About

The West Coast Vaad Hachesed assists approximately 1,500  Solicitors annually by researching their particular level of need and / or indigency, independently establishing the legitimacy of their religious cause or personal indigency, and thereby providing them with a certificate that would entitle them to collect funds from local philanthropists. Where applicable, the organization utilizes an international database to verify their credentials and also exercises its own independent due diligence to ascertain the accuracy and legitimacy of their particular cause. The Internal Revenue Service reviewed our operations directly and concurred with the legality of our approach while simultaneously recognizing the immense service that we are providing to the community.

While every major city with a large Orthodox Jewish population has a Vaad to perform this function. The Los Angeles Vaad distinguishes itself by enabling local donors to contribute directly to the organization so that local philanthropists could receive a charitable tax deduction under IRC 170(a) for contributions made to exempt organizations that qualify under IRC 501(c)(3). Historically, the Vaad has distributed over $3,500,000 annually via tens of thousands of small donations.