[Normy]

I received in the snail-mail yesterday a fairly-fat envelope from a group that calls itself the "Paralyzed Veterans of America". I pulled it apart, tossed the various pieces on the bed behind my desk in my den. I don't know what to think-

Personally, I can't think of a more deserving group than paralyzed veterans. Maybe abused children, but it is pretty close. In any case, my impulse, despite the fact that I've taken a huge pay cut this past year and need to be cheap...was to send them $50. A few seconds later, a notion occured to me:

I don't know this group at all; how do I know that they are legit?

Web search? Anyone can post a website. Not a valid way of determining if a group is legitimate or not. I'm sure there are ways to research a charity group to find out if it is accredited/ registered, but I don't know to do it.

How do you prove that a charity group is real...?

AND

How do you determine that they actually give benefit to the group that they are promising to benefit?

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