Know where your donation goes

By The Gazette Editorial Board--

Many Iowa charitable organizations apparently are satisfied with the cut they get from companies who raise funds on their behalf. On average, those charities who use outside telemarketers receive an average of 22 cents for every $1 raised, a recent Gazette investigation found.

Twenty-two cents? We'd bet that most Iowans who respond to telemarketers expect much more of their money to directly assist the charity's work.

To be fair, most contracts between charities and professional fundraisers are legal. Reputable telemarketing companies also have legitimate expenses; they are businesses with overhead and employees. And for some telemarketers, the take-home after expenses is nothing outrageous. For example, Charity Services Inc. of Marion's latest annual disclosure report to the Iowa Attorney General's Office showed that of $273,974 raised, the owner and four part-time telemarketers shared $87,922 after accounting for all expenses.

We also understand that many charities can't afford to employ a full-time fundraising staff.

Nonetheless, it doesn't sit well when so much of what is raised never gets to the charity. Also troubling is that two-thirds of what fundraisers collect in Iowa goes to telemarketing companies in other states, which is a drain on our state's economy.

Iowa requires professional fundraisers to register if they contract with an Iowa charity or call Iowans for out-of-state organizations. But unlike 40 other states, Iowa does not require the charities to register. For those that don't use a registered telemarketer, it's more difficult to assess how donations are used.

Even if state oversight laws were toughened, Iowans would still need to be skeptical when telemarketers call. Some general advice:

l Ask for written information on the charity or product they are collecting for, including what percentage of a purchase or donation goes to the charity.

l Consider giving directly to a charity that you want to support.

l Look out for charity names or companies that sound similar to a well-known organization.

l Never give the telemarketer personal financial information, such as your checking or bank account number, credit card number, Social Security number or driver's license number.

l And if an offer sounds too good to be true, well, you know the answer to that one.

If you don't want to be contacted by telemarketers, register for free on the National Do No Call List by calling 888-382-1222 or online at www.donotcall.gov/default.aspx.

For more advice, visit the Better Business Bureau's website at

www.bbb.org/us/

charity/ and click the Wise Giving link.

Bottom line: You have a right to know where your donation is going and how it will be used.

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