Veterans' charities reportedly receive fraction of money raised by Trump event

[crin63]

I'm still convinced it was all just a political stunt.


More than two months after Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump claimed to have raised $6 million for veterans' charities at a fundraiser held on the eve of the Iowa caucuses, most of the organizations targeted to receive the money have gotten less than half of that amount.The Wall Street Journal, citing a survey of the 22 groups listed by Trump's campaign as prospective recipients for the money, reported that 19 organizations had obtained a total of $2.4 million from Trump's foundation or associates.
Of the three other charities, one declined to disclose how much it had received, another said it needed to submit more paperwork before receiving any money, and the third didn't respond to questions by the Journal.




http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/04/08/veterans-charities-reportedly-receive-fraction-money-raised-by-trump-event.html?intcmp=hpbt1

[Gunny]

I'm still convinced it was all just a political stunt.

[QUOTE]More than two months after Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump claimed to have raised $6 million for veterans' charities at a fundraiser held on the eve of the Iowa caucuses, most of the organizations targeted to receive the money have gotten less than half of that amount.The Wall Street Journal, citing a survey of the 22 groups listed by Trump's campaign as prospective recipients for the money, reported that 19 organizations had obtained a total of $2.4 million from Trump's foundation or associates.
Of the three other charities, one declined to disclose how much it had received, another said it needed to submit more paperwork before receiving any money, and the third didn't respond to questions by the Journal. /QUOTE]




http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/04/08/veterans-charities-reportedly-receive-fraction-money-raised-by-trump-event.html?intcmp=hpbt1

This seems to surprise only non-vets. They strong-arm you into giving to the Navy Relief Society and the Combined Federal Campaign via guilt trip and 60% or more goes to overhead. It's why I am VERY choosy about who I donate to.

[crin63]

I realize that a lot can get burned up in overhead. I also look at this as something is better than nothing.

But, a lot of people pointed to that fundraiser as showing Trumps love for Veterans and our military. I saw it as the most bang for the buck in gaining supporters. Had climate change been a more popular opportunity with Republican voters he probably would have used that instead.

Had Trump not controlled the money raised, had it gone into an escrow account or directly to a particular organization I would have thought better of him for it. Instead, it looks like a cheap political stunt which is too bad.



[QUOTE=crin63;809738]I'm still convinced it was all just a political stunt.



This seems to surprise only non-vets. They strong-arm you into giving to the Navy Relief Society and the Combined Federal Campaign via guilt trip and 60% or more goes to overhead. It's why I am VERY choosy about who I donate to.

[Gunny]

[QUOTE=crin63;809748]I realize that a lot can get burned up in overhead. I also look at this as something is better than nothing.

But, a lot of people pointed to that fundraiser as showing Trumps love for Veterans and our military. I saw it as the most bang for the buck in gaining supporters. Had climate change been a more popular opportunity with Republican voters he probably would have used that instead.

Had Trump not controlled the money raised, had it gone into an escrow account or directly to a particular organization I would have thought better of him for it. Instead, it looks like a cheap political stunt which is too bad.

St Jude's is a good charity. It was started by Danny Thomas. They don't charge you a dime. It's about the kids. I want my dime to mean something. And I'm Southern Baptist, not Jewish. One of my favorite charities though. They spend the money where it's supposed to be spent.

[jimnyc]

Definitely doesn't look good, he better pay up! With the money raised, and knowing his worth, I highly doubt he just decided to keep the funds. But it sounds like someone is irresponsible in following up on things and making sure all is done, signed, sealed and delivered. And that falls on Trump, even if someone else is now in charge of that. Hopefully he'll make this right going forward.

[crin63]

Definitely doesn't look good, he better pay up! With the money raised, and knowing his worth, I highly doubt he just decided to keep the funds. But it sounds like someone is irresponsible in following up on things and making sure all is done, signed, sealed and delivered. And that falls on Trump, even if someone else is now in charge of that. Hopefully he'll make this right going forward.


Agreed! I wanna see the money get to the Veterans who can certainly use it plus I wanna have a good opinion of him on this when it's all said and done.

[crin63]

St Jude's is a good charity. It was started by Danny Thomas. They don't charge you a dime. It's about the kids. I want my dime to mean something. And I'm Southern Baptist, not Jewish. One of my favorite charities though. They spend the money where it's supposed to be spent.

I am a Baptist as well but I don't give money outside my church very often. We know so many people and ministries that need help that it usually goes in that direction. I'm also taking care of my parents.

[Gunny]

I am a Baptist as well but I don't give money outside my church very often. We know so many people and ministries that need help that it usually goes in that direction. I'm also taking care of my parents.

As I mentioned before, the military strongarms you. Once I looked into what charities did what, I was flabbergasted. Almost all of them spend your money on overhead. I got real selective and started looking at who was doing what. I don't want my nickels paying some bureaucrat's check. St Jude's is on the up and up. So is St Paul's.

If you really care you don't have a 5 figure income at the expense of those in need. I'm completely intolerant to that kind of sh*t.

I knew this Marine Corporal once. He carried a 2 years old little girl 2 miles out of the jungle in Kenya and smuggled her on board the ship. The doc was on his side and tried his damnedest and she still died because we apparently can't afford medical treatment for those that are in actual need. But we sit around whining and crying about how bad we have it. And civilians wonder why I hate them. Put your money where your mouth is.

[Kathianne]

I don't know what he gave to the vet's charities or St Jude's, but if he's going to claim or have surrogates make claim to his generosity, it should be backed up. However it looks like his son has raised $20 million for St. Jude's which is great, but not a personal donation and certainly isn't Trump's donation:

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/politics/us/article/Trump-gift-to-St-Jude-s-may-not-exist-9130391.php


Trump gift to St. Jude's may not exist

By David A. Fahrenthold, WASHINGTON POST
August 8, 2016

​Last October, at a rally in Las Vegas, a friend of Donald Trump's introduced the mogul-turned-candidate with a story about Trump's generosity."You won't hear this in the media, but Donald gave $20 million to the St. Jude children's home. Twenty million dollars," said Phil Ruffin, the owner of the Treasure Island casino, which was the site of the rally.


The crowd cheered. Trump mouthed "Thank you" twice and waved.

"He could have used that $20 million for television ads, but he decided to give with children with cancer," Ruffin said. "That's Donald Trump."

Afterward, Trump spoke for more than an hour. He talked up his poll numbers ("I've been leading since I came out."). He rehashed a recent GOP primary debate. He lambasted his Republican rivals, Hillary Clinton, China and the news media ("They're such dirty, rotten liars, it's disgusting," he said, criticizing TV news channels for not showing the size of his crowds).

He did not mention anything about the $20 million gift.

Later that day, however, Trump retweeted a message from a fan, criticizing the mainstream media for not broadcasting Ruffin's story about the gift.

The implication, from Trump, was that the gift story was important (and, therefore, true).

If Ruffin's story were true, then Trump's gift to St. Jude would appear to be, by far, the largest charitable donation of Trump's life.

But when The Washington Post looked for evidence to back up Ruffin's story it could find none.

At St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, a world-famous cancer center in Memphis, spokeswoman Kelly Schulz said they had never announced a large gift of this kind from Trump. St. Jude's does not release detailed information about donors, so The Post could not determine what - if anything - Trump has donated to St. Jude's from his own pocket.

A spokeswoman for Ruffin, Michelle Knoll, said she had seen no evidence that would verify Ruffin's claim. She said Ruffin was out of the country now, and could not be reached. She said that Ruffin's staff had heard him repeat the story on other occasions.

Trump's presidential campaign did not respond to requests for comment.

Records show Trump has donated to St. Jude's in the past, but never on the scale of the gift in Ruffin's story.

The Donald J. Trump Foundation, a nonprofit of which Trump is president, has donated $60,000 to the hospital. Its last recorded gift was in 2008, when Trump gave $50,000 - apparently in connection with an episode of "The Celebrity Apprentice." In addition, a list of charitable donations by Trump's companies, provided by the Trump campaign last year, lists $92,603 worth of gifts to St. Jude over five years. In many cases, these seemed to be "in-kind" gifts, like free rounds of golf or gift certificates that Trump properties donated for raffles and fundraisers.

Trump has also declined to release his tax returns, which would make it possible to see what Trump has given personally to this cause - and many others.
It seems possible that what Ruffin was referring to actually involved another Trump.

Eric Trump, the candidate's 32-year-old son, runs a foundation that raises money for St. Jude's through an annual charity golf tournament. It receives some help from his father, who donates the use of golf course facilities, and has given $150,000 out of the Donald J. Trump Foundation. But it is a separate entity: Tax forms show Donald Trump is not on its staff or a member of its board. In a recent interview, Eric Trump told The Washington Post that he believed his father had also given his own cash to the Eric Trump Foundation. But Eric Trump could not recall a specific time when that had happened.

In February 2015 - a few months before Ruffin's comments - Eric Trump's foundation announced that it had acquired naming rights to a surgical and intensive-care center at St. Jude's. To get those rights, Eric Trump's foundation made a pledge to raise a large amount money for St. Jude's over the next 10 years.

The amount that Eric Trump pledged to give? $20 million.