Donor Beware: Bogus Children's Charities
May 2, 2006
by Andrew Heck, Charity Navigator
People have a natural instinct to protect children from harm, and when they hear a tragic tale of a sick, hurt, abused, or wayward child they feel a desire to help. Unfortunately, there are plenty of unscrupulous telemarketers and charities who try and exploit our desire to help children for their own personal gain. Along with appeals for police, firefighters, and veterans, telemarketers know that a fundraising pitch involving children will get them a sympathetic ear and likely a financial contribution.
Sadly, some of the worst performing charities that Charity Navigator rates are those that claim to help children. Instead of spending money to help kids in need, these charities spend upwards of 90% on fundraising, with a large share going to for-profit telemarketing firms. Often, these charities will have 'sound-alike' names that make it hard for donors to tell them apart from the many charities that are legitimately working hard on behalf of America's children. Don't be fooled! Only give to a reputable children's charity that you know will spend your donation wisely.
The 17 children's charities we list below all share the same terrible traits: low program spending, reliance on professional fundraisers, and sound-alike names. The types of programs that they purport to offer to benefit children fall into one of five categories: Missing Kids, Diseases and Disabilities, Wish Granting, Drugs and Safety, and Athletics and Activities.
Missing Kids
Nothing strikes more fear into the heart of parents than the thought of their children vanishing. Tragically, telemarketers and careless and self-interested charities are aware of this and have set up organizations that tug at donors' heart strings by claiming to help find lost children. In looking at the finances of the three charities below, however, it appears that the only thing they spend resources finding is money in the bank accounts of unsuspecting donors. All three of the charities listed below spend over 50% on fundraising, with The Committee for Missing Children spending a shocking 91.8% on fundraising!
Diseases and Disabilities
Children with life-threatening diseases or disabling medical conditions also elicit sympathy from well-meaning donors, which is why there is no shortage of people waiting to take advantage of this sympathy, including the three charities below. The National Children's Leukemia Foundation, and the Childhood Leukemia Foundation are examples of charities that have similar-sounding, benevolent names, but that spend more than 80% of donor contributions on efforts to raise more contributions.
- American Foundation for Disabled Children
- National Children's Leukemia Foundation
- Childhood Leukemia Foundation
Wish Granting
Bogus wish granting charities also prey on the sympathies of donors wishing to ease the pain of sick children. Although there are many wish granting charities that do good work, giving suffering children a needed distraction, the four charities below seem only to work to grant the wishes of for-profit fundraisers.
- Children's Charity Fund, Inc.
- Wishing Well Foundation USA
- Children's Wish Foundation International
- Kids Wish Network
Drugs and Safety
No one could argue that keeping kids away from drugs and safe from danger isn't a worthwhile goal. The four charities below, however, each spend more than 50% on fundraising and have CEOs that earn more than $150,000 and probably aren't doing much to keep anyone's kids safe but their own.
- National Child Safety Council
- National Drug & Safety League
- Junior Police Academy
- Youth Development Fund
Athletics and Activities
Another way to keep kids off drugs and out of trouble is to get them involved in an activity. The three charities below combine two causes that almost everyone cares about: police and children. Unfortunately, they are also some of the worst-rated charities we list and tarnish the good name of hard-working law enforcement officers in Texas , New Jersey , and California .
- Police Activities League of Texas
- Police Athletic League of New Jersey
- California Police Activities League
If you would like to give to a legitimate, reputable charity working to protect children you can search Charity Navigator's database of over 5,000 charities using key works such as "children", "kids", or "youth". Although there are some bad apples such as the charities listed above, they are outnumbered by well-run, efficient charities that make a difference in the lives of children every day.
