December 14, 2011; Source: Rochester Business JournalIn a report entitled “Pennies for Charity, Where Your Money Goes: Telemarketing by Professional Fundraisers”, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman documented that charity telemarketers give, on average, only 37.6% of their gross to the charities for which they raise money. In fact, in

61 of the 564 telemarketing campaigns studied, the charities lost money.

In 2010 in New York, telemarketers raised a total of over $249 million on behalf of 411 charities according to this report. Approximately 63 percent, or $153 million, was paid to the telemarketers as profits, fees and other costs of the campaigns, leaving charities with less than 37 percent of the total raised.—Ruth McCambridge