April 13, 2015
THE PUBLISHER’S VIEW Inner Thoughts and Comments
By Joe Hutter
Publisher
In the last few months, we having been hearing more and more about seniors being the victims of crime. Criminals have been posing on the phone as Internal Revenue Agents, credit card employees, relatives who need money and on and on. Has someone called you and told you that they have money that you won? Have you had someone steal your identity? Have you checked your credit rating? If someone calls you on the phone and ask for personal information, DO NOT give any information and hang up on them. Tell your family or a friend if anything like this has happened to you.
Everyday something comes in the mail asking for money. These scams are aimed at seniors, because they are known to donate to help others. The not-for-profit agency asking for money will claim that the donations will be used to help people throughout the world, as well as in the United States. My question to you is, “Do you know the whole story?” Some of these non-profits are named Feed The Children, Food For the Poor, American Heart Association, The Heritage Foundation, American Cancer Society and on and on. There are over a thousand similar programs.
Before you donate money to these groups, it is advised that you check with the Better Business Bureau to see how much of the money donated is used for the program and how much for salaries. Food For The Poor is located in Coconut Creek, Florida. In 2011, The CEO and President of the charity, Robin G Mahfood, had a salary of $407,715.00 plus benefits. They employed 371 people.
The American Cancer Society is another an accredited agency, whose CEO Nancy Brown was paid $843,779.00 plus benefits in 2011. Records show 84 percent of the money that is donated goes to cancer programs, which amounted to over $517,838,000. The current Chief Executive Officer is John Seffri.
Why am I providing this information? The name of a charity only tells part of the story. Before you donate to a charity, check to see what they do with the donated money. You will be surprised at the salaries and benefits of the boards and employees of these charities.
A wiser choice is to donate to a local church or charity. Many groups like the Red Cross in Moline, Illinois will use the money locally. The major charities have an office locally. You want your donated money to help the people who need help. CEOs should be paid, because there is work that needs to be done to keep programs operating. However, they don’t need million dollar salaries and benefits.
And lastly, just because a charity sends you personalized name and address labels, it doesn’t mean you are obligated to send them money. If you feel you need to do something with those materials, simply send them back. If you didn’t request the materials, you do not owe for the materials.
Take Care
Joe Hutter may be contacted at publisherjoe@gmail.com
