Many charities nationwide are turning donations that were intended for paralyzed veterans, dying children and cancer victims into huge profits for private fundraising companies.
Nearly $1 billion has been collected in the name of charity but diverted elsewhere in the past decade, according to a yearlong investigation by the Tampa Bay Times and California-based The Center for Investigative Reporting, the nation’s largest and longest serving nonprofit newsroom dedicated to watchdog journalism. CNN joined the partnership in March.
The results of the investigation are chronicled in the series – America’s Worst Charities – that will start publishing online today at www.tampabay.com/charity and at cironline.org/americasworstcharities. The series also will publish June 9, 10, and 16 in the Tampa Bay Times. CNN will air broadcast reports on June 13 during the AC360 show at 8 pm and 10 pm ET.
The series identifies the nation’s 50 worst charities based on the huge amount of money they have paid for-profit solicitors over the past decade. These charities spend just a few pennies of every dollar raised on the needy. In some cases, more than 90 percent of the money raised went to the telemarketing firm. Until now, the public has had no way to know where their money has gone.
Find out the 50 worst charities in America by the list of the charities at www.tampabay.com/americas-worst-charities.
The Tampa Bay Times and CIR are also asking readers to submit names of charities they would like investigated. The two news organizations will look into some of the suggestions, analyzing and explaining how they raise their money – and where it really goes. You can submit a charity here or tweet using the hashtag #badcharities.
About the Tampa Bay Times
The Tampa Bay Times is widely considered one of the Top Ten newspapers in America and has won nine Pulitzer Prizes. It is Florida’s largest newspaper, with an average circulation of 402,422 Sunday and 340,260 daily (AAM FAS-FAX March 2013). The Times is produced by the Times Publishing Company, which also publishes TampaBay.com – Tampa Bay’s largest local news Web site with 2.4 million unique visitors each month (Nielsen NetView six-month average for 10/12-3/13). Additionally, the company publishes the free daily tbt*, an edition of the Tampa Bay Times, tb-two*, a free paper written by Tampa Bay area students distributed to students, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning website, PolitiFact.com; and produces special events, specialty publications, and targeted advertising programs.
About The Center For Investigative Reporting
Investigative reporting is an essential pillar of a democratic society. For more than three decades, The Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) has relentlessly pursued and revealed injustices that otherwise would remain hidden from the public. Today, we’re upholding this legacy and looking forward, working at the forefront of journalistic innovation to tell the stories that make a difference and reach diverse audiences of all ages, across the aisle and worldwide. CIR stories appear in hundreds of news outlets, including NPR News, PBS Frontline, PBS NewsHour, CNN, the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Washington Post, the San Francisco Chronicle, The Sacramento Bee, The Daily Beast and American Public Media’s Marketplace. CIR stories have received numerous journalism awards, including the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Silver Baton, George Polk Award, Emmy Award, Investigative Reporters and Editors Award, and the MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions. Its reports have sparked state and federal hearings and legislation, public-interest lawsuits and changes in corporate policies. For more information, please visit cironline.org.
About CNN
CNN Worldwide is a portfolio of two dozen news and information services across cable, satellite, radio, wireless devices and the Internet in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. Domestically, CNN reaches more individuals on television, the web and mobile devices than any other cable TV news organization in the United States; internationally, CNN is the most widely distributed news channel reaching more than 271 million households abroad; and CNN Digital is a top network for online news, mobile news and social media. Additionally, CNN Newsource is the world’s most extensively utilized news service partnering with hundreds of local and international news organizations around the world. CNN is division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner Company.