So I was finally home to answer the phone for a charity that calls multiple times per week.  Caller ID shows they called last night at 9pm while I was at the church working and numerous times before that.  Caller ID shows "Educational Ser" with number (404) 260-0195.

The lady on the phone said they were "American Homeless Veterans" at http://americanhomelessveterans.org, and my money would go to help get vets off the street.  I did a quick CharityNavigator search and found they were unrated.  We donate to DAV regularly, but I decided to help them out anyway.  When they charged my Amex, it showed "CIRCLE OF FRIENDS FOR AM".  That charity is in fact rated on CharityWatch, and it gets an "F".  They raise like 2 million dollars a year, and almost every bit goes to the fundraisers (1.5 mil out of 1.7).  The founder gets $190,000 salary.  So there's the rest of your money - gets split between the founder and the paid telemarketers.

So when you see that number on your caller ID and get directed to that website with a fake name when you ask for more info, be aware that's not who's getting the money.  It's the F-rated charity of a different name.

Thanks for the warning!  Quite underhanded!

Have you considered disputing the charge based on their misrepresentation of who they are?

If I had told her to call back instead of agreeing to donate like I did, I could have done some more research and would have seen the identical founder name and site content between the Vets Vision site and their new one.  So I chalk it up to my own stupidity for agreeing to donate.  But it won't happen again.

^^^^

This!

Thanks for the warning!