Cape & Islands News

Pro fundraisers take lion's share from local charity campaigns

Area charities generally see between 20 and 40 cents on donated dollar
2007 campaign for International Fund for Animal Welfare lost money

By James Kinsella

If a professional fundraiser got in touch with you in 2007 and asked you to donate to the Christ the King Parish in Mashpee, some of what you decided to give would have gone to the parish.

But not much.

In the professional fundraising campaigns conducted in 2007 for charities based on the Cape and Islands, generally between 20 and 40 cents on the dollar went to the charities, according to the report.

A report by the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office on professional fundraising in the state in 2007 shows that more than 78 cents on every dollar that you gave didn't go to the parish.

Of the $10,358 raised in the campaign by the Combined Charities of Cape Cod, only $2,201 went to Christ the King.

A slightly lower percentage went to the Police Athletic League Inc. of Cape Cod in a 2007 campaign conducted by Brent-Wyatt East.

Of the $21,130 raised for that particular campaign, $4,226, or 20 percent, went to the league.

Among the more successful campaigns conducted on the Cape and Islands was an effort by All-Pro Productions for the Nantucket Permanent Firefighters Association Local 2504.

The campaign raised $129,736. Of that sum, the local saw $51,894, or 40 percent of the revenue.

In the professional fundraising campaigns conducted in 2007 for charities based on the Cape and Islands, generally between 20 and 40 cents on the dollar went to the charities, according to the report.

One campaign, conducted by the Share Group for the International Fund for Animal Welfare, which is based in Yarmouthport, resulted in a substantial loss to the charity. Although the campaign raised $14,454, the endeavor led to a net loss of $76,771, for a negative percentage return of 531.14 percent.

In Massachusetts in 2007, the report found, an average of 35.42 percent of revenue raised in professional campaigns went to the intended charities.

Of the $284.5 million raised through the campaigns, $110.8 million went to the charities.
Cape and Islands charities included in the 2007 report include:

Barnstable-Yarmouth Lions Club: Walter Childs raised $26,783. A total of $8,000, or 29.87 percent, went to the club.

Mashpee Police Foundation: Brent-Wyatt East raised $42,328. A total of $12,698, or 30 percent, went to the foundation.

Pass It On Inc.: Combined Charities of Cape Cod raised $10,358, of which $2,201, or 21.25 percent, went to the nonprofit.

Plymouth Firefighters Local 1768: All-Pro Productions conducted two campaigns in 2007 for the local. One raised $38,542, of which $15,417 went to the local. The other raised $40,126, of which $16,050 went to the local. In each case, the local received 40 percent of the campaign revenue.

Plymouth Police Ranking Officers Association: East Coast Marketing Group raised $16,082, of which $5,629, or 35 percent, went to the association.

Police Athletic League of Cape Cod: In addition to the effort cited above, Brent-Wyatt conducted another campaign, which raised $77,851 in revenue. Of that sum, $25,691, or 33 percent, went to the league.

Plymouth Police Relief Association: TCI America Inc. raised $72,915, of which $28,000 or 38.4 percent went to the association.

Yarmouth Police Relief Association: TCI raised $75,335, of which $30,134 or 40 percent went to the association.

In 2007, according to the report, professional campaigns for charities in Massachusetts raised less money than the prior year, but took a higher percentage of the overall revenue.

In 2007, according to the report, professional campaigns for charities in Massachusetts raised less money than the prior year, but took a higher percentage of the overall revenue.

"In 2006, professional solicitors raised approximately $361 million and the charities received 44 percent of that, or $160 million," the report states.

"Charities received 44 percent of the amounts professional solicitors raised in 2006, but only 35 percent of the amounts professional solicitors raised in 2007," according to the report.

Only 18 percent of the charities received more than 50 percent of the revenues raised in the professional campaigns.

Before donating, the attorney general's office recommends:

• Donors should review the 2007 report to determine in prior campaigns, how much money ended up with a charity.
• Likewise, potential donors should ask how much of the donation will actually go the charity and how much is going to the professional fundraiser.
• Potential donors should ask for the exact name of the charity and for a precise description of what the charity does. Often, charities have similar names and potential donors should clarify if there is any relationship between charities that have similar names.
• Potential donors should call the attorney general's office at 617-727-2200, extension 2101, to find out if the charity and its fundraiser are registered to operate in Massachusetts.

The attorney general's office said it does not endorse specific charities, but does collect financial information which is available for public inspection.