Veterans’ Group Fund Raising Under Attack

Charities that hire fund-raising telemarketers often end up receiving very little of the money raised, reports The Boston Globe after examining the finances of a veterans’ charity.

Telemarketers promised potential donors that 100 percent of the donations made to the Veterans Charitable Foundation, in Boynton Beach, Fla., would go directly to help disabled veterans, the newspaper says.

But according to tax filings from 2002 to 2005, the charity raised $464,762 over the four years and gave just $36,000, or 7.7 percent, to programs. Most of the money went to the telemarketers.

The organization said that 100 percent of donations do go to programs, but only after accounting for fund-raising costs. The Veterans Charitable Foundation’s officials are not paid, the group told the newspaper.

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