Red Kettles & Bell Ringers

Rated mostly outdated and inaccurate:

snopes.com: Executive Salaries in Charities

[QUOTE=The Villager II;

"The American Legion National Commander
receives a $0.00 zero salary.
Your donations go to help Veterans and their families and youth!

The Veterans of Foreign Wars National Commander
receives a $0.00 zero salary.
Your donations go to help Veterans and their families and youth!

The Disabled American Veterans National Commander
receives a $0.00 zero salary.
Your donations go to help Veterans and their families and youth!

The Military Order of Purple Hearts National Commander
receives a $0.00 zero salary.
Your donations go to help Veterans and their families and youth!

The Vietnam Veterans Association National Commander
receives a $0.00 zero salary.
Your donations go to help Veterans and their families and youth!["/QUOTE]--------------

The facts and figures for the veteran organizations are 100% WRONG.Remember, the heads of all these groups are supposedly working for free.

AMERICAN LEGION: The group's national adjutant, Daniel S. Wheeler earned $201,661 in salary and other compensation, according to the organization's 990 form from 2009. Unlike the other organizations we examined, the Legion failed to fill out the form breaking down how much it spent on fundraising and administrative costs. But the Better Business Bureau, in its analysis released in February 2010, found that, of the $63 million it spent, 45 cents out of every dollar went for fundraising and administrative costs. The organization failed to meet 11 of the Better Business Bureau's 20 standards of accountability.

DISABLED AMERICAN VETERANS: National Adjutant and CEO Arthur H. Wilson earned $328,252 in compensation, according to the organization's 990 report for 2009. Of the $124 million in expenses, 30 cents of every dollar was spent on fundraising and administrative costs. The organization met all of the BBB's standards for charity accountability.

VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES: VFW Adjutant General Allen F. Kent earned $215,822, according to the organization's 990 report from 2009. The organization's quartermaster general earned nearly $24,000 more than Kent in compensation. Three other top officials also earned more than $211,000. With nearly $85 million in expenses, 36 cents of each dollar was spent on administration and fundraising. The Better Business Bureau could not rate this organization because it failed to release enough information to the BBB.

MILITARY ORDER OF THE PURPLE HEART SERVICE FOUNDATION (listed in the e-mail as The Military Order of Purple Hearts): Executive Director Gregory Bresser received $142,986 in compensation in 2009, and that was only for part of the year. He left the post in August. CFO Stephen Ruckman got $150,626, according to the 990 filing for 2009. The group listed nearly $34 million in expenses and spent a whopping 63 cents per dollar on fundraising and administrative costs. The BBB could not rate this organization either because it did not supply enough information.

VIETNAM VETERANS OF AMERICA (The e-mail listed the Vietnam Veterans Association, which we couldn’t find. This organization was the closest match.): Chief financial officer and staff director Joseph Sternburg earned $137,902 in compensation, according to its 990 report from 2009. According to the form, the organization has $7 million in expenses and spent 33 cents per dollar on fundraising and administration. When the BBB reviewed the organization, in March of 2010, the rate was 75 cents per dollar -- the highest rate we saw. The business bureau said the group failed to meet 10 of the 20 standards of accountability.