{"id":98223,"date":"2018-11-27T22:27:20","date_gmt":"2018-11-28T03:27:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=98223"},"modified":"2018-11-27T11:48:52","modified_gmt":"2018-11-27T16:48:52","slug":"underwood-report-finds-that-professional-fundraisers-retain-nearly-one-third-of-charitable-campaign-donations-some-retain-more-than-half","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=98223","title":{"rendered":"UNDERWOOD REPORT FINDS THAT\u00a0PROFESSIONAL FUNDRAISERS RETAIN NEARLY ONE-THIRD OF CHARITABLE CAMPAIGN DONATIONS; SOME RETAIN MORE THAN HALF\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
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NYS Attorney General Barbara Underwood<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

UNDERWOOD REPORT FINDS THAT\u00a0<\/strong>PROFESSIONAL FUNDRAISERS RETAIN NEARLY ONE-THIRD OF CHARITABLE CAMPAIGN DONATIONS; SOME RETAIN MORE THAN HALF\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

New \u201cPennies for Charity\u201d Report \u2013 Released Ahead of Giving Tuesday\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Details Costs of Fundraising Campaigns Conducted by Professional Fundraisers; In 2017, Professional Fundraisers Pocketed $372 Million<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Report Also Offers Key Tips for Donors<\/em>:<\/em>\u00a0Be Careful with Charitable Giving; Not All Fundraisers Are Created Equal<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

NEW YORK \u2013 Ahead of Giving Tuesday and holiday season charitable giving, Attorney General Underwood today released the annual\u00a0\u201cPennies for Charity: Where Your Money Goes; Fundraising by Professional Fundraisers<\/a>\u201d report, which found that nearly one-third of charitable donations ended up in the pockets of professional fundraisers.\u00a0This year\u2019s report looks at fundraising trends such as online crowdfunding as well as the percentage of funds raised that went to charities.<\/span><\/p>\n

New York has a robust charitable sector, supported by generous giving by New Yorkers. In 2017, more than $1.18 billion was raised in New York State through 964 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.\u00a0The report and the searchable Pennies for Charity database containing the underlying data is posted atwww.CharitiesNYS.com<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Of the more than $1.18 billion raised through campaigns conducted by professional fundraisers, charities netted over $812 million, or 69% of the proceeds, while professional fundraisers\u2019 fees and expenses totaled $372 million, or 31%.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNew Yorkers are generous in their charitable giving \u2013 and they should know how their dollars are being spent,\u201d\u00a0Attorney General Underwood<\/strong>\u00a0said. \u201cToo often, a large percentage of charitable dollars are pocketed by outside fundraisers rather than going to the cause itself. I urge all New Yorkers to be careful, and to report suspicious entities to my office.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

This year\u2019s report also looked at recent fundraising trends, such as the increase in use of crowdfunding platforms. Telemarketing, while continuing to decline as a fundraising method, remained among the costliest mechanisms, with 271 telemarketing campaigns by fundraisers retaining more than 50% of funds raised for charities.<\/span><\/p>\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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Other significant findings from analyzing the 964 fundraising campaigns covered by this report include:<\/span><\/p>\n