Beware: Charity calls often net little for actual charities

Published November 23, 2017

by Travis Fain, WRAL, November 22, 2017.

It's sad to say, but if your phone rings this holiday season with someone raising money for charity, be wary.

And if you give, don't expect all your money to make it to the charity itself.

On average, about 60 percent of the money professional fundraisers collected on behalf of charity in North Carolina last year went directly to those charities, according to an annual report from the N.C. Secretary of State's Office, which tracks professional solicitors.

The percentage varies widely, though. Some groups said they sent 90 percent, or even 100 percent of what they raised to charity. Other companies send 10 percent or less. And with 7,156 groups licensed to solicit for charity in North Carolina, there are plenty of entrants in between.

Some of these groups can be hard to track. The Las Vegas area phone number on file with the Secretary of State's Office for a group named Courtesy Call Inc. rings to an entity calling itself Donor Relations, which is also registered with the state, but at a Delaware address and phone number. A woman answering the telephone said she wasn't familiar with Courtesy Call and confirmed she was speaking to a reporter shortly before the call disconnected.

Courtesy Call raised money last year in North Carolina for breast cancer awareness, veterans groups, firefighter groups and a group called National Community Advancement, which does business under the name Breast Cancer Assistance Fund. Of the seven groups Courtesy Call raised money for in fiscal 2017, none received more than 15 percent of the money raised, the Secretary of State's Office report indicates.

The report can be misleading, though. An entity called Donor Services Group is listed as returning 0 percent of what it raised for The Humane Society of the United States, but a Humane society spokesperson said via email Wednesday that's because DSG encourages people to make monthly donations via credit card. The report captures only the money that flows to DSG, not revenue that goes to the Humane Society, spokesperson Thai Da Silva said.

If large items are sold – such as a mattress-selling fundraiser used at a number of North Carolina High Schools – that also skews the numbers because the gross receipts figure used to calculate return percentages includes the purchase price of the mattress, or of other items sold.

The Secretary of State's Office keeps a registry of licensed groups online, and its 800 page report on this year's charitable solicitations can be downloaded there as well. The office has a list of steps it suggests before giving, including:

  • Ask the caller how much of a cut they, or their company, will get from your donation. If the caller is pushy, sounds like he or she is reading a script or won't answer questions, be suspicious.
  • Write down the name of the charity. Look it up online or ask the caller to mail you information about it. You can always contact the charity directly and donate that way.
  • Don't give out credit card or bank information over phone or email to a stranger.
  • Remember: tax exempt means the organization doesn't pay taxes. Tax deductible means you can deduct at least some of your donation on your income taxes.

North Carolinians donated more than $39.7 million over the last fiscal year through professional solicitors registered with the state. Just under $23.6 million of that went to the charities, the Secretary of State's Office reports. Giving increased from the year before both nationally and within the state, the report states.

http://www.wral.com/beware-charity-calls-often-net-little-for-actual-charities/17134711/