America's Worst Charities
A series by the Tampa Bay Times and the Center for Investigative Reporting in partnership with CNN
Why we did the series
The U.S. Navy Veterans Association story made us wonder:
How do you find the bad actors among 1.6 million nonprofits in America?
How we did the series
We collected and analyzed financial data filed by charities and fundraisers with states and the IRS.
We interviewed regulators, charity executives, professional solicitors, government officials and nonprofit experts.
What we learned
Government oversight is lax with little communication among the states.
Each year professional solicitors report how much they raised for charities and how much they retained.
Nobody looked at how much these solicitors were retaining over time.
More than $1.35 billion donated to the 50 worst charities over the past decade.
Nearly $1 billion was kept by the for-profit solicitors.
Almost none of it made it to people in need.
Reactions
"Every charity uses professional fundraisers."
"Overhead costs aren't a fair way to judge charities."
"I've never stopped liking Moon Pies."
Tips
Investigate before you give.
http://www.tampabay.com/charitychecker/
http://www.tampabay.com/charitychecker/
Watch for similar sounding charities.
Hang up and give direct.
What they tell donors
What they send patients:
Resources:
http://www.tampabay.com/charitychecker/
http://charitysearch.apps.cironline.org/
http://charitynavigator.org/
www.guidestar.org
www.charitywatch.org
www.bbb.org/us/Wise-Giving/
www.greatnonprofits.org
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By Kris Hundley
