Author Topic: Are a lot of non-profits scammy?  (Read 3097 times)

swampwiz

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Are a lot of non-profits scammy?
« on: July 05, 2018, 11:23:39 AM »
I just received some JUNK mail from a new non-profit:

http://offenderwatchinitiative.org/donate

And I found an interesting article about how the tax reform will help tamper down executive compensation:

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/20/tax-reform-smacks-down-excessive-nonprofit-executive-pay-commentary.html

Now of course, these non-profits are ostensibly for a good cause; certainly the nominal cause for this one is good.  But I wonder if "entrepreneurs" think that getting in and starting up a non-profit - with themselves as chiefs - is a business opportunity.  I mean, at the very least, they will be able to say that as "executives", they deserve a good salary, even if it is less than what it would be for a for-profit corporation.  Oh sure, once their salaries have been paid, they will disburse any extra out to "good" causes - perhaps even other non-profits so that the donations can slosh around to other executives, etc.

It wouldn't have bothered me, but they sent me damn junk mail - AND I HATE JUNK MAIL!

bacchi

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Re: Are a lot of non-profits scammy?
« Reply #1 on: July 05, 2018, 11:27:24 AM »
I know a lot of those police and veteran charities have been called out by local PDs and attorney generals. Their actual charitable % is very low but their executive director compensation is very high.

FIRE@50

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Re: Are a lot of non-profits scammy?
« Reply #2 on: July 05, 2018, 11:28:36 AM »
I think a lot of them are scammy. Especially ones setup by athletes and other famous people. I'm sure that many of them do some amazing things for people, but many of them are setup as a tax shelter and a way to funnel money to friends and relatives by paying them a salary.

I would recommend doing a lot of research before handing over any money. You could also consider volunteering for a while too in order to see how things work on the inside.

swampwiz

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Re: Are a lot of non-profits scammy?
« Reply #3 on: July 05, 2018, 11:32:35 AM »
I would recommend doing a lot of research before handing over any money. You could also consider volunteering for a while too in order to see how things work on the inside.

Oh, don't worry; I won't be handing out any money!
« Last Edit: July 05, 2018, 11:34:08 AM by swampwiz »

Khaetra

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Re: Are a lot of non-profits scammy?
« Reply #4 on: July 05, 2018, 11:35:47 AM »
I am very careful with who gets my money.  I keep most of it local, like the food banks, humane society, etc.  I agree with the PP who said to do your research before handing over your cash.  Many of these CEO's make a crapton of money while those who the money is supposed to go get squat.

Rosy

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Re: Are a lot of non-profits scammy?
« Reply #5 on: July 05, 2018, 12:24:05 PM »
The Veterans, in particular, seem to attract their share of scammers. Our local paper and the local news regularly do great reporting on any scams, but of course, by then the damage has already been done.
I'm ashamed to say I contributed to one of them - didn't do my due diligence and what's more couldn't really afford the donation at the time when seen in retrospective under the MMM microscope.

I do think there should be a special place in hell for the men of the cloth who fleece their flock and for anyone who misappropriated money meant to help children.
Wherever there is money or opportunity with little oversight there will be those taking advantage, whether it is getting a free car to drive or dipping into the till.




JoJo

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Re: Are a lot of non-profits scammy?
« Reply #6 on: July 05, 2018, 12:51:22 PM »
The worst are those commercials with starving babies or shaking puppies.  For many of these orgs, CEO & call center commissions take most of the money and the actual money to the missions is less than 10%.

MMM365

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Re: Are a lot of non-profits scammy?
« Reply #7 on: July 05, 2018, 01:06:26 PM »
There will always be people who try to make money where money is available; some of these people will take more money that you or I might like. 

As we look at nonprofits, I think it's important to 1) have information about the nonprofits mission and how that money is spent and 2) personally decide what parameters you feel define effective altruism and philanthrophy. 

1) there are several good places where you can get outstanding information about the program and administration expenses of many many different organizations.  Givewell, charitywatch, charitynavigator are all good places. 
2) The more difficult decision in my mind, is to determine what my personal inclination in defining what makes an effective nonprofit.

All that being said, there is a lot of untrue information being thrown out there lambasting nonprofits (executive compensation, not completing any of its missions, etc) and one has to be careful not to mistake our own hesitancy to give financially from true avoidance of ineffective non profits. 

FIRE47

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Re: Are a lot of non-profits scammy?
« Reply #8 on: July 05, 2018, 01:13:08 PM »
The smaller and more local the more likely that most of the money is going to where it should as they are usually run almost entirely by volunteers. Basically all I get out of 200 plus hours of my time each year is a single meal at the AGM. I would recommend giving of your time more so than money. If all an organization wants is your money then that may be a bad sign. 50+ hours devoting whatever skill sets you may have to a non-profit will do a lot more good than any reasonable amount of money you may possibly be thinking of donating.

« Last Edit: July 05, 2018, 01:16:36 PM by FIRE47 »

BTDretire

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Re: Are a lot of non-profits scammy?
« Reply #9 on: July 05, 2018, 08:42:19 PM »
I know a lot of those police and veteran charities have been called out by local PDs and attorney generals. Their actual charitable % is very low but their executive director compensation is very high.

  I ask one phone charity collector for a police agency what percentage they gave to the charity.
He said 5%, he may have decided I wasn't going to give so just lied to me, or maybe not.
  I think 5% is what the Clinton foundation used for charitable purposes.

tralfamadorian

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Re: Are a lot of non-profits scammy?
« Reply #10 on: July 05, 2018, 08:58:05 PM »
I think 5% is what the Clinton foundation used for charitable purposes.

Not according to the financials listed on charity navigator, which state that 86.9% of the expenses were for charitable programs. 

https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=16680


Effervescent

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Re: Are a lot of non-profits scammy?
« Reply #11 on: July 07, 2018, 07:47:55 AM »
I work at a respectable, medium-sized non-profit organization with a legitimate mission - no one at the executive level is stealing money.

I'd say that 60% of my co-workers' time is either spent doing nothing/personal things (idle chat, Facebook, etc.), or on work that results in very little or nothing three months down the road. There are lots of projects that go nowhere, after many hours of labor time involving multiple people. People where I work tend to spend a lot of time thinking about what they're going to eat for lunch. After a hard project, some seem to not really show up to work for a couple days (work days M-F), or they leave very early, or they "work from home". People seem to come in late on a regular basis and nothing seems to ever be said about it.

That said, from my understanding you could say very similar things about working in large, for-profit corporations.

Like with a lot of things in the modern economy, I don't think that an increase in money coming in (funding/grants) is necessarily a good thing at my non-profit. I'd say - instead focus on how to make existing dynamics work properly/better, and focus on what you already have before spending more money.

COEE

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Re: Are a lot of non-profits scammy?
« Reply #12 on: July 07, 2018, 10:13:15 PM »
Honestly at a good non-profit your time is way more valuable than your money.  Money is still important, but at the non-profit that I've helped with on occasion, they are usually more happy to see smiling volunteers each morning than to see a check in the mailbox. 

Money keeps the doors open.  People get the work done.  Both are important.

marty998

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Re: Are a lot of non-profits scammy?
« Reply #13 on: July 08, 2018, 05:00:56 AM »
Something something Shane Warne Foundation something something.

Google it. Very disappointing all round.

Car Jack

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Re: Are a lot of non-profits scammy?
« Reply #14 on: July 08, 2018, 06:32:45 AM »
United Way

They don't do any direct charity work.  They market and collect money and then give the money to charities.  I can give money directly without going through a marketing company where the CEO makes over $1.2MM a year!

px4shooter

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Re: Are a lot of non-profits scammy?
« Reply #15 on: July 08, 2018, 07:29:12 AM »
United Way

They don't do any direct charity work.  They market and collect money and then give the money to charities.  I can give money directly without going through a marketing company where the CEO makes over $1.2MM a year!

They are taking a cut to manage the money. No way to look at it any other way. Then the actual charity pays their people. Why give money to United Way, when they are just taking a cut?

Oh, and look at what charities they can send your money to. If you don't designate, they may be sending funds to places and causes you don't support OR that have a high cost of employee expenses.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!