Phil Kraft HonorBound Foundation National Veterans Services Fund 11-11-17

National Veterans Services Fund Becomes HonorBound Foundation and Changes Fundraising

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Darien-based National Veterans Services Fund, a four-decade-old group that helps veterans, particularly those in emergencies, announced Saturday that it’s changing its name, its website and the way it raises money. The HonorBound Foundation has the new website up, although the website for the group under its old name is also still on the Web. 
The former name “didn’t really convey the mission that we really need to convey, the mission that we really need to convey,” said the organization’s executive director, Phillip Kraft, who made the announcement on the morning of Veterans Day at the headquarters for the group on West Avenue. “That’s why, over the years, we decided that this was really the best direction to go,” he continued. “That’s because we — as veterans, we are honor-bound to help our brother and sister veterans in any way we can, and the name just suddenly popped up — like, that’s the name we should go with.” By raising its own money rather than relying on telemarketers and fundraising companies, the foundation expects to stop sharp criticism from some news organizations and charity watchdog groups that it doesn’t spend enough of its contributions on veterans themselves.