National Veterans Services Fund

A reader asks:

What can you tell me about the National Veterans Services Fund? How much do they give to aid veterans?

---

The National Veterans Services Fund was founded in 1978 as Vietnam Veterans Agent Orange Victims. The name was changed to reflect their dedication to assisting not just Vietnam veterans, but also our newer generations of veterans.

NVSF provides "case-managed social services and limited assistance to Vietnam and Persian Gulf War veterans and their families, with a focus on families with disabled children. The families served by NVSF have been unable to obtain the social and health services they so critically need from other sources."

The American Institute of Philanthropy in 2007 awarded a Grade of "F" to National Veterans Services Fund, reporting that only 2% of revenues went to veterans services, and that NVSF spends $97 to raise $100.

Charity Navigator gave the organization an overall rating of 0 stars, reporting that for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2008, National Veterans Services Fund spent 22.4% on program expenses (accounting rules permit some fundraising expenses to be classified as program expenses, however, so this number without more information doesn't tell the complete story), and 70.7% on fundraising expenses, with the other 6.8% going to administrative expenses. From total revenue of $7,366,988, NVSF allocated $1,699,426 to program expenses, $517,803 to administrative expenses, and a whopping $5,360,119 to fundraising expenses.

This represents a significant improvement since AIP's report, but is still dismal.