Help with 501c's - Vanity

USPS | 7/06/12 | me

[texas_mrs]

My parents are donating daily to these people. My father has Parkinson's & is SO worried about 0bama ruining the country that he donates to nearly everything he gets. Fortunately, my Mom gives the mail to me and I select (with her approval) which ones are forwarded, saving them a pile of money & more mail that is caused by each donation. Today I have FOURTEEN of them!

[texas_mrs]

I cannot possibly spend my day looking up every organization that contacts them. Can anyone help me sort out which are admirable and which ones just pocket the money and send another request? Is there some website that tells which ones actually use the money for it's supposed purpose?

[1rudeboy]

www.ris.gov.

Basically, if you run a 501(c)3 you must open your books. I'm sure someone out there collects that info, but I'm not sure if your should trust the information they give.

[1rudeboy]

www.irs.gov.

Basically, if you run a 501(c)3 you must open your books. I'm sure someone out there collects that info, but I'm not sure if your should trust the information they give.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

I get that many a day, and round-file them all.

Save yourself the stress and do the same.

Pick a couple of worthy ones and send them a check once or twice a year, regardless of those mailings.

I swear, if I give to an organization, it seems they spend every sent I sent them asking for more.

[JimWayne]

An organization that was created for a specific purpose (a short-term goal) is usually a good one. The long term ones exist in order to make money for themselves. The bigger the organization, the greater the fraud.

[RC2]

Reduce them all to the Wounded Warrior Project and you will do a world of good.

[montag813]

I cannot possibly spend my day looking up every organization that contacts them. Can anyone help me sort out which are admirable and which ones just pocket the money and send another request? Is there some website that tells which ones actually use the money for it's supposed purpose?

The IRS won't tell you if they put the $ to good use. Google "Guidestar".

[texas_mrs]

Exactly! I tell Dad that, but he thinks it's the only thing he can do to help. Most of them have a form to fill out asking what things are bothering you about the country, then the next request will include some horrific story that centers around the topic(s) you've selected, which, of course, makes the recipient MORE likely to send money.

It's a scam! One of the worst seems to be "Council of Seniors". They do NOTHING, but they send the MOST requests. Sometimes Dad even gets berated for not sending money!

[rightly_dividing]

I swear, if I give to an organization, it seems they spend every sent I sent them asking for more.

That really irks me to no end. I do not donate to them again.

[1rudeboy]

That is not necessarily true. I am associated with a number of 501(c)3's that pay their executives and board members peanuts, and have been around for decades.

It is true that you must research where your donations are going.

[1rudeboy]

The IRS won't tell you if they put the $ to good use.

The IRS will give you the information, and you must figure out the rest.

[HereInTheHeartland]

Don't give money to any group; assume they are all scams.

Then look at ones you can work with directly and maybe support one of those groups.
Don't put your money somewhere unless you can be directly involved in helping.

[gdani]

When replying to these groups, you should also include a note telling them not to share your father's name, address, etc with other groups.

Non-profits sell & trade their membership lists with each other all the time.

If they refuse or ignore the request, stop donating.

[richmwill]

Berated for not sending money- unbelievable. Reminds me of the time I was placed on the mailing list of a Christian ministry, and once received a fund raising letter from the founder’s wife stating “Donations have been down this past quarter. Every day, my husband checks the mail to see if any of our friends have written to us with support...”. After that, I made it my duty to do all I could to remain on their mailing list for as long as I could while throwing out their letters the second they were received. Just keeping in contact in order to remain on the mailing list.

[RayBob]

www.guidestar.org

You can see their tax returns, ect. See where their money goes, what they pay their officers/directors.

[Kirkwood]

I don’t know of any such list because everyone has different criteria for judging an effective use of donations. Ask your parents to cut their charitable giving to only a few organizations. All other requests go into the trash. They can choose what they want from medical care, veteran’s groups, etc., but then look at the books for those few and see if they meet your expectations. If it does it is a keeper, but if their overhead is too high then cross them off.

Some 501c3s actually post their most recent tax returns online, which saves you time when looking up admin costs, payroll, etc. All of them are supposed to send you the information if you request it. All groups have some administrative overhead, if only to keep records for the IRS.

[RavenATB]

Not all “501s” pay their executive “peanuts.”

Some of the larger national non-profits pay their top executives massive salaries. Do a little “googling” about the salaries paid to the top executives of the Red Cross just a few years ago (over $600K/yr for one of them), for example.

[1rudeboy]

I was responding to the comment that, "The long term ones exist in order to make money for themselves." It is a sweeping generalization, and I mentioned why.

Pointing out to me that some 501s pay massive salaries completely is meaningless.

[a fool in paradise]

My parents were flooded with envelopes that depicted crying Indian/Native American youth crying begging for donations.

And remember that Harry Reid says that the elderly who receive these scam letters and other junk mail WELCOME it because it keeps them connected to the outside world and receiving mail.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/compost/post/harry-reid-fights-for-junk-mail/2012/04/20/gIQAFgDOWT_blog.html

[Gaffer]

IIRC, the Atlanta United Way got caught with executive extravagance. This was 20-25 years ago I think....massive salaries, luxury offices, limousines, etc.

That was when I started tell my work not to bother me any more with United Way Campaign donation requests.