How to Vet a Veteran Charity Before You Donate (or Before You Ask One for Help)

Veteran who needs help with rent, housing, or a crisis right now? Read the next section first. The best help is free, VA runs it, and you can reach it today without going through any charity.

Giving? Whether you’re an E-4 dropping $20 on a unit drive or a civilian saying thanks, the rest of this post is a five-minute charity check, run on one real charity.

Need help? Start with the free front doors

Know what VA already runs before you call any nonprofit. None of it costs a dime.

• National Call Center for Homeless Veterans: 877-424-3838. VA says the call is free, confidential, and answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For veterans who are homeless or about to be, and their families. (VA)
• SSVF (Supportive Services for Veteran Families). VA grants that fund rapid re-housing and homelessness prevention for low-income veteran families who are homeless or at imminent risk. Local grantees deliver it; VA’s record grant round went to 680 of them. (VA SSVF)
• HUD-VASH. A HUD-VA partnership that pairs housing vouchers with VA support services. (VA HUD-VASH)
• GPD (Grant and Per Diem). VA grants to community organizations that run transitional housing for veterans moving toward permanent housing. (VA GPD)
• Veterans Crisis Line: dial 988, then press 1. Or text 838255. Free, confidential, around the clock, no VA enrollment needed. (Veterans Crisis Line)

For VA claims, go to an accredited Veterans Service Organization (VSO) like DAV, the American Legion, or the VFW. In VA’s words, an accredited VSO rep’s services on your claim “are always free.” Accredited attorneys and claims agents can charge only after VA decides your initial claim and you’ve signed a fee agreement. (VA FAQs) Your county veterans service officer is another option; ask if they’re VA-accredited. Our nexus letter guide covers what the rep will ask for.

SSVF and GPD run through nonprofit VA grantees, so getting help through a nonprofit isn’t the problem. A charity’s donation letter is a different animal.

The 5-minute charity check

You don’t need to be an accountant. You need five free websites.

1. IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. (irs.gov) Confirms the group exists and can take tax-deductible donations. It searches Pub 78 (the IRS list of eligible groups), Form 990 filings, and the auto-revocation list for groups that skipped filing three years running. Limit: it shows the paperwork is in order, not how well the money gets spent.

2. ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. (projects.propublica.org/nonprofits) Free, readable IRS Form 990 data. Check revenue, expenses, top salaries, and program spending versus fundraising. Limit: charities have leeway in classifying costs, so raters can read the same 990 very differently.

3. Charity Navigator. (charitynavigator.org) 0 to 4 stars plus a percentage score. Wide coverage, fast. Limit: much of the score comes straight from Form 990 data, and CharityWatch argues automated ratings take self-reported numbers “at face value.”

4. CharityWatch. (charitywatch.org) Letter grades, A+ to F. Its accountants dig into audited financial statements, not just the 990, and it publishes F-rated veterans charity lists around Memorial Day and Veterans Day. Limit: it rates far fewer charities, and some details sit behind a membership.

5. BBB Wise Giving Alliance. (give.org) Grades charities against 20 accountability standards covering board oversight, spending, and honest appeals. Results include “Meets Standards,” “Standards Not Met,” and “Did Not Disclose.” Limit: pass/fail per standard, not a ranking.

If two or more flag the same charity, believe them.

Red flags

• Pressure to give right now. The FTC says charity scammers “often pressure you to donate right away,” and tells you to take your time and research first. (FTC)
• Gift cards, wire transfers, or crypto. The FTC says scammers ask for these because the money is hard to get back. A credit card is the safest way to give. (FTC alert, Nov. 9, 2022)
• Sound-alike names. Plenty of veteran groups have similar names, and a similar name alone proves nothing either way. Disabled Veterans National Foundation (EIN 26-1446183), for example, is a separate organization from DAV, Disabled American Veterans. Check the EIN, not the logo.
• Heavy direct mail and telemarketing. CharityWatch tells donors to be “extra cautious” with veterans-charity letters and calls, because even legitimate groups can burn most of a donation on overhead. (CharityWatch)
• Vague programs. “Supporting our heroes” isn’t a program. Look for who gets helped, how, and how many.
• High fundraising costs. BBB’s standard: fundraising should eat no more than 35% of related contributions, and at least 65% of total spending should go to programs. (give.org)

Simplest FTC tip: search the charity’s name with “complaint,” “fraud,” and “scam” before you give. (FTC)

Case study: Disabled Veterans National Foundation

DVNF is one of the best-documented cases out there. The basics: it’s a registered 501(c)(3), tax-exempt since February 2008 (ProPublica/IRS data). We found no record of criminal charges against it; the government actions on record are civil. What the record shows: independent raters and a state attorney general repeatedly flagging how much of its money goes to fundraising.

The ratings now:

• CharityWatch: F. In its November 2025 list, CharityWatch put DVNF’s program spending at 7% for the fiscal year ending 9/30/2024, and 5% for its 2022 fiscal year. (CharityWatch)
• Charity Navigator: Zero-Star Charity, 49% score. (Charity Navigator)
• BBB Wise Giving Alliance: Standards Not Met. DVNF misses 6 of the 20 standards. Per its audited fiscal 2024 statements, it spent 21% of expenses on programs ($5,047,683), and fundraising costs ate 73% of related contributions. BBB also calls its check appeals (mailers with a check you’re asked to send back) undue pressure. It meets 13 other standards, and BBB says it couldn’t verify the last one. (give.org)

Why 7% versus 21% for the same year? CharityWatch says it does its own analysis instead of taking reported figures at face value. Both fall far short of BBB’s 65% bar.

How it got here:

• May 23, 2012: Senators Max Baucus and Richard Burr opened an inquiry into DVNF’s tax-exempt status. They cited reports that DVNF had raised nearly $56 million since 2007 while paying its direct-mail firm, Quadriga Art, and that firm’s subsidiaries nearly $61 million between 2008 and 2010. (Senate Finance Committee) We couldn’t find a published outcome of that inquiry.
• July 2014: The New York Attorney General announced a $24.6 million settlement. The AG found that DVNF had raised over $116 million through 2013 and that “over 90 cents of every dollar” went to direct-mail costs. Quadriga paid $9.7 million in damages plus $800,000 in costs and forgave $13.8 million DVNF owed it. A second vendor, Convergence Direct Marketing, paid $300,000. DVNF agreed to replace its founding board and not to use Quadriga or Convergence for three years. The parties “neither admitted nor denied” the AG’s findings, and the settlement was civil, not criminal. (NY Attorney General)
• 2020: Mother Jones reported that months after the settlement, Quadriga signed a new contract with DVNF and reorganized under a new name, Innovairre Communications, and that Innovairre received more than $101 million from DVNF from 2014 to 2018. The magazine also reported that the settlement still allowed DVNF to work with the firm in a limited role if it won a competitive bidding process. By the magazine’s count, about 11% of the money DVNF raised in that period went to goods and services for veterans. DVNF told the outlet it keeps working with Innovairre because the firm gave the best responses to its requests for proposal. (Mother Jones, March 9, 2020) That’s journalism, not a court finding.

Has anything improved? A little: CharityWatch’s program figure rose from 5% to 7%, and BBB says DVNF meets 13 standards. It still raises serious money, about $28.9 million in revenue for the fiscal year ending September 2025, roughly 88% from contributions (ProPublica). Every rater still gives it its lowest mark: an F, zero stars, standards not met.

Thinking about asking DVNF, or any charity, for help? Nobody’s saying don’t apply. Call 877-424-3838 first so you know what VA can do.

Better-rated places to give

Rated well by the watchdogs as of October 1, 2026:

Descriptions are each charity’s stated mission. Sources: Charity Navigator and CharityWatch Top-Rated.

Free claims help and a good donation pick are separate questions. CharityWatch’s November 2025 F list includes the VFW (46% to programs, fiscal year ending 8/31/2024). That doesn’t change what VA says: an accredited VSO rep’s help on your claim is free.

Before you give

1. Look up the exact name and EIN on the IRS search tool.
2. Open its Form 990 on ProPublica: revenue, top salaries, fundraising costs.
3. Check Charity Navigator, CharityWatch, and give.org. If two flag it, move on.
4. Search the name with “complaint,” “fraud,” and “scam.”
5. Give by credit card on the charity’s own site. Never gift card, wire, or crypto.
6. Hang up on pressure. Real charities will still be there tomorrow.

Need help? Start with VA and a free accredited VSO, then run the free Benefit Scan and our state-by-state benefits guide to find programs you may be missing.

Here’s what to do today: put 877-424-3838 and 988 (press 1) in your phone. Next veteran-charity letter that hits your mailbox gets the five-minute check before you write a check.

Not an official VA or DoD website. Military Benefits Club takes no money from any charity named here. Ratings were checked October 1, 2026, and they change, so verify before you give.