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NEWARK
– When the New Jersey Police Officers
Foundation spent donors’ money during
its most recent fiscal year, only 11 cents
of each dollar went toward the organization’s
stated mission to provide support to other
charities, and work for the advancement of
the Italian-American community. The bulk of
each dollar – 87 cents – was spent
on fundraising. The remaining two cents were
spent on management and general expenses.
By
contrast, of each dollar the Christian Appalachian
Project spent during its most recently reported
fiscal year, 91 cents went toward the group’s
stated mission to provide physical, spiritual,
and emotional support to poverty-stricken
residents of the Appalachian region. Five
cents of each dollar went toward fundraising,
and four cents toward management and general
expenses.
As
the holidays remind us to think of those
in need, and the time for year-end tax deductible
charitable gifts approaches, the State Division
of Consumer Affairs reminds New Jerseyans:
‘Tis the Season to Investigate Before
You Donate.
Bringing
increased transparency to the ways non-profit
organizations use donated money, the Division
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 recent reported fiscal year. The full
list is available at www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/charity/inquired/#list.
“At
this time of year, people are making decisions
about donating to the causes they find most
meaningful and important,” Thomas
R. Calcagni, Director of the Division of
Consumer Affairs, said. “Our Investigate
Before You Donate campaign urges consumers
to decide not just with their hearts, but
with their heads. Before giving to a charity,
find out how much of your donation dollar
will be spent on charitable programs, as
opposed to fundraising or management costs.
Take a close look at the charity’s
stated mission, and the specific ways it
works to fulfill that mission.”
The
list of New
Jersey’s Top 10 Most Inquired-About
Charities is drawn from consumers’
calls to the Division’s Charities
Registration Hotline, 973-504-6215.
The list announced today provides information
on the 10 charities most often asked about
by consumers who called the Hotline from
September through November 2011. A high
number of inquiries may mean a charity solicited
donations or held a campaign drive during
the months in question.
The
New Jersey Police Officers Foundation,
based in Lyndhurst, and the Christian
Appalachian Project, based in Lexington,
Kentucky, stand at the extremes of the list
announced today. The information about their
expenditures is based on each charity’s
most recent fiscal year report to the Division
of Consumer Affairs.
The
Better Business Bureau’s Standards
for Charity Accountability state that a
charity should dedicate at least 65 percent
of its expenses toward program activities,
and no more than 35 percent toward fundraising.
Consumers can compare that guideline with
the expenditures reported by the charities
for their most recent fiscal years.
Each
of the Top 10 Most-Inquired-About Charities
is listed below, beginning with those with
the smallest percentage of their expenditures
dedicated to charitable programs, according
to their most recent fiscal year reports.
Click on each charity's name to see the
full pie chart and additional information.
New
Jersey Police Officers Association, of Lyndhurst.
Total expenses for the fiscal year ending
12/31/2010: $931,126
Charitable program expenses: 10.8 percent
Fundraising expenses: 87 percent
Management and general expenses: 2.1 percent
PAL
of New Jersey, of Freehold.
Total expenses for the fiscal year ending
12/31/2009: $996,676
Charitable program expenses: 39.6 percent
Fundraising expenses: 50 percent
Management and general expenses: 10.4
percent
Paralyzed
Veterans of America, of Washington, D.C.
Total expenses for the fiscal year ending
12/21/2010: $110,781,205
Charitable program expenses: 60 percent
Fundraising expenses: 31.8 percent
Management and general expenses: 8.3 percent
Wounded
Warrior Project, of Jacksonville, Florida.
Total expenses for the fiscal year ending
9/30/2010: $34,843,801
Charitable program expenses: 64.1 percent
Fundraising expenses: 28.3 percent
Management and general expenses: 7.7 percent
Help
Hospitalized Veterans, of Winchester, California.
Total expenses for the fiscal year ending
7/31/2010: $37,837,593
Charitable program expenses: 64.5 percent
Fundraising expenses: 27.5 percent
Management and general expenses: 8 percent
Breast
Cancer Society of America, of Mesa, Arizona.
Total expenses for the fiscal year ending
12/31/2010: $47,985,521
Charitable program expenses: 69.8 percent
Fundraising Expenses: 29.5 percent
Management and general expenses: 0.7 percent
Smile
Train, of New York, New York.
Total expenses for the fiscal year ending
6/30/2010: $86,267,187
Charitable program expenses: 78 percent
Fundraising expenses: 21 percent
Management and general expenses: 0.9 percent
United
Service Organizations, of Arlington, Virginia.
Total expenses for the fiscal year ending
12/31/2010: $174,716,310
Charitable program expenses: 79.3 percent
Fundraising expenses: 13.5 percent
Management and general expenses: 7.2 percent
Children’s
Cancer Recovery Foundation, of Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania.
Total expenses for the fiscal year ending
12/31/2010: $9,064,686
Charitable program expenses: 85.5 percent
Fundraising expenses: 10 percent
Management and general expenses: 4.5 percent
Christian
Appalachian Project, of Lexington, Kentucky.
Total expenses for the fiscal year ending
8/31/10: $132,680,466
Charitable program expenses: 90.6 percent
Fundraising expenses: 5.1 percent
Management and general expenses: 4.3 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.
-
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.
Consumers
who believe they have been cheated or scammed
by a business, or suspect any other form
of consumer abuse, can file a complaint
with the State Division of Consumer Affairs
by visiting its website, www.NJConsumerAffairs.gov,
or by calling 1-800-242-5846
(toll free within New Jersey ) or 973-504-6200.
Follow
the Division of Consumer Affairs on Facebook
at www.facebook.com/pages/NJ-Division-of-Consumer-Affairs/112957465445651,
and check our online calendar of upcoming
Consumer Outreach events at www.NJConsumerAffairs.gov/outreach.
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