Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) reports reasonable overhead and program spending in its annual financial documents, but a closer analysis by CharityWatch reveals a different picture of how efficiently this nonprofit operates.
Vietnam Veterans of America reported spending 64% of its expenses on its programs in fiscal 2025. CharityWatch’s analysis of VVA’s tax form and audited financial statements for that year, however, shows that VVA spent only 35% of its expenses on its programs and 65% on fundraising and other overhead.
In its audit, VVA refers to the costs associated with collecting “discarded household items and automobiles from the community” to be a “Recycling program.” It subtracts these costs from the revenue it generates from selling the donated items to “contracted private companies.” Therefore, the costs do not show up in VVA’s reported fundraising and total expenses in its audit or tax filing. A donor who takes VVA’s reported operating expenses at face value would think VVA is operating more efficiently, and spending a higher portion of its budget on its programs, than it actually is.
CharityWatch disagrees with VVA’s characterization of its “Recycling program” costs. The expenses a nonprofit incurs to raise contributions, whether those contributions are in the form of cash or non-cash items like donated household goods and cars, are fundraising expenses that should be reported as such. Vietnam Veterans of America’s audited financial statements for its fiscal year ended February 28th, 2025 affirm that the charity’s “Recycling program cost…represents VVA’s solicitation cost for generating the items collected and sales cost for selling the items.” In fiscal 2025, VVA reported spending approximately $9.4 million in connection with collecting and processing goods for its “Recycling program,” according to its audit of the same year. For this reason, CharityWatch adds this amount to VVA’s reported fundraising expenses so that all of its solicitation costs are reflected in its rating.
CharityWatch’s analysis demonstrates why donors should look beyond surface-level figures and automated ratings when deciding where to give. Vietnam Veterans of America appears to be operating reasonably efficiently when its financial reporting is taken at face value. However, its accounting treatment of solicitation costs significantly distorts how its spending is portrayed. By independently analyzing audited financial statements and tax filings rather than relying solely on self-reported data, CharityWatch provides a more complete picture of how effectively charities’ donations are used. Donors who want to ensure their contributions truly support veterans (rather than fundraising and other overhead) should rely on watchdogs that dig into the reporting and follow the cash.
As the only independent charity watchdog organization in the United States, CharityWatch relies on your support to fund our in-depth research and analysis in order to bring you the unbiased charity ratings and other information you rely on to help you make more informed giving decisions. We are not directly or indirectly funded by nonprofit industry interests.
We hope you will consider making a donation today so that we can continue to speak openly and critically and call out wrongdoing when we see it without concern for special interests cutting our funding. CharityWatch is a small organization and your donations are noticed, needed, and greatly appreciated. Thank you for giving wisely!
| Charity | |
|---|---|
| Vietnam Veterans of America |
