Deceptive Telemarketing Firm Has Republican Ties. Well, Duh.
Last edited Mon Sep 17, 2012, 12:30 PM - Edit history (2)
This article in Sunday's Washington Post business section is a shortened version of the original, which ran in Bloomberg Markets magazine.
Charities Deceive Donors Unaware Money Goes to a Telemarketer
There are so many money quotes in the article that it's hard for me to limit myself to four paragraphs. In a nutshell, the calls that you think are coming to your house from charities are coming from a company that profits quite handsomely from its telemarketing work, InfoCision Management. You will be shocked (or not), to hear that it works for Citizens United and the National Republican Congressional Committee. Further, its reports to the IRS are not required to show just how big a cut it receives for its telemarketing. You have to see the state financial reports for that.
When I can, I'll be pointing this out to my newly elected state delegate, who I am sure saw the article. Since I suspect that Virginia AG Ken Cuccinelli is benefiting from this operation, the AG's office will do nothing in response.
The article is excellent and quite revealing. "There are things you know, things you don't know, and things you don't know you don't know."
Charitable donations benefit telemarketers
By David Evans, Published: September 15
The Washington Post
....
The company has a political operation as well. It did fundraising for Citizens United, the conservative group that was the plaintiff in the Supreme Court case that allowed unlimited independent spending by corporations and unions on behalf of political candidates. From 2009 to 2011, InfoCision raised $14.7 million for Citizens United and kept $12.4 million, or 84 percent, of the money it raised, according to InfoCision filings with North Carolina.
InfoCision has also worked for the National Republican Congressional Committee, which paid InfoCision more than $115 million to raise money from 2003 to 2012, according to Federal Election Commission filings. The filings don’t say how much InfoCision raised.
....
Taylor was an outspoken opponent of efforts by the Federal Trade Commission in 2003 to begin the National Do Not Call Registry, allowing people to block calls from for-profit solicitors. In an interview with Customer Interaction Solutions, a trade journal, he said: “The most pressing issue, without a doubt, is excessive governmental regulation. It seems that the politicians and regulators are ignoring the significant benefits we provide through job creation, economic growth and the goods and services we cost-effectively market for our clients.”
....
What charities report
An examination of hundreds of filings that nonprofits are required to submit to the IRS shows how charities can bury, and sometimes omit, expenditures on telemarketing.
In state filings, by contrast, charities and telemarketers are required to explicitly say how much is raised by the contractors and who gets the money. Those numbers can be more telling than the IRS filings.
....
This comment echoes my sentiments:
barnesgene wrote:
9/16/2012 12:24 PM EDT
The charities justify this practice by saying they get great leads for future fund-raising from telemarketing companies, but they MISS THE POINT: I just gave $20 to a charity, and $15.60 of it just went to a money-grubbing capitalist profit-making machine! I have sent the Washington Post article off to all my friends, and I think everyone else should too. Meanwhile, two things should happen:
(1) At long last, the National Do-Not-Call List should be expanded to include ANY contracted out fund-raiser (telemarketer). If charities can't do their own calling, their unholy alliance with telemarketers should be subject to all cold-call restrictions for those listed on the Do-Not-Call Registry.
(2) State Attorneys-General should look into the blatant lying going on with these phone calls, and should re-examine charities' disclosure/tax forms for deceitful and dishonest entries.
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