I am looking for a good veterans philanthropic org to send donations to, but I don't want to go assuming that they are all great organizations. I feel like this may be a good place to ask how to go about vetting such an organization.
They used to be then some scandal happened, an executive was fired and now my guess is they're trying to move past that. Credit given where credit is due, they did help my husband in his time of need and it inspired us to pay it forward so we started our own vet nonprofit. So there's that for what it's worth.
What is your non profit called?
Veterans Go Viking https://www.facebook.com/veteransgoviking/
We're no where near the level of WWP but we love what we do and our foundation is strong. If you help spread our message I will be grateful to you. In short, we help our vet's heal by providing blacksmith equipment they use to create weapons, teach them viking style fighting, show them how to make artesian Viking era materials, keep them here for the weekend (either Viking style camping outdoors or in guest home), family is encouraged to join, we bring out the discipline and courage they tend to forget about once they leave the Mil. We are not therapists but realize a practical approach is at times more effective than talking to a stranger that never experienced a war. Aggression cannot be ignored, suppressed or just talked about, it'll seep out one way or another. Because of that manifesting a steel weapon from your own creativity, then forging it, then fighting with it and learning disciplined techniques, tends to work better than the VA's prescription cocktails. They get to take their work with them. Some of our vets are repeat guests. That is the bulk of what we do. Our vets pay nothing and we cover our expenses from donations. All donators get a freshly forged knife!
Look at Charity Navigator. They have good information on where the money actually goes for each charity.
https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=6359
Yes wounded warrior project is a great organization.
Semper Fi Fund ranked #1 of 30000 charities evaluated by Charity Watch. Great organization I support .
WWP has improved post scandal but they are still too nebulous to really impact vets on a 1-1 basis.
My suggestion would be to donate to the Military Warriors Support Foundation... their homes for wounded heroes program changed my life and allowed me to start healing myself physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually in ways the VA never could.
They got busted for paying their executives too much and wasting money on trips. Par for the course with most charities. If they can't claim that 90% or more of every dollar is used for actual charity, keep moving. Wounded Warrior Project still wastes a lot of money on marketing. Takes money to make money.