Locals, to be utterly honest, are the only ones you can trust to see most of that money go to actually helping veterans. My local group is https://www.yubasutterveterans.org/ - they’re into everything, from food distribution to annual stand downs to veteran’s parades to putting flags and wreaths on veteran’s graves.
My father and I make up almost 10% of the veterans in our community, so donating local would be like taking a dollar out of one pocket and putting it in the other, thats why Im reaching out for a bigger cause