Five months after the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs created a verification standard for veteran service organizations, only six are verified.
Opinions about the rollout and the initiative differ among the department and the nonprofits involved, but most agree the program is well-meaning and should benefit veterans over time.
The department created ADVA Verified in December to ensure the charities and nonprofits it recommends to veterans and donors are legitimate. Director Matt Snead, who took over early last year, received several questions about some veterans charities in the state, but he had no measure by which to answer those questions, he said.
Department officials said poor timing has hampered their ability to spread the word about the verification program. It was announced the same day an armed man put Arkansas State University's Jonesboro campus under an hourslong lockdown, limiting media coverage of the program, they said. Additionally, the department has placed most of its focus in recent months on the relocation of veterans service officers to regions throughout the state.
Essentially, ADVA Verified requires nonprofits and charities to prove they're legitimate before the department will promote the groups online, at official events or through regional veterans service officers. Groups must complete a short application and provide an assortment of paperwork from the Arkansas secretary of state, Arkansas attorney general and the Internal Revenue Service, in addition to several internal documents.
Several charity directors said it was the copious paperwork that keeps many nonprofits from applying. The Arkansas Freedom Fund, which supports recreational events for veterans, recently attained verification, but Executive Director Mark Leonard said it wasn't easy.
"I think it's a good program," Leonard said. "But it's a ton of paperwork, and it can be a little overwhelming."
Still, the department crafted the initiative with this in mind, spokesman Sarah Jones said. In addition to confirming a company's legitimacy, the required paperwork enables the department to accurately describe a charity's services to veterans.
It's difficult to quantify how many veterans charities there are in Arkansas, but the department and others knowledgeable about the charities estimate there are close to 100.
The department verified six in the past five months and is close to verifying a seventh.
Nicole Hart, chief executive officer of ARVets -- which provides veterans a variety of support services -- and a member of the Arkansas Veterans Commission, has come around, but she was skeptical about the program at first, she said.
"In the community, it added to the narrative that many nonprofits aren't legit," said Hart, an Iraq War veteran, adding that isn't the case.
ADVA Verified fell in line with the department's set of strategic goals, which were developed by a diverse group of stakeholders, including veterans. That committee saw a need to develop a process to certify charities.
"We're definitely not trying to imply that nonprofits that have not been ADVA Verified are not legitimate nonprofits," Jones said. "Even though there may not be a large number of organizations trying to take advantage of veterans in our state, even one would be too many. ADVA Verified is our way to ensure that every service we connect to our veterans is legitimate."
The department can verify the legality of nonprofits, but it doesn't endorse the quality of a particular organization, nor can it investigate a fraudulent one.
Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge's office, which helped form ADVA Verified, investigates complaints about nonprofits. Rutledge's staff has investigated seven complaints against veterans charities since the start of 2015, which spokesman Judd Deere said was more than in previous years.
"Arkansans have big hearts and are very generous, but they should be able to verify that their donation will be used for the intended purpose," Rutledge said.
Questionable behavior by veterans service groups came into national focus in March after the ouster of the Wounded Warrior Project's two top executives over lavish spending on parties, hotels and travel became public. The hope is ADVA Verified will insulate the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs from entanglement in a similar issue.
The effect of the program remains unclear. The Arkansas Freedom Fund is still evaluating the benefits.
"It's still too early to tell," Leonard said. "Just a sticker is a good thing, but a year from now, what did it gain us? That's going to be the question."
For Hart, whose organization was verified in December, the program has fostered a more productive relationship with the state Department of Veterans Affairs. Future aid from the federal and state governments should be easier to get, she said.
"In the future, I think ADVA and nonprofits will be able to collaborate in a fruitful way because of this," Hart said.
Metro on 05/23/2016