses. If they were eligible for a rating, it would be low. Another charity watchdog, Charity Watch, gave this one an F rating.)
Freedom Alliance: $75,000 (Charity Navigator rates this organization at 82.88 overall and 77.15 in financial matters. They also point out that this charity spend less than 60% of its revenues on actual programs and services. Their mission statement makes it clear they are not strictly engaged in benefiting veterans and it begins, "Our mission is to advance the American heritage of freedom by honoring and encouraging military service, defending the sovereignty of the United States and promoting a strong national defense." BTW, the organization's founder was Oliver North and they do hold golf fundraisers.)
Green Beret Foundation: $350,000 (Again, not eligible for a Charity Navigator rating. But the 2014 Form 990 shows that of the $1.66 million spent by the organization that year, only $360,353 or 21.6% was spent on grants/assistance. They spent nearly that amount on travel and conference expenses for the foundation employees and directors. And yes, they have golf tournament fundraisers.)
Hire Heroes USA: $75,000 (Charity Navigator rating of 97.44. This charity helps veterans and their spouses find employment after military service. They are a great charity. They have used golf fundraisers in the past.)
Homes for Our Troops: $50,000 (Charity Navigator rating of 94.64. Great charity that provides homes to the most severely wounded veterans and then continues to support them once they are in those homes.)
Honoring America’s Warriors: $100,000 (Until this donation this charity did not have to file a Form 990 because its income was below $50,000)
Hope for the Warriors: $65,000 (Charity Navigator rating of 95.35. They have a golf tournament.)
Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund: $175,000 (While they don't have a rating from Charity Navigator due to "...a nontraditional business model" I see nothing untoward in their financials.)
K9s for Warriors: $50,000 (No Charity Navigator rating. I looked at several Form 990s and while salaries and non-program expenses aren't egregious, something seems off. They received grants of more than $5 million over the past two years, most of it in the most recent year. But they spent only 40% or so of what they raised. Maybe they are building up a surplus for a big project?)
Liberty House: $100,000 (No Charity Navigator rating but their financials make it clear this is a small charity truly dedicated to housing homeless veterans. I'd donate to them myself.)
Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation: $100,000 + $1 million from Trump (Charity Navigator doesn't rate this charity because of what it calls "nontrivial expenses." Their Form 990s for 2014 and 2013 show that they engaged in fundraising events where nearly 50% of the money raised went for direct expenses. Seems high. They hold a number of golf fundraisers.
Navy Seal Foundation: $465,000 (Charity Navigator gives them a 100 rating. Good enough for me.)
Navy Marine Corps Relief Society: $75,000 (Charity Navigator rating of 96.38. I'm very familiar with this charity and they are a great resource for military personnel.)
New England Wounded Vets: $75,000 (a new charity and too small to be rated by Charity Navigator. But their one Form 990 looks very clean.)
Operation Homefront: $65,000 (Charity Navigator rating of 97.17 and very clean financials.)
Partners for Patriots: $100,000 (No Charity Navigator rating as they indicate the non profit isn't required to file the 990. They last filed a 990-EZ in 2012.)
Puppy Jake Foundation: $100,000 (too small for Charity Navigator to rate, seems to have a worthwhile purpose, but they spent only 1/3 of their 2014 revenues on program expenses.)
Racing for Heroes: $200,000 (too small for Charity Navigator to rate, has a worthwhile purpose and they spent almost everything they raise on their programs)
Support Souixland Soldiers: $100,000 (very small charity with clean financials)
Taskforce Dagger: $50,000 (No Charity Navigator rating because they haven't filed seven years of Form 990s yet. Their 2014 Form 990 shows almost all money raised was spent on their non profit programs.)
The Mission Continues: $75,000 (Charity Navigator rating of 94. But their 2014 Form 990 shows a $3.9 million surplus which seems very strange.)
The National Military Family Association: $75,000 (Charity Navigator rating of 90.81. 2014 Form 990 shows almost all of the revenue raised went to program expenses.)
Veterans Airlift Command: $100,000 (Not yet rated by Charity Navigator but based on a review of their 2014 and 2013 Form 990s, I suspect the rating would be very high.)
Veterans Count: $25,000 (This is not a National Easter Seals project, it's unique to Easter Seals of New Hampshire. It looks like the president of this non profit received a salary of more than $300,000 in 2014 and in addition received both a performance incentive bonus of more than $50,000 and a contribution of $57,500 to his retirement plan paid by the non profit. Seems excessive.
Veterans In Command: $150,000 (No Charity Navigator rating, no Form 990. Can't evaluate.)
Vietnam Veterans Workshop: $75,000 (Charity Navigator rating of 91.49. 2014 Form 990 looks good.)
Warriors for Freedom Foundation: $50,000 (Too small to be rated by Charity Navigator, 2014 Form 990 shows 86% of revenues went to program expenses. That's a good ratio.)
So what is the takeaway? Some of these are very worthwhile charities and some seem to be less about veterans and more about other things. Most are run well and some not so well. But there's more to this than meets the eye. Mr. Trump claims he didn't want publicity for this and yet he complained he didn't get a pat on the back for his "good job." There are a number of golf connections but I don't have the resources to check if there are connections to the fundraising events of these organizations and the Trump owned golf courses. Like anything and everything else about Mr. Trump's campaign, there are distortions and contradictions.
22Kill: $200,000 (Their 501(c) determination ruling was made in 2015 so they haven't had to file a Form 990 yet. Their stated purpose is to work to prevent veteran suicides, which average 22 per day.)
Achilles International: $200,000 (The word veteran doesn't appear in their mission statement which reads, "Enable people with disabilities to participate in mainstream athletic activities." Charity Navigator gives them a rating of only 77 for Accountability and Transparency. They held a golf fundraiser at Trump's in Boca Raton in 2008.)
American Hero Adventures: $100,000 (Their 2013 Form 990 makes it clear this is a small nonprofit and it looks totally legitimate. I'm so impressed by what they're doing, I might even volunteer to do their tax returns in the future.)
Americans for Equal Living: $100,000 (This is an organization that was just granted non-profit status by the IRS in September of 2015)
Americans Vet Dogs, Veteran Kanine Core Inc.: $75,000 (Their 2014 Form 990 showed that over 25% of their total expenses that year went for salaries and benefits for their CEO, CFO and Director of Administration. The CEO over $300,000 in salary and benefits in a year where the total amount spent by the "charity" was $2.1 million. They appear to hold an annual golf fundraising event.)
AmVets: $75,000 (AmVets has a long history of service to veterans and the nation at large. They hold golf tournaments to raise funds.)
Armed Services YMCA: $75,000 (Charity Navigator, one of the best at rating non profits, gives this organization 93.9 out of 100 as a rating and 100% for accounting and transparency. If only every non profit was run like this one. They do hold golf tournament fundraisers.)
Bob Woodruff Family Foundation: $75,000 (Not rated by Charity Navigator, but their Form 990s look very "clean" and their expenses are well within the norm for a non profit.)
Central Iowa Shelter and Services: $100,000 (Not rated by Charity Navigator and a clean Form 990. But it should be noted that this is not a charity dedicated to serving veterans, although one of their four programs is for transitional housing for veterans. I'd love to know if the funds donated through Trump's fundraising to this charity were restricted solely to the transitional housing activity. Oh, and they are going to host their first ever golf fundraiser)
Connected Warriors: $75,000 (a small non profit that provides healing yoga classes to veterans and their families.)
Disabled American Veterans Charitable Service: $115,000 (Rated 92.68 by Charity Navigator and 100% for accountability and transparency. Disclaimer: I am a member of DAV, the parent organization of this charity.)
Fisher House Foundation: $115,000 (Don't even need to look at their financials or tax returns. Charity Navigator gives them an overall rating of 96.87. I see their wonderful work every time I go to the West Los Angeles VA and drive by their facility there to house the families of veterans who are being treated at the West LA VA Medical Center as inpatients.)
Folds of Honor Foundation: $200,000 (Another non profit focused on educating the children of fallen veterans. The founder is a former USAF fighter pilot and PGA member and they hold golf fundraisers)
Foundation of American Vets: $75,000 (Another non profit that Charity Navigator can't rate because it is a 501 (c) (19) rather than a 501 (c) (3). Their Form 990 for 2014 shows they raised and spent just over $8 million. But $3.4 million was spent on professional fundraising services and another $1.7 million was spent on "billing/collectors and other fundraising expenses. If they were eligible for a rating, it would be low. Another charity watchdog, Charity Watch, gave this one an F rating.)
Freedom Alliance: $75,000 (Charity Navigator rates this organization at 82.88 overall and 77.15 in financial matters. They also point out that this charity spend less than 60% of its revenues on actual programs and services. Their mission statement makes it clear they are not strictly engaged in benefiting veterans and it begins, "Our mission is to advance the American heritage of freedom by honoring and encouraging military service, defending the sovereignty of the United States and promoting a strong national defense." BTW, the organization's founder was Oliver North and they do hold golf fundraisers.)
Green Beret Foundation: $350,000 (Again, not eligible for a Charity Navigator rating. But the 2014 Form 990 shows that of the $1.66 million spent by the organization that year, only $360,353 or 21.6% was spent on grants/assistance. They spent nearly that amount on travel and conference expenses for the foundation employees and directors. And yes, they have golf tournament fundraisers.)
Hire Heroes USA: $75,000 (Charity Navigator rating of 97.44. This charity helps veterans and their spouses find employment after military service. They are a great charity. They have used golf fundraisers in the past.)
Homes for Our Troops: $50,000 (Charity Navigator rating of 94.64. Great charity that provides homes to the most severely wounded veterans and then continues to support them once they are in those homes.)
Honoring America’s Warriors: $100,000 (Until this donation this charity did not have to file a Form 990 because its income was below $50,000)
Hope for the Warriors: $65,000 (Charity Navigator rating of 95.35. They have a golf tournament.)
Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund: $175,000 (While they don't have a rating from Charity Navigator due to "...a nontraditional business model" I see nothing untoward in their financials.)
K9s for Warriors: $50,000 (No Charity Navigator rating. I looked at several Form 990s and while salaries and non-program expenses aren't egregious, something seems off. They received grants of more than $5 million over the past two years, most of it in the most recent year. But they spent only 40% or so of what they raised. Maybe they are building up a surplus for a big project?)
Liberty House: $100,000 (No Charity Navigator rating but their financials make it clear this is a small charity truly dedicated to housing homeless veterans. I'd donate to them myself.)
Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation: $100,000 + $1 million from Trump (Charity Navigator doesn't rate this charity because of what it calls "nontrivial expenses." Their Form 990s for 2014 and 2013 show that they engaged in fundraising events where nearly 50% of the money raised went for direct expenses. Seems high. They hold a number of golf fundraisers.
Navy Seal Foundation: $465,000 (Charity Navigator gives them a 100 rating. Good enough for me.)
Navy Marine Corps Relief Society: $75,000 (Charity Navigator rating of 96.38. I'm very familiar with this charity and they are a great resource for military personnel.)
New England Wounded Vets: $75,000 (a new charity and too small to be rated by Charity Navigator. But their one Form 990 looks very clean.)
Operation Homefront: $65,000 (Charity Navigator rating of 97.17 and very clean financials.)
Partners for Patriots: $100,000 (No Charity Navigator rating as they indicate the non profit isn't required to file the 990. They last filed a 990-EZ in 2012.)
Puppy Jake Foundation: $100,000 (too small for Charity Navigator to rate, seems to have a worthwhile purpose, but they spent only 1/3 of their 2014 revenues on program expenses.)
Racing for Heroes: $200,000 (too small for Charity Navigator to rate, has a worthwhile purpose and they spent almost everything they raise on their programs)
Support Souixland Soldiers: $100,000 (very small charity with clean financials)
Taskforce Dagger: $50,000 (No Charity Navigator rating because they haven't filed seven years of Form 990s yet. Their 2014 Form 990 shows almost all money raised was spent on their non profit programs.)
The Mission Continues: $75,000 (Charity Navigator rating of 94. But their 2014 Form 990 shows a $3.9 million surplus which seems very strange.)
The National Military Family Association: $75,000 (Charity Navigator rating of 90.81. 2014 Form 990 shows almost all of the revenue raised went to program expenses.)
Veterans Airlift Command: $100,000 (Not yet rated by Charity Navigator but based on a review of their 2014 and 2013 Form 990s, I suspect the rating would be very high.)
Veterans Count: $25,000 (This is not a National Easter Seals project, it's unique to Easter Seals of New Hampshire. It looks like the president of this non profit received a salary of more than $300,000 in 2014 and in addition received both a performance incentive bonus of more than $50,000 and a contribution of $57,500 to his retirement plan paid by the non profit. Seems excessive.
Veterans In Command: $150,000 (No Charity Navigator rating, no Form 990. Can't evaluate.)
Vietnam Veterans Workshop: $75,000 (Charity Navigator rating of 91.49. 2014 Form 990 looks good.)
Warriors for Freedom Foundation: $50,000 (Too small to be rated by Charity Navigator, 2014 Form 990 shows 86% of revenues went to program expenses. That's a good ratio.)
So what is the takeaway? Some of these are very worthwhile charities and some seem to be less about veterans and more about other things. Most are run well and some not so well. But there's more to this than meets the eye. Mr. Trump claims he didn't want publicity for this and yet he complained he didn't get a pat on the back for his "good job." There are a number of golf connections but I don't have the resources to check if there are connections to the fundraising events of these organizations and the Trump owned golf courses. Like anything and everything else about Mr. Trump's campaign, there are distortions and contradictions.
posted by me at 10:35 AM
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