Look first when it comes to holiday donations

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — This is the season for giving to charities — and maybe throwing your money away.

Let’s assume that most charities are good. They’re sincere, effective and legitimate. But too many are inefficient, self-serving or even fake.

Too often, donors are filling the pockets of professional fundraisers rather than helping the needy or a worthy cause. The donation becomes a lump of coal.

“We try to assure that charitable money goes to help people instead of being misdirected to noncharitable purposes — like into the personal bank accounts of board members,” says state Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta. “We’re talking about millions of dollars.”

Many charities net 80% to 90% or even more of the donations collected by their paid fundraisers. But many also receive as little as 5% to 25% — or worse. Some even end up owing a fundraiser money because overhead exceeds the amount collected.

“Operation costs shouldn’t be more than 50%,” Bonta says.

I’d say 35% tops. If more than 35 cents of my dollar are going into a fundraiser’s wallet, count me out.

The attorney general each year prepares a lengthy report on charitable fundraisers. It shows how much they collect — and how much they turn over to the charity or keep themselves.

Bonta recently went on a little-noticed statewide tour warning the public about scammers while promoting local reputable charities.

“Fraudulent organizations are always seeking to capitalize on people’s desire to help,” he cautioned.

“Do your research before giving. Find out how the charity spends its donations. How much is spent directly on the charitable cause? How much goes to overhead and employee compensation?”

Yeah, right!

You can waste your breath pumping a phone solicitor for answers. Or call the charity and curse while waiting on hold.

Or click onto the attorney general’s website and fumble around for the “Summary of Charitable Solicitation Campaigns Conducted by Professional Fundraisers.” And if you find it, dig into the 271 pages.

But more likely, you’re too harried with the holidays. Moreover, you don’t have much time left to send out charitable donations before Jan. 1 so they can be deducted on 2021 income tax returns.

So, you wing it.

But shady charities often use seductive words in their titles such as “cancer,” “veterans,” “firefighters” and “children.” They’re leeching off legitimate charities.

In January, then-Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra and other attorneys general across the country pounced on a group called Healing Heroes that falsely advertised it used 100% of its donations to help wounded veterans. It really was spending only 16% on vets. The deceivers were shut down and forced to pay $95,000 to a legitimate veterans charity.

Some of the worst short-changing fundraisers collect money for public safety charities. Bonta reported that several worthy-sounding police and fire organizations received only small cuts from their solicitors.

They included the California Fraternal Order of Police, Firefighters Charitable Foundation, Irvine Police Assn., Volunteer Firefighters Alliance, California Police Youth Charities and National Assn. of Chiefs of Police. All received just 20% or less of the money that was donated to them.

Also on that list were the Autism Spectrum Disorder Foundation, Veterans Support Foundation, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Childhood Leukemia Assn. and United Cancer Support Foundation.

At the upper end, these charities received at least 90% of their donations: Everytown for Gun Safety, Food for the Poor, Habitat for Humanity International, Save the Children Federation, International Fellowship of Christians & Jews, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and Sierra Club.

The safest bet is to donate directly to local charities whose work you can observe.

I give mostly to a journalism scholarship fund at the Sacramento Press Club. I know 100% of my donation goes to a promising student who needs it.

But for charities that spend less than 65 cents of the donated dollar as advertised — or flood my mailbox and call incessantly — bah, humbug.