Quoted Hiawatha donor ’stunned’ about L.A. Times investigation findings on charity July 6, 2008
Posted by John in Business.Tags: charitable giving, charities, Citizens Against Government Waste, fund-raisers, fundraising, Hiawatha (Iowa), investigative journalism, Money, non-profits, Vickie Bouska
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From Los Angeles Times, The give and take for charity:
Vickie Bouska, a retiree in Hiawatha, Iowa, became a donor to Citizens Against Government Waste after she heard leaders’ arguments on television and received a fundraising letter. …
But she was stunned to learn from a reporter how much money the group ceded to its commercial fundraisers. Of $879,000 raised in the decade examined, $49,000 — 6% — reached the charity.
“They aren’t really getting the money,” Bouska said, “so why am I sending it?” …
Full
Vicki, I too don’t know why you are sending money. Nobody should send money to unknown Charities, anywhere. Thats obscene how little money often gets to the people intended.
If they say its religious connected, check with the church.
Another thing. Check with the United Way on this stuff, and also ask the UWay about the distribution of the money they collect. You might be surprised. If you earmark your gift for a specific agency, that agency probably doesn’t get it. Check it out.
The Red Cross used to send half of all local money collected to the national office, allegedly for national emergencies, but when a national emergency, the Cross practically always conducts fund raising for that disaster. We should be clear about all this.
And the people contributing get no say. Also, church members should be trully involved with their collections and be able to audit
what the church is doing with the money collected.
Scams are all over the place, often despicably using crippled veterans or sad sad photos and stories to scam you. Be alert.