After hearing that Crimestoppers is paying 79% of its fund-raising to its 3rd party fundraiser, do you think I want to give a red cent of my hard earned dough to support this travesty?
The question to ask any charity is this: how much of my money is going towards administration, etc? Why should I give to the starving children of Africa when I know only 20% of said funds will reach there? I think it’s time people stopped and thought about what actually monies is given to the people who really need it and what goes to some fat cat with a call center. —I’m keeping my dough in my pocket
This article appears in Sep 23-29, 2010.
MOST no profits aren’t spending 80% in admin fees.
I think there are ethical guidelines that are set and it’s usually under 25-30%….it’s been a while since I’ve taken my fundraising class, but most non profits aren’t skimming off the top.
Anything under 25-30% are actually doing quite well. It costs money to make money. The time and energy often put into a major fundraising campaign (especially a capital campaign) would NEVER be willingly taken on by 100% volunteer workers. Especially the coordination of the campaign itself. We’re talking about 40+ work weeks (often much more than 40 hours leading up to the end of the campaigns) — would YOU donate that kind of time? You’d be hard pressed to find anyone who would.
Spending money on admin costs is just a necessary evil.
Pretty Kitty, I happen to know when admin costs top 15% your doing something wrong.
Anyone who believes their money is 100% going to help the needy & not the greedy… believes the perfect place to live is in La LA land & that it actually exists ! ! ! where no tax is charged, utilities are free & vacations are 11 1/2 months long !
There are charities otuthere that don’t hire corp hitmen , all one needs to do is RESEARCH. with the internet that ain’t all that hard anymore.
I know of a GREAT ONE…It’s called the Actor’s Fund.
It isn’t just for actor’s check out their web site.
my charity has the best volunteers ever, and we don’t get paid!!! just in dog kisses
look at almost any small business… their primary expense is wages. Charities are no different really except that the gov’t asks questions when the profit margin isn’t a third or so (gov’t doesn’t set an actually number on this but there are guidelines and forensic audit techniques to determine threshold values in searching for fraudulent transactions…). I don’t know many small businesses that operate consistently growing by a third in value each and every year yet this is what is demanded from each and every fundraising campaign. Sure, seek out fraud artists but the company paying full time wages to people, EMPLOY those people, remit tax for those people and is ultimately taxed itself. Not that business income tax will “replace” a charity through gov’t programs but realize the economy that surrounds even a losing project.
even when the whatever percentage gets to the party half the time it’s scammed into somebodies pocket anywho; charities are a fucking scam
Shut up, kay.
Ok Crimestoppers may be a bad example, but try not to paint all non-profits with the same brush. If a non-profit raising money didn’t use 15-30% of their revenue to pay admin costs, they would a. have no visibility (who’s going to donate to a charity they’ve never heard of) b. they would have no employees (let alone properly trained employees to do things like receipting and accounting and donor stewardship) and c. they would have very few funds because there would be no feet on the ground. The reality is that many non-profits used to be funded by government who then cut their funding. They then had to find funding on their own. So fundraising was the next logical step.
Bottom line: charities still need well educated and trained employees. Doesn’t matter if it’s a hospital or a kids cancer camp or a sexual health helpline. Those groups exist because society demands them, but people are so unwilling to support any of them every time someone comes up with a scam in the industry. If you get to know your local charities, they’ll tell you what their money gets spent on and hopefully will offer some peace of mind.
Agreed, hollah!. Totally, 100% true.
Do your research before you donate if you’re that concerned… but most charities do operate with a 30% or less admin cost. If they didn’t spend that 20%, then NO money could be raised. Isn’t it better to have 80% of a $100,000 campaign go to your charity, than 100% of… uhh… whatever people randomly donate.
Guess what, there’s competition for donor dollars, just like every other kind of dollar. And if you want $ raised for research into Arthritis, or Alzheimer’s, or the local soup kitchen, you’ve got to work hard for those dollars. Some charities are managed better than others, and if you truly need to know, look it up, it’s all accessible, but don’t say it’s all a scam. Many charities are making a true difference in a lot of lives, but their workers need to be paid too.
yeah, you do that o.p., and next time you need the 1-800-big-ratt, it won’t be there for you. but who cares anyway, nothing is happening with them, and the crooks are still out there.
I hate that this story came out when places like stepping stone are dying for donations, both monetary and otherwise. i feel like people are using this as an excuse to write off all charities and stop giving/thinking about giving altogether. If you donate to a charity you should do research beforehand – I would think that’s common sense. The information is definitely upsetting but what’s twice as shitty is that it will probably dissuade people from giving to any charitable organizations, period.
Non-profit organizations and charitable organizations are two different creatures.
Ever get stopped by those people wearing RedCross, Oxfam, etc shirts downtown asking for donations. Guess what: 40% of the money they raise goes directly back into marketing, a portion (commission+bonuses) goes to the person who suckered you in to signing up and making a donation, then the admin/charity takes their wages out of it, and then the wee bit left over goes to the actual people who need the money. How do I know…..my friend worked for them and gave me the whole story from her training session.