Iowa charities should be placed on registry

By The Des Moines Register

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Last year, the Iowa Attorney General's Office took action against professional fundraisers working on behalf of charities. The gist of their offenses: lying to Iowans about how much of a donation actually went to charitable work. In one case, solicitors sent about one penny of every dollar contributed to a charity for children.

It was yet another reminder of the importance of Iowans knowing where their money is going - before they open their wallets.

A few years ago, an investigation by The Des Moines Register found the vast majority of the dollars that were collected by fundraiser serving 500 charities were kept by organizations raising the money.

Some charities are honest and dedicate almost all the money raised to actually helping people. Others, not so much.

But it's difficult to know which is which, unless you navigate websites such as GuideStar and can decipher Federal 990 tax forms.

Where is donated money going?

Iowans need a simple, state-based source for checking out a charity to be able to answer that question. The Iowa Legislature should provide it by finally passing the Charitable Solutions Act.

Proposed again this year by Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, Senate Study Bill 1029 would allow the state to establish a registry of organizations.

That would allow consumers to get information about a charity before donating to it, rather than finding out later that the organization was the target of a state investigation.

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