Looking for assistance on charitable donations for military families.

[HGSW0904]

Hope this is the right spot for this. My husband and I would like to assist the families of fallen soldiers with our charity monies. However, there are several different charities, all claiming to provide money to widows/ers and children of fallen troops. I want to be sure that we send money to a viable charity who really does get as much of the money as possible where it needs to go. Do any of you have experience with any charity of this kind?

I've been looking at Fallen Soldiers Fund (http://www.fallensoldiersfund.com), Children of Fallen Soldiers Fund (http://www.cfsrf.org) and Fallen Patriots (www.fallenpatriotfund.org).

I'm leery of the Fallen Soldiers Fund as their site addy ends in '.com' instead of '.org'.

Any feedback is very much appreciated.

[lilycicero]

Very kind of you. Why not just send a family the money directly? (or families)

[lilycicero]

PS. You could contact “The Pat Tillman” Foundation if you needed more direction. They run a very close checked scholarship fund.

[HGSW0904]

Very kind of you. Why not just send a family the money directly? (or families) ...because I'm not sure to whom I should send it, to where, how much they'd need, what kind of help they'd need, etc. ...and I'm thinking that there has to be some sort of centralized place that military families can go for help? Seems like the best place to start to get help to them. I just don't know how to get to them/where to start.

[NavyCanDo]

Operation Support Our Troops (OSOT), a group I am well familiar with, has some great “how do I help” links on their web site. Check out their photo album while visiting. I have joined them on many of their events and rallies.

http://www.operation-support-our-troops.org/

[HGSW0904]

Hadn’t thought of the Pat Tillman Foundation. Thanks for the tip.

[AF_Blue]

The Special Operations Warrior Foundation is an excellent option.

http://www.specialops.org/

http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=7584

I’m also partial to the Air Force Aid Society:

http://www.afas.org/

http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=6492

and the USO:

http://www.uso.org/

http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=4615

Thank you for your support.

[AF_Blue]

...and welcome to Free Republic!

[Freedom4US]

Be very wary of most “charitable” organizations. I like AER, Army Emergency Relief. Chartered by congress, they provide zero interest loans for plane tickets, rental assistance and other similar needs. The funds are administered by retired officers. Fully tax deductable, too.

http://www.hqaer.org

[HGSW0904]

Thanks for the welcome and the links!

[Doogle]

....you started in the right direction...asking the right people. There's good and very good, and your right to beware of scams.
Choose a specific military branch or check back here later, after the FReeps fill ya in.

Oh BTW, Welcome to FReeperville.

[djegators]

I second the Special Ops Warrior Foundation. They are a good group, and all the money goes where they say it does. They provide for college for the children of Specials Ops soldiers killed in action. My father actually works for them, so I can personally vouch.

http://www.specialops.org/

[noexcuses]

Contact your local American Legion Auxiliary - ask about their Blue Star Family programs.

[philled]

I donate to two. As a memorial to my brother, I do a yearly gift to the Navy Marine Corps Relief Society (www.nmcrs.org). I have no personal connection to the society.

I also contribute to and support USACares (www.usacares.org) . They are geared towards assisting post-911 military families along three lines: Combat Injured, Housing Assistance, and Basic Needs. I know one of the founders and believe him to be doing a great job.

[HGSW0904]

I appreciate all of your suggestions and tips. Looks like I’ll have some homework to do in researching all of these! Thanks for the kind welcomes as well.

[Rabble]

Please review what Clark Howard has to say. He has a guide called "A guide to the best and worst military charities". He's a nationally syndicated talk show financial guru. Really knows his stuff.

here's the link to his guide:

http://clarkhoward.com/topics/charity_check.html