Monterey, CA Financial Shenanigans Uncovered At One Of The Nation's Largest Veterans Charities

View From A Non-Profit Serving Carmel, Carmel Valley, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas, Seaside And Soledad California

More bad news on the non-profit front came this week when the California attorney general sued a major veterans charity alleging that its directors misused millions of dollars in private donations.  It's shocking because Help Hospitalized Veterans of Winchester is one of the largest non-profits in the nation, not to mention our state.  It ranks in the country's top 1% of fundraiser, with $436 million in donations coming in since 2001.  However, watchdog groups have been calling attention to the organization because their financial statements show that they haven't been giving enough to charitable causes, but rather they have a high level of overheard.  Now we know why.  Founder and former president Roger Chapin retired in 2009 with a pension worth almost $2 mil. and it has recently come to light that the board retroactively inflated his earnings in order to justify the size of the pension.  Board members tapped donations to fund perks like $80,000 in golf memberships. Shame on these people.  Their mission is to help home-bound veterans who have fought hard for this great country, and many of them have serious injuries.  What's being alleged is that the non-profit was essentially stealing from these veterans by siphoning off contributions.  I'm glad the attorney general got involved.  When this type of activity occurs it makes people skeptical of all non-profits and makes it harder to raise funds.  We are in the process of planning our first fundraiser open to the public which will be held at Bernardus Lodge on September 27.  We hope you will be there.  If you can afford to give to our worthy cause of helping seniors remain in their own homes and independent, please click on the donate button.  I assure you that the money will go to a good cause.  We have no paid staff, no pensions, no benefits and very low overhead.  We're here to help seniors scraping to get by in Monterey County, which is one of the most expensive places in the country to retire.

http://www.montereyherald.com/state/ci_21276894/ap-newsbreak-calif-sues-major-veterans-charity

 Please note that this blog reflects my personal opinion and may or may not reflect the opinion of HandsTo Help Seniors and the individual members comprising the Bo