Just How Much Of That Donation Really Goes To The Charity?

Share

By By Connie Thompson

Summary

We've got how to find out; also be on the lookout for a questionable magazine subscription sales pitch.

Story Published: Dec 14, 2004 at 3:57 PM PDT

Story Updated: Aug 31, 2006 at 1:48 AM PDT

Just How Much Of That Donation Really Goes To The Charity?
SEATTLE - It might feel like charities are coming at you from every direction this holiday season, hoping to get a donation.

They call you, they send you mail, some even come to your front door.

But how much of the money is going to charity?

Right now, people are targeting local neighborhoods with what sounds like a worthy cause: help keep kids out of trouble. But if you give money, you need to know that money may not be going where you think it is.

Neighborhood Alert:

The alert comes from people in the Bellevue area who don't want to go on camera, but want to get the word out about young adults canvassing local neighborhoods. In this case they're selling magazines door-to-door.

In once case, the young man said he was representing Youth Opportunities in Seattle.

People are asked to pay cash advance for magazine subscriptions, and get a yellow receipt indication you should allow 90-120 days for delivery.

There's an automatic $10 fee tacked on for processing and handling. Both the telephone numbers listed are for cell phones. When we called one, it was out of service. The second number had an outgoing voice mail greeting saying it was Youth Opportunities but no one called us back.

According to the state records, Youth Opportunities is a very new, for profit-partnership. The two owners, the same young men selling the magazine subscriptions, paid $25 for a state business license in mid-November.

But they canceled their account the Department of Revenue on Dec. 6, 20 days after they took out their license. The state says that is highly unusual.

The State Department of Licensing says closing a tax account generally means you're no longer in business -- that you'll not be generating revenue and therefore no longer paying state taxes.

But at last report, at least one of the young men was still selling subscriptions in the Seattle area.

Subscription Sellers May Be Scam Victims

It turns out, the young men may be from out of state, and may themselves be the victims of a nationwide magazine scam that promises young people jobs, then leaves them stranded in other states without getting paid.

A Seattle consumer who was approached tells KOMO 4 News the young men claimed to have been hired by a man who brought them here from the East Coast, then failed to pay them.

What Happens To The Magazines?

There's some question as to whether anyone gets their magazines. Consumers report being encouraged to donate their subscriptions to Children's Hospital. That makes it difficult for donors to track whether the magazines they ordered are delivered.

Check Before You Give

As for other all those other people and organizations who hit you up for donations, the Secretary of State just released this year's report on where a lot of your money goes when it's collected by professional, paid fundraisers.

The latest survey shows 110 registered solicitors operating in Washington between 2003 and 2004.

They raised $368, 446,788 dollars, but on average, only 49 percent of the money collected went to the charities they were paid to help.

The best performer was Coinstar, which gave 94 percent to its charity clients.

At the bottom was the Unique Equity, Inc., which does business as "Thrift Center" in Kent. The charities it represents only got 4 percent of the money it collected.

For More Information:

For more information on the Charities Report -- www.secstate.wa.gov

This is the direct link to the report, but it requires the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view (PDF File)-- www.secstate.wa.gov