PatM Loc: Rocky Mount Mo.

Hi Folks,
I am a member of AMVETS. I also am the 1st Vice Comdr of Our Post. Saturday our Post donated money and participated in laying wreaths on the final resting place of Veterans at a local participating cemetery. Our Post was not the agent selling wreaths. I guess I am naive. Having watched the originator of the organization “Wreaths Across America” being interviewed on television numerous times and all the talk about all the volunteers getting and laying the wreaths I thought “what a great and honorable and patriotic thing to do. I think I will participate as well and take some photos too if I can.” And I did. We did. Many people attended. Ceremonies were participated in. Wreaths were placed. Here is my dilemma. Today I found out that the wreaths are just another fundraiser gimmick. It seems that an organization gets selected somehow to sell the wreaths in to be placed in participating cemeteries. This organization whoever it may be, sells the wreaths for $15.00 American. One third of these funds ($5.00) goes back to the organization that represents Wreaths Across America. Some are well known organizations. Some are not. I was not aware that it was to make money for local entities while others volunteer. It isn’t hidden on their web page. I did not bother to check either. I am conflicted. I would not give the money for the wreaths so that 1/3 can go to something I did not intend. It seems that the fundraising aspect is intentionally omitted from conversations of the selling orgs.
Rambling but you get the idea.
Opinions?
Over an Out

JohnM Loc: Springfield, Illinois

chase4 Loc: Punta Corona, California

Always do your homework. There are way too many nonprofits out there collecting money where very little actually goes back to the folks/causes that need it. Meanwhile the staff of these outfits are making big bucks. You might take a look at the Clinton Foundation and the Humane Society of the United States as a couple of examples of orginizations raking in the money and see where they spend and/or donate it. chase, a proud lifetime member of the VFW (where none of their officers get a paid salary)

dirtpusher Loc: tulsa oklahoma

I went to amvets pretty regular. Took home fair amount thier money in there gambling.

(Download)

tracs101 Loc: Huntington NY

Wow! Thanks for posting this!

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

Wreaths Across America was started when the Worcester Wreath Company had 30,000 more wreaths than he could sell - he drove them to DC and placed them on the graves of veterans. It was touching and sparked a lot of interest. So - he started a charity. His wife Karen is the director. They get volunteers to drive the wreaths across the country and to place the wreaths on graves. I appreciate and respect those volunteers, but...

My problem is that your $15 donation to their charity buys a wreath from the Worcester Wreath Company - NOT at the wholesale price (about half that), but at enough of a price to generate a substantial income for the company. He has spent his fortune purchasing vast areas of nearby forest land (in Washington County, Maine), which he is (in my opinion) cutting down as close to clear-cutting as he can legally get. Just look at Google Earth - at Jonesboro, Maine, and do the timeline slider...

I accused him once of putting a lot of Canadians to work rather than purchasing wreaths from the other Washington County wreath-makers, and he denied it, and swore that all of his wreaths were American-made. Maybe.

fourlocks Loc: Londonderry, NH

I'd seen this chart before and always donate to the Salvation Army, for that reason. We had a bit of a scandal a few years ago here in New Hampshire. It seemed the United Way was using far too high a percentage of their donations for their "overhead" that included hefty salaries for upper management. People don't always realize that just because an organization runs on a not-for-profit basis, it doesn't mean they can't siphon off huge amounts of money for salaries leaving little for those they're supposedly collecting the money for. Ditto for those phone calls you used to get from someone representing "The (your town's name) Policeman's Association." I always asked if the caller was a professional fund raiser and if they answered in the positive that ended the call. Today, these "scams" have moved from phones, to the internet.

Oh yeah, while Goodwill may get their product for free and charge money to sell them, they provide an environmentally-beneficial service...reuse. If they didn't provide their service, landfills would fill up sooner and more new products would have to be manufactured, using valuable resources and creating production process wastes.

Bmarsh Loc: Bellaire, MI

A lot of that chart has been proven wrong... in particular the Goodwill part. Check with Snopes.

Bridges Loc: Memphis, Charleston SC, now Nazareth PA

I have always promoted the Salvation Army as the go-to charity. I had heard in the past that 87% of each dollar goes to the end need, this article says 96%. Whatever the correct percentage it is very high in comparison to places like the Red Cross which I've seen studies that indicate only 67 to 70% gets to the end user. Thanks for this list. I hope it will boost the collections of some of these less well known charities.

PGHphoto Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

Tried posting this previously so if it duplicates, i ask forgiveness ...

For all charities - best to check them on www.charitynavigator.org . Charity Navigator uses information reported to the federal government so the accuracy is better than average without editorial comment. Remember, large charitable organizations need staff and they need to get paid but better to pay them directly rather than adding a layer like United Way which takes an administrative fee out of the donation and passes the leftovers out where they want to.

If you support United Way for a specific charity that they fund, look at cutting out the middleman and send directly to the charity of your choice.

Cootie 24 Loc: Richfield Springs , NY

At this point in time, as long as you make a donation to the cause that makes you feel proud.. that is all that counts. What things cost in the real world is not important, it is the idea and intent of your donation that is the important part of giving. As far as Wreaths Across America goes.. what is the cost of a wreath compared to the cost that Veteran made. Stop complaining and Honor those that gave so much of themselves for you!

fourlocks Loc: Londonderry, NH

So you're saying altruism is it's own reward regardless of how effective it is. I'll agree it provides emotional benefit to the donor but I'd feel even better if 100% of my donation went to the recipient I intend rather than a large percentage of it going to a wealthy CEO. I donate directly to several United Way charities such as the Upper Room and Animal Rescue League and I'd bet they prefer to get 100% of my dollar rather than 60 or 70%.

dirtpusher Loc: tulsa oklahoma

I once worked with a guy who's daughter was a secretary for Salvation Army in Kansas City. At thier main office. He said she was making around 70 thousand a year. This was back in the 1970s.

PH CIB

Just participated in Wreaths Across America in Des Moines,,,,The Problem with Many Charities is the Same Problem with our Government,,,There are very few Laws regarding Charities and in many Charities only 20 to 30 cents of the dollar goes to charity and 70 to 80 cents on the dollar goes to the fund raising company or to executive salaries,,,,a long time ago the robbers and thieves realized that they could get killed or serve long jail or prison time knocking over a gas station with a gun,,,so they got law degrees became lawyers and politicians or start up charities and now rob us legally....I am a Life Member of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, VFW, American Legion, DAV, Amvets, 173rd Airborne Association, and National Rifle Association,,,they all also constantly send mailings wanting money,,,,and in many cases they are just as bad,,, hiring a fund raising outfit that takes 70 to 80 cents on the dollar leaving only 20 or 30 cents on the dollar helping Disabled or Needy Veterans,,,want to know exactly where your money goes,,,donate and participate locally....

Bartulius Loc: Bristol, Ct

My American Legion Post donated money to buy wreaths for Wreaths Across America also. We knew it wasn't the best investment but there are far worse; we did our research but decided to invest in wreaths but we did monitor the results.
Charity Navigator is a reliable source for investigating charities. Fisher House and U.S.O. always get an A rating for Veterans. Some charities slide down or rise from year to year; always check.