{"id":110019,"date":"2019-12-04T10:43:37","date_gmt":"2019-12-04T15:43:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=110019"},"modified":"2019-12-04T10:43:37","modified_gmt":"2019-12-04T15:43:37","slug":"in-2018-professional-fundraisers-pocketed-nearly-370-million","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=110019","title":{"rendered":"In 2018, Professional Fundraisers Pocketed Nearly $370 Million"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Attorney General Letitia James<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Attorney General James reports professional fundraisers retain nearly a third of charitable campaign donations – some retain more than half<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

New \u201cPennies for Charity\u201d report details costs of fundraising campaigns conducted by professional fundraisers<\/em>, offers key tips for donors: Be careful with charitable giving<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Attorney General James today released the annual\u00a0\u201cPennies for Charity: Where Your Money Goes; Fundraising by Professional Fundraisers\u201d report<\/a>,\u00a0which found that nearly one-third of charitable donations ended up in the pockets of professional fundraisers. This year\u2019s report looks at fundraising trends such as the rise of online giving as well as the percentage of funds raised that went to charities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNew Yorkers are generous in their charitable giving, but unfortunately not all the money they donate reaches the charities that they intend to help,\u201d said Attorney General James<\/strong>. \u201cToo often, charitable dollars are pocketed by outside fundraisers rather than reaching the charity and furthering its mission. I urge all New Yorkers to be careful, and to report suspicious entities to my office.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New York has a robust charitable sector, supported by generous giving by New Yorkers. In 2018, more than $1.3 billion was raised in New York State through 891 fundraising campaigns conducted by professional fundraisers on behalf of charities. These campaigns, which are the focus of the report, used a range of methods including special events, direct mail, and telemarketing. The report and the searchable Pennies for Charity database containing the underlying data is posted at www.CharitiesNYS.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of the more than $1.3 billion raised through campaigns conducted by professional fundraisers, charities netted over $984 million, or 73% of the proceeds, while professional fundraisers\u2019 fees and expenses totaled $369 million, or 27%. This is a 4% improvement in amounts retained by charities over the previous year, which the report attributes to a variety of factors including enforcement and donor education efforts by the Charities Bureau.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year\u2019s report also analyzed current fundraising trends, such as the rise in online giving. Telemarketing, while continuing to decline as a fundraising method, remained among the costliest mechanisms, with 230 telemarketing campaigns by fundraisers retaining more than 50% of funds raised for charities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPennies for Charity\u201d aggregates information from fundraising reports filed with the Attorney General\u2019s Charities Bureau for campaigns conducted by professional fundraisers on behalf of charities in the previous year. Professional fundraisers must register with the Office of the Attorney General and provide financial reports that break down the revenue raised and the expenses generated by the campaign. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other significant findings from analyzing the 891 fundraising campaigns covered by this report include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n