BVA Leadership Responds to Flawed, Unfair Reports
Dear BVA Supporters and Friends Nationwide:
On behalf of the National Board of Directors and staff of the Blinded Veterans Association, we wish to express our genuine gratitude and appreciation for your generosity toward America's blinded veterans. Without you, life would not provide the type of fulfillment and opportunities that mean so much to all of us and our families.
BVA believes now, and has throughout its 62-year history, that use of the funds contributed by generous Americans and the organizations to which they belong should be governed by the strictest of ethical standards, stewardship, and scrutiny. For that reason, the organization's governing body feels that recent national media reports contain unfair, unfounded, incomplete, and misleading information about BVA's fundraising efforts.
The American Institute of Philanthropy (AIP), one of numerous watchdog organizations, "grades" charities using its own set of criteria and standards. These standards neglect to account for the unique aspects of a Veterans Service Organization compared to other nonprofit entities.
BVA is a worthy and ethical nonprofit charity that helps thousands of blinded veterans, young and old alike, each and every year. As BVA's audited and open books validate, the organization maintains immaculate records and the highest standards of accountability in its use of funds. BVA complies with generally accepted accounting principles and has been working with the Better Business Bureau toward implementation of their best standards. Our financial statements are audited annually with the results sent to Congress for review.
BVA's Board of Directors, all blinded veterans elected by the membership, serves on a voluntary basis. As BVA's IRS Form 990 indicates, the staff receives modest salaries. Indeed, there have been many years in which staff members received no salary increases. Our administrative costs are extremely low for an organization whose headquarters is based in the Nation's Capital. BVA engages no costly professional fundraisers but relies on in-house employees to conduct the majority of its fundraising activities, outsourcing some aspects where economically feasible.
BVA is not a wealthy organization. Like many medium-sized nonprofits, it depends heavily on direct mail to fund its programs and services to blinded veterans. The AIP report penalizes organizations that conduct direct mail campaigns. Direct mail is admittedly expensive because of the rising cost of postage and fuel over which BVA has no control. Nevertheless, direct mail provides almost all the funds necessary to run the organization. Without direct mail, the organization would not exist and services to blinded veterans would come to a halt.
The aforementioned AIP report is also critical of organizations for having an emergency reserve fund. The organization currently has a modest fund, having discovered through difficult times that preparation for national crises and economic slowdowns is always prudent for any public service organization or business. We believe strongly that America's blinded veterans and their families depend on us to fulfill our responsibilities unconditionally.
BVA was founded in 1945 and chartered by the Congress of the United States in 1958. The Association has been instrumental in encouraging and helping the Department of Veterans Affairs to develop rehabilitation centers throughout the country. The Field Service Program is manned by blinded veterans themselves who seek out and assist blinded veterans throughout the country, many of whom are older and becoming blind due to the aging process or accidents.
The recently organized Operation Peer Support initiative serves men and women wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan by helping them make lasting personal connections that will prove invaluable as their families and they begin working to overcome the obstacles associated with blindness.
BVA has never financed vacations to resorts or built houses for blinded veterans. That is not the organization's present mission nor the vision set forth by its founders, all of whom were blinded in combat during World War II. Instead, BVA helps blinded veterans rebuild their lives so they can build their own homes, enjoy their lives with their families in whatever venture they choose, and find fulfillment in daily life.
We invite both our supporters as well as our critics to visit our website or our office. Anyone is welcome to see BVA's historical files, read the testimonies of blinded veterans we have served through the years, and peruse decades of our newsletter, the BVA Bulletin. We encourage you to take a close look at our IRS Form 990 and its accompanying narrative, found at www.bva.org/form990.pdf or in your mailbox if requested by phone, fax, or email. Our books and doors are always open.
Sincerely,
Dr. Norman Jones, Jr.
National President
Blinded Veterans Association
Thomas H. Miller
Executive Director
Blinded Veterans Association
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