Veterans charity fundraising: Buddy can you spare a dime?

Veterans charity fundraising
Where does money donated over the phone go?
FOX 11
By Robert Hornacek
November 27, 2013

They can be annoying and intrusive, but often, telemarketing calls are a pretty successful way to raise money.

The money you pledge doesn't always help the cause as much as you might like. Case in point: the Veterans Assistance Foundation, based in Tomah. The charity hires a company called Xentel to raise money over the phone and by mail to help homeless veterans. But documents we uncovered show that for every dollar raised by Xentel under that contract, approximately 10 cents goes to the charity.

We're not talking chump change here. FOX 11 Investigates reviewed the charity's tax returns from 2009 through 2012. In just four years, the professional fundraising company raised $4.7 million dollars in the name of homeless veterans. But just $463,373 went to the charity. The company raising the money raked nearly $4.3 million.

"Is this the best way? No. I wouldn't say it is. I know it isn't. But it's the best I can do right now,” Veterans Assistance Foundation founder and CEO Bob Piaro said.

The Veterans Assistance Foundation offers programs for homeless veterans at the VA Clinic in Tomah and the Wisconsin Veterans Home in King. It also operates homes in Madison and Tomah. You might not think you're donating any money to the Veterans Assistance Foundation, but you are. Most of the group's funding comes from taxpayers in the form of federal grants. In fact, the Veterans Assistance Foundation receives about $1 million a year from the government. Thanks to taxpayers, the organization was able to expand last month. It now offers services in 34 counties, including Brown, Outagamie and Winnebago.

But Piaro says the grants don't cover everything. So the foundation still needs to raise money.
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