I always do some homework before I donate to a charity. There are a number of reputable web sites that evaluate charities on a number of factors. CharityNavigator is the most prominent but there are others including CharityWatch and GuideStar. Donating to our military is wonderful but there have been many slime balls that prey on our respect for our soldiers. My understanding is that there's nothing illegal about a charity using 99 cents of every dollar for fundraising and administration.