January 15, 1998 | Read Time: 4 minutes
Charities received one out of every three dollars raised in their behalf by professional solicitors, according to a series of new state reports.
In most cases, the proportion of money fund-raising companies gave to charities declined from 1995 to 1996.
The reports were issued by charity regulators in California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, and Ohio. While the percentages charities received were fairly consistent from state to state, professional solicitors who did business in Ohio gave the least to charity, with only one out of every four dollars raised ending up in a non-profit group’s coffers.
The reports were based on the financial information that professional fund-raising companies are required to submit to the states, including how much a company keeps from each fund-raising campaign to pay its own expenses.
Some of the figures include solicitation efforts in states other than those to which the companies reported. They may also include money raised in behalf of charities outside the state.
The reports noted that the revenue raised in a professionally run campaign might represent only part of a charity’s annual donations. In addition, a few of the reports said that organizations might receive non-monetary benefits by using professional solicitors, such as being able to spread their message to a wide audience or test new fund-raising ideas.
Among the reports’ highlights:
* Both the California and New York reports said that the professional solicitors that ran campaigns in their state gave charities nearly 37 per cent of the money they raised. In 1995, the share charities received in those states was 40 per cent and 38 per cent, respectively.
* In Massachusetts, the proportion of money that charities received dropped from 42 per cent in 1995 to 35 per cent in 1996.
* The share of money to charities dropped the most in Ohio, where 25 per cent of the money went to non-profit organizations, down from 42 per cent in 1995. At the same time, the number of campaigns in the state had jumped from 397 in 1995 to 470 in 1996.
* Companies that ran campaigns for Connecticut charities had increased the share they gave to charity, from roughly 30 per cent in 1995 to nearly 33 per cent in 1996. However, the number of campaigns dropped from 135 to 92, and the total amount of money raised fell from $11.6-million to $7.3-million.
Richard Blumenthal, the state’s Attorney General, said that people were becoming less likely to give in response to appeals from professional solicitors. He said that reports such as the one his state has been issuing for 10 years have made the public aware of how little of their donations go to charity. And, he said, charities are becoming less likely to hire solicitors.
“Charities are feeling the pressure from contributors who basically are telling them to either use their own volunteers or drive a harder bargain with the fund-raising company,” Mr. Blumenthal said.
Opinions vary about how much charities ought to spend on fund raising, but Mr. Blumenthal and other charity regulators and watchdog groups say that no more than 50 per cent of gift revenue should go towards such expenses.
The California report, “Attorney General’s Report on Charitable Solicitation by Commercial Fundraisers,” is available for free on the Internet at http://www.caag.state.ca.us or by writing to the Attorney General’s Public Inquiry Unit at P.O. Box 944255, Sacramento, Cal. 94244-2550.
Free copies of the Connecticut report, “Paid Telephone Fund-Raising in Connecticut in 1996,” can be obtained from the Office of the Attorney General, Seventh Floor, Attn: Telephone Report, 55 Elm Street, Hartford, Conn. 06106.
For free copies of the Massachusetts report, “Attorney General’s Report on Telemarketing for Charity,” contact the Attorney General’s Division of Public Charities, 14th Floor, 1 Ashburton Place, Boston, Mass. 02108.
Free copies of the New York report, “Pennies for Charity, Telemarketing by Professional Fundraisers,” can be obtained from the Office of the Attorney General, State Capitol, Albany, N.Y. 12224.
For free copies of the Ohio report, “Charitable Fund Raising in Ohio by Professional Solicitors, 1996 Report,” write to the Office of the Attorney General, Charitable Foundations Section, 101 East Town Street, Fourth Floor, Columbus, Ohio 43215; (800) 282 0515.
Correction
This story incorrectly stated the proportion of dollars that professional solicitors registered to do business in Ohio gave to charity in 1996. Charities received 33.7 per cent, or a total of about $25.4-million. On average, Ohio charities received 25.5 per cent of the money collected in each professionally run fund-raising campaign.
