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TRENTON
– According to its most recent fiscal
report to the state, NJ Shares, Inc., a
Ewing-based charitable organization, spent
a remarkable 98 percent of its annual funds
to help financially distressed New Jersey
residents pay their energy bills. The organization
dedicated the remaining two percent of expenditures
to fundraising, management, and general
costs.
On
the other end of the spectrum is Cancer
Support Services, a Dearborn, Michigan-based
charitable organization that is also registered
to solicit donations in New Jersey. According
to its most recent fiscal year report, this
organization spent only 24 percent of its
funds in furtherance of its stated mission
to help indigent persons suffering from
cancer and to conduct public education.
The bulk of its expenses – 69 percent
– were dedicated to fundraising, with
7 percent to management and general costs.
Continuing
its effort to bring transparency to how
charities spend donors’ dollars, the
New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs
today released the latest list of “New
Jersey’s Top 10 Most Inquired-About
Charities,” with pie charts illustrating
each charity’s spending during its
most recently reported fiscal year.
The
list, updated bimonthly and available at
www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/charity/inquired/#list,
is drawn from consumer calls to the Division’s
Charities Registration Hotline, 973-504-6215.
Today’s list provides information
on the 10 charities most often asked about
by consumers who called the Hotline in May
and June 2011.
“Our
commitment, to pull back the curtain and
show consumers just how charities are using
their donation dollars, continues,”
said Thomas R. Calcagni, Director of the
Division of Consumer Affairs. “How
a charity spends its money, is possibly
the single most important factor in determining
whether that charity is worthy of a donation.
And the reality is, potential donors often
have no idea that certain organizations
spend upwards of 70 or 80 cents of each
donated dollar on nothing more than fundraising,
while others spend nearly every penny on
actual charitable programs. By shedding
light on how charities spend money, we are
encouraging New Jersey’s consumers
to ‘investigate before you donate.’”
According
to the Better Business Bureau’s “Standards
for Charity Accountability,” a charity
should dedicate at least 65 percent of its
expenses toward program activities, and
no more than 35 percent on fundraising.
Consumers can compare that guideline with
the expenditures reported by each of New
Jersey’s Top 10 Most Inquired-About
Charities for their most recent fiscal years.
Each
of the Top 10 charities is listed below,
beginning with those that spent the smallest
percentage of their funds on charitable
programs. Click on each charity’s
name to see the full pie chart and additional
information.
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Cancer
Support Services, of
Dearborn, Michigan. Total
expenses for the fiscal year ending December
31, 2009: $7.4 Million. Charitable program
expenditures: 24 percent. Fundraising
costs: 69 percent. Management and general
costs: 7 percent.
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Disabled
Veterans National Foundation, of
Washington, DC. Total expenses for the
fiscal year ending December 31, 2009:
$22.8 Million. Charitable program expenditures:
37 percent. Fundraising costs: 55 percent.
Management and general costs: 8 percent.
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Autism
Spectrum Disorder Foundation, of Schererville,
Indiana. Total expenses for the fiscal
year ending December 31, 2010: $2.6 Million.
Charitable program expenditures: 46 percent.
Fundraising costs: 47 percent. Management
and general costs: 7 percent.
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Wounded
Warrior Project, of Jacksonville,
Florida. Total expenses for the fiscal
year ending September 30, 2009: $27 Million.
Charitable program expenditures: 61 percent.
Fundraising costs: 25 percent. Management
and general costs: 14 percent.
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National
Committee to Preserve Social Security
and Medicare, of Washington, DC. Total
expenses for the fiscal year ending March
31, 2010: $26.8 Million. Charitable program
expenditures: 62 percent. Fundraising
costs: 6 percent. Management and general
costs: 32 percent.
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Disabled
American Veterans, of Cold Spring,
Kentucky. Total expenses for the fiscal
year ending December 31, 2009: $124 Million.
Charitable program expenditures: 70 percent.
Fundraising costs: 25 percent. Management
and general costs: 5 percent.
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North
Shore Animal League America, of Port
Washington, New York. Total expenses for
the fiscal year ending December 31, 2009:
$31.4 Million. Charitable program expenditures:
77 percent. Fundraising costs: 19 percent.
Management and general costs: 4 percent.
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United
Service Organizations, of Arlington,
Virginia. Total expenses for the fiscal
year ending December 31, 2010: $174.7
Million. Charitable program expenditures:
79 percent. Fundraising costs: 14 percent.
Management and general costs: 7 percent.
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Feed
the Children, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Total expenses for the fiscal year ending
June 30, 2010: $888 Million. Charitable
program expenditures: 90 percent. Fundraising
costs: 6 percent. Management and general
costs: 4 percent.
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NJ
Shares, of Ewing. Total expenses for
the fiscal year ending December 31, 2009:
$14.3 Million. Charitable program expenditures:
98 percent. Fundraising costs: 1 percent.
Management and general costs: 1 percent.
The
State Division of Consumer Affairs encourages
New Jersey consumers to learn about charities
before making a donation. For example:
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Find out whether the charity is registered
in New Jersey, or is exempt from having
to register. (Certain religious and educational
organizations, and charities whose annual
income includes less than $10,000 in public
contributions and fundraising, are exempt
from having to register with the state).
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Find out how much the charity spent during
recent fiscal years on program costs,
management costs, and fundraising.
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Learn about the charity’s stated
mission.
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Consumers may obtain information about
a charity in several ways. They can ask
the charity itself (reputable charities
encourage you to do so); visit the charity’s
website; visit the New Jersey Division
of Consumer Affairs’ Charities Registration
page at www.NJConsumerAffairs.gov;
or call the Division’s Charities
Hotline at 973-504-6215
during regular business hours.
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