Telemarketers Kept 65 Percent Of Charity Donations As Profit
Companies Used Names Of Non-Profits To Earn Big Bucks Last Year
POSTED: 4:52 pm EST December 16, 2008
UPDATED: 5:45 pm EST December 16, 2008
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BOSTON -- Every dollar counts for charities across the commonwealth, but a stunning new report finds some campaigns banking on your generosity are not so charitable.
Telemarketers Kept 65 Percent Of Charity Donations As ProfitThe state's annual Report on Professional Solicitations for Charity in 2007 shows, on average, that telemarketers kept 65 cents of every dollar you donated this year.And there are some stunning examples in which even less went to the intended charity.For example, Team 5 Investigates found Eastern Advertising of Newton solicited money for the North Reading Skating Association and youth hockey programs in Franklin and Waltham. The company raised $55,000, but gave only $11,000 to the kids. It kept 75 percent as profit.Celebrity Marketing raised $92,000 for the Revere Beach Partnership, but after expenses, the group got only $10,000 or 11 percent.All-Pro Productions raised $3.2 million in the name of police and fire departments, including the Worcester Firefighters' Memorial, but turned over a check totaling only $1.1 million or 36 percent.Some of the lowest percentages in this report involve campaigns run by Helping Hands of America. They raised more than $4.5 million in the names of big charities like the Massachusetts Chapter of the ALS Foundation, but only 7 percent -- or $309,000 -- went to the intended targets.
Telemarketers Kept 65 Percent Of Charity Donations As ProfitThe state's annual Report on Professional Solicitations for Charity in 2007 shows, on average, that telemarketers kept 65 cents of every dollar you donated this year.And there are some stunning examples in which even less went to the intended charity.For example, Team 5 Investigates found Eastern Advertising of Newton solicited money for the North Reading Skating Association and youth hockey programs in Franklin and Waltham. The company raised $55,000, but gave only $11,000 to the kids. It kept 75 percent as profit.Celebrity Marketing raised $92,000 for the Revere Beach Partnership, but after expenses, the group got only $10,000 or 11 percent.All-Pro Productions raised $3.2 million in the name of police and fire departments, including the Worcester Firefighters' Memorial, but turned over a check totaling only $1.1 million or 36 percent.Some of the lowest percentages in this report involve campaigns run by Helping Hands of America. They raised more than $4.5 million in the names of big charities like the Massachusetts Chapter of the ALS Foundation, but only 7 percent -- or $309,000 -- went to the intended targets.Copyright 2008 by TheBostonChannel.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
