Charities Behaving Badly

[Nirvana]

Americans donate more money to charity than people in any other country. Un- fortunately, some of our $300 billion in annual donations goes to frauds and swindlers instead of aiding legitimate charity work.

Within hours of the January earthquake in Haiti, for instance, con artists already were posing as relief organizations to bilk donors through bogus e-mails and Web sites. The FBI has logged hundreds of complaints related to Haiti relief scams, and the feds have made a few arrests.

Fly-by-night Web sites that collect cash and disappear may be the most brazen examples of this kind of fraud. They're also relatively easy to avoid. A trickier problem is seemingly reputable charities that misuse donors' money in other, more subtle ways.

Name recognition is no guarantee that your donation will help those in need. The United Way is one of the best-known charities in the world, with a century of history and more than $4 billion in annual fundraising. Yet in 2004, the former chief executive of a United Way chapter in Washington pleaded guilty to stealing at least $1.6 million during his 27-year tenure. In one particularly galling episode, he reimbursed himself for more than $20,000 he had donated to his own charity. The eventual investigation revealed a lax bookkeeping culture and uncovered a pattern of corruption that included other United Way managers.


MORE
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2010...ehaving-badly/

[xoxoxoBruce]

A new national poll shows that 71 percent of Americans, enticed by TV commercials featuring stray cats and dogs, think HSUS is an umbrella group for local humane societies all over the United States. (It isn't.) Nearly 60 percent of us believe HSUS gives most of its money to needy dog and cat shelters. (It doesn't.)

In 2008, HSUS gave less than one-half of 1 percent of its operating budget to hands-on pet shelters. And the group doesn't operate a single pet shelter of its own anywhere.

Where do all those doggie dollars go? Tens of millions are earmarked to support a bloated staff of lawyers and lobbyists, including $2.5 million just for the executive pension fund.

With more than 500 paid employees, HSUS wages expensive animal rights lobbying campaigns - the kind that aim to put meat and dairy farmers out of business, close down zoos and aquariums and allow lab rats to sue cancer researchers.

These people are scum.

[Undertoad]

Sean Hannity's charity busted:

In fact, less than 20%–and in two recent years, less than 7% and 4%, respectively–of the money raised by Freedom Alliance went to these causes, while millions of dollars went to expenses, including consultants and apparently to ferry the Hannity posse of family and friends in high style.

[tw]

Salvation Army is one of the few charities that actually direct most of their funds to actual charity work. Charity scam is this widespread.
http://www.charitywatch.org/

[xoxoxoBruce]

From Toad's link.

In investigating Freedom Alliance and its tax forms, I learned that the organizations which evaluate charities are entirely worthless. Freedom Alliance is certified as “Best in America” by the “Independent Charities of America.” It is also rated a “Four Star Charity” by “Charity Navigator.” Both of these “ratings” are posted prominently on Freedom Alliance’s website, misleading donors into believing they are donating to a worthy cause, when in fact they are mostly donating to a black hole of expenses. Even Charity Navigator notes in its strange, illogical, and mostly inaccurate Four Star rating that Freedom Alliance has a fund-raising “efficiency” of only nine cents on the dollar. And, in fact, Charity Navigator’s ridiculous rating formula robotically crunches numbers in a way that considers the money spent mostly on consultants, postage, and printing as having gone to the wounded soldiers and kids of fallen soldiers, when in fact that’s not where it went at all. It simply can’t be taken seriously.

Hopefully Charitywatch is better.

[SamIam]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

These people are scum.

I could not agree more. I think the best help animal lovers can give is to local rescue outfits and shelters. We have a wonderful kitty rescue outfit here in my town. It is run by some very dedicated people who volunteer their time. The cats are well cared for and never euthanized. This is the sort of organization that gets my support these days.

[Griff]

The Hannity scam is interesting in that I always thought he was just a dim bulb who lucked into his radio show riding the Limbaugh wave. It turns out he is a first class con-man and truly an evil bastard.

[TheMercenary]

I can't stand listening to him, he is a TV version of Rush and a want-a-be Rush in all the other aspects of his public persona. Just another talking head idiot.

[squirell nutkin]

I'm not sorry about ur donation.

[LittleWolf]

I think the main problem lies in the convenience the american public prefers. Making a monetary donation is quick and easy, and it gets rid of any guilt or makes you feel like you are helping.

From my years living in many developing countries, I have to say, as soon as money is in the picture, a lot of problems begin.

My family had a silversmith workshop in one of the most run down and struggling communities in southern Sierra Madre. We only hired women because we had constant problems with men showing up drunk or coming back at night to steal machinery or tools. When we paid the women, they would go back home to get beaten by their husbands and had their money taken away to buy booze.

We had to develop a makeshift food stamp program with the local grocery store because we were sick of seeing these girls show up with bruises all over. Even worse, since we provided a room with toys so women with children could bring their children to work, we noticed the kids were all beaten up too. Not only by the husbands, but by jealous families and neighbors.

American and charity money just tear those places apart. The best is to give them things that can't be sold or traded for money, or trade with the locals.

[classicman]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

Sean Hannity's charity busted:

FWIW - a reply was made to the accusations by the blogger . . .

I also think the media would have had a field day with this - I didn't see much coverage on it, but I admittedly don't watch that much tv either.

[Undertoad]

The original link contains an Update which addresses that, and there is a new entry today with more damning information.

[classicman]

wow - excellent UT.

Why the hell isn't anyone else picking up on this?

[xoxoxoBruce]

They're all scum, but what they are doing is legal, just dishonest.

[tw]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

They're all scum, but what they are doing is legal, just dishonest.

I works because most of us routinely believe the first thing we are told. And do not always demand supporting facts and numbers.

Therein lies the power of charitywatch.org and other third parties.

One early introduction was the charity called Childhood Leukemia. A lady in NJ paid herself $200,000 annually and donated something just above the minimum to charity. I don't know what her take is today. That was back when $200,000 was big bucks and the United Campaign top management was exposed enriching themselves.

The numbers. Only honest charities channel over 90% of their donations to the cause. Overhead should be that tiny. Don't remember the minimum number. But if a charity only donates something like 10% to the cause, then it can be a tax exempt charity. Massive profits possible by operating a scam non-profit charity.