Sandra Miller, 49, contacted 10 News after she quit the Veterans Support Organization (VSO) because it couldn't fully explain where money donated for local veterans was actually going.
TAMPA, Florida - After a 10 News Investigators story exposed the outrageous spending habits of a local non-profit, one fundraiser says the story confirmed suspicions she had developed while working for the group. There's even more to the story than first reported.
Sandra Miller, 49, contacted 10 News after she quit the Veterans Support Organization (VSO) because it couldn't fully explain where money donated for local veterans was actually going.
The initial Investigators' report showed the VSO - collecting this holiday season in local malls - raking in upwards of $1,000 a day per location from holiday shoppers. But the VSO's most recently-submitted IRS documents reveal only 6.6 percent of the group's $5.7 million in revenues go toward the grants and veteran assistance programs they tout to donors. Instead, huge payments went to the group's founder ($255,698), office expenses ($240,995), travel ($154,332), and uniforms for solicitors ($71,860).
"The owner of this company makes almost $300,000 a year?" Miller asked rhetorically. "How dare he? We're out there working our asses off for a cause that, personally, I believed in."
Miller also said the head of the VSO's Tampa branch, who pressured her into working 60-plus hours each week, is a convicted felon. Stanley Shaw, 52, confirmed prior convictions of burglary, grand theft motor vehicle, and resisting an officer with violence. Recently out of prison, he says he has put the troubles behind him and the VSO has offered him a second chance. He also said, "We have a lot of convicted felons."
The VSO responded with a statement indicating various security measures to ensure proper accounting of donations.
"You should be asking why there are so many veterans with criminal records," said VSO spokesman Justin Wells, "as opposed to why VSO gives them a chance to establish themselves in the working world.
"If we don't learn from our past we are doomed to repeat it...veterans are a very small part of the adult population, so why are veterans 2-3 times more likely to serve time in our prison system?
"At the VSO we believe a veteran needs help and we can provide this help to them by providing them with a job and ahelping hand to get back on their feet. If we do not help these veterans get back on their feet, they mayfind themselves back in the prison system."
The VSO also told the 10 News Investigators that 86% of donation dollars go toward veterans programs, but it failed to address questions about how travel, wages, and office supplies were considered "program expenses."
Where's my donation going?
It can be tough to tell good charities from bad ones since the IRS only reviewed 0.5 percent of all U.S. non-profits' tax returns last year, but 10 News has compiled some tips:
- First, find out if the organization currently has non-profit status with the IRS.
- Review the group's Form 990 tax filings for free on Guidestar.org to learn about its revenues, salaries, fundraising costs, and board of directors.
- Look for red flags, such as high salaries, board members receiving salaries, board of directors or employees related to each other, or high fundraising expenses in relation to revenue.
- Use charity watchdog websites such as:
- The American Institute of Philanthropy
- The Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance
- The Charity Navigator
- Givewell.org
- You can also call a non-profit to ask specific questions about how their funds are being spent. Most organizations that aren't religious groups are required to provide their last three 990s upon request.