Veterans charity that gave less than 2% of revenue to veterans closes its doors for good
by SOFREP News Team
The National Vietnam Veterans Foundation, a zero-rated charity that was the object of a CNN report in mid-May, has closed its doors for good, according to one of the charity’s executives.
In an email to CNN, David Kaufman, the charity’s vice president, says the Veterans Foundation “has severed all ties” to the organization’s president, Thomas Burch, who along with serving as president of the charity also has a full time job as a government lawyer with the Veterans Affairs agency in Washington.
“Tom Burch has resigned from the Foundation and NVVF is shutting down completely, ” Kaufman wrote in an email to CNN. “All fundraising has ceased and the only thing being done is the distribution of blankets, personal care kits and related items in the warehouse.”
In CNN’s original report, the watchdog group Charity Navigator gave the Foundation zero out of four stars. According to its public tax returns, called 990s, the Foundation took in $29 million over a four-year period but nearly all of it went to telemarketers and fundraisers. In one year, the charity also paid a parking garage bill of nearly $8,000. Michael Thatcher, the CEO of Charity Navigator, said the foundation deserved is zero rating.
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The National Vietnam Veterans Foundation, a zero-rated charity that was the object of a CNN report in mid-May, has closed its doors for good, according to one of the charity’s executives.
In an email to CNN, David Kaufman, the charity’s vice president, says the Veterans Foundation “has severed all ties” to the organization’s president, Thomas Burch, who along with serving as president of the charity also has a full time job as a government lawyer with the Veterans Affairs agency in Washington.
“Tom Burch has resigned from the Foundation and NVVF is shutting down completely, ” Kaufman wrote in an email to CNN. “All fundraising has ceased and the only thing being done is the distribution of blankets, personal care kits and related items in the warehouse.”
In CNN’s original report, the watchdog group Charity Navigator gave the Foundation zero out of four stars. According to its public tax returns, called 990s, the Foundation took in $29 million over a four-year period but nearly all of it went to telemarketers and fundraisers. In one year, the charity also paid a parking garage bill of nearly $8,000. Michael Thatcher, the CEO of Charity Navigator, said the foundation deserved is zero rating.
The SOFREP News Team is a collective of professional military journalists.
Brandon Tyler Webb is the SOFREP News Team's Editor-in-Chief.
Guy D. McCardle is the SOFREP News Team's Managing Editor.
Brandon and Guy both manage the SOFREP News Team.
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