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Annual Report Shows How Telemarketers Profit From Charitable Giving
Former NY State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer released a report on December 27, 2006 which reveals that, on average, only a little over a third of the money raised by telemarketing campaigns goes to charity while the balance is used to pay fees and expenses associated with the fundraising.
The 12th annual report, “Pennies for Charity, Where Your Money Goes. Telemarketing by Professional Fund Raisers,” summarizes information filed with the Attorney General’s Charities Bureau by professional telemarketers who conducted fundraising campaigns in New York State in 2005.
In 2005, telemarketers raised $189.6 million through the 582 telemarketing campaigns included in the report. Charities retained $73.2 million, or 38.61 percent, of the funds raised. The remainder
- $116.4 million - was paid to the telemarketers as fees and other costs of the campaigns.
“This annual report should serve as a reminder of the need to make informed decisions before contributing hard-earned dollars to charity,” Spitzer said.
Spitzer said, “I urge charitable organizations to seek bids
from several professional fundraisers to ensure that the organizations’ fundraising campaigns yield the most money possible for charitable programs.”
Among the other significant findings of the Attorney General’s report are:
In only nine percent of the fundraising campaigns did the charity retain at least 65 percent of the money raised, the amount deemed acceptable under the Better Business Bureau’s standards for charitable organizations;
Charities received less than half of the funds raised in 75 percent of the 2005 telemarketing campaigns; and
Twenty-three charities actually lost money and five received no money at all under their fundraising contracts.
The Attorney General’s web site,
www.oag.state.us/charities/ charities.html,
contains an electronic copy of the report. The information contained in the Attorney General’s report pertains solely to telemarketing campaigns conducted by charitable organizations registered to solicit contributions in New York.
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