Grass-Roots Fund Raising Produces Millions for Groups That Help Troops

The conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq have inspired the creation of many new charities to help military families and

troops serving overseas. Several new groups have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in the past few years — a significant accomplishment at a time when Americans are deeply divided over the war.

What’s more, the money has been raised mostly through informal approaches. Grass-roots charities have been so focused on providing services to the troops that they are attracting gifts mainly through word of mouth, coverage in the news media, and a Department of Defense Web site that encourages donations to groups that support the military.

The Wounded Warrior Project, in Roanoke, Va., has raised one of the largest sums among the new groups: $4.8-million, says John A. Melia, a retired Marine who founded the charity in December 2003.

He credits much of the fund-raising success to the visibility of a cross-country bike ride the group has organized the previous two summers. Healthy civilians and service members who have survived war wounds ride together to call attention to the needs of people injured in battle.

Attention from the news media has also helped. Mentions of the group on the Fox News Channel program The O’Reilly Factor on Veterans Day last year directed so many people to the group’s Web site that its server shut down from overload, says Mr. Melia. Before the server broke, the charity raised $200,000 online.

The money helps pay for backpacks filled with clothes, toiletries, and entertainment for returning wounded soldiers facing long hospital stays, sports and recreation activities for wounded soldiers, and benefits counseling.

“We have a responsibility as citizens to ensure the military is taken care of,” Mr. Melia says. “The military is responsible for food, clothing, and shelter. We can make it more comfortable for these wounded guys. We can make the quality of their lives better.”

Corporate Grants

While a large portion of donations to the Wounded Warrior Project have come from people who make their gifts online, a few new charities have attracted donations from corporations.

America’s Heroes of Freedom, in Washington, received $25,000 from the Northrop Grumman Corporation, a defense contractor, to organize a holiday party for wounded soldiers and their families at the National Naval Medical Center, in Bethesda, Md.

“It makes sense to go to corporations that are making money off the military and say, ‘Are you willing to give back?’” says Susan Brewer, the charity’s founder.

However, these gifts are small when compared with corporate support for new programs at established nonprofit organizations that help service members and their families.

For example, the National Military Family Association, in Alexandria, Va., received $2.5-million over two years from Sears, some of which will be used to underwrite Operation Purple, a summer camp for children with a parent deployed overseas. A year ago, Vermont American, a tool company in Mount Prospect, Ill., pledged $1.25-million over five years to help start the Veterans of Foreign Wars Foundation’s Unmet Needs Program, which provides military families with up to $1,500 in one-time awards to cover emergency expenses.

Other charities that have long worked with the military have also been raising large sums. For example, the USO, with headquarters in Arlington, Va., raised $30.9-million last year, double the amount it received in 2001.

Part of the money raised supports two new programs for the war effort — buying telephone cards and sending care packages to troops overseas.

And the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, also in Arlington, which celebrated its 100th year in 2004, raised $10-million last year from active and retired service members to help needy Navy and Marine families.

The amount has remained steady for the past several years, says John W. Alexander, a spokesman for the group, and requests for assistance have decreased, spurred in part, he says, by a financial-management course service members are now required to take as part of their basic training.

Apolitical Appeals

Some grass-roots charities hope to achieve fund-raising successes to match their efforts in recruiting volunteers. Patti Patton-Bader, whose son joined the Army weeks before September 11, 2001, started Soldiers’ Angels, an organization in Pasadena, Calif., that has matched nearly 14,000 service members overseas with volunteers across the country who send them letters, treats, combat boots, and other items.

“If a soldier feels like he is supported and cared about, you could potentially give him that 1-percent-extra alertness that could keep him alive on guard duty,” she says. “I want to make sure these guys know how much we appreciate what they are doing.”

As of December, the group had raised $384,000, and officials are now discussing how they can raise money over the long term, such as sending a direct-mail appeal to potential supporters.

In seeking volunteers and donations, charity officials have been careful to say their work is intended to support troops and their families, not Bush administration policies toward Iraq or Afghanistan.

One group, USA Cares, in Radcliff, Ky., states on its Web site: “It is not our desire to be part of any dialogue on the correctness of what we are doing in Iraq or elsewhere. It is our desire to continue to make sure that our families know they are not alone.”

The group received a $2,000 donation from the Jupiter Democratic Club, in Florida, says Roger Stradley, the charity’s founder and an Army veteran.

“They said, ‘We are not crazy about the war, but we are crazy about our troops,’” he says.

Since its beginning in June 2003 as a local organization, USA Cares has distributed more than $680,000 in cash and products to about 1,300 military families around the country for emergency needs, such as utility bills and roof repairs.

While some groups plan to start devising sophisticated fund-raising approaches, others are not ready to expand. Many new charities are run by volunteers and do not want to take time away from providing services to the troops to focus on fund raising.

At least one charity leader, Frankie Mayo, who started Operation AC, in Bear, Del., is uncomfortable with soliciting the public and plans to continue to rely on media attention to steer donations. The charity has raised $2.6-million in gifts and products since it was created in 2003, and sends extra supplies such as air conditioners, food, and clothing to service members abroad.

“I don’t want to pester people,” she says. “I feel funny about beating on people to donate. It doesn’t feel right to me.”