How states stack up
New York
This map shows which states take any of three basic measures to protect donors from fraud.
The number with each state indicates serious regulatory actions taken against charities and their solicitors.
No charity
regulations
Charity
registration
required
Iowa
Charity registration
required, disciplinary
database available
online
Charity
Charity registration
registration required, disciplinary
required,
database available
audit required
online, audit
required
Wisconsin
Michigan
Charities are not required to register in
Milwaukee is the Ame
erican headquarters
of Xentel, a telemarketter for many of the
Iowa, but solicitors are. The attorney
nation’s worst charitie
es that has been
general’s four-person staff secretly
Number with state name is number of serious counts
disciplined by regulato
ors 31 times and
tapes solicitors’ calls and has banned 14
fined about $1 million. Though Xentel’s
telemarketers and charities over the past
anada
parent
in Ca
decade. That’s more
than many states
Charity
No charity
Charity registration corporate
Charity
registra
ation filed for
bankruptcy
reorganiza
ation
the
with larger staffs.
registration
required, discipllinaryin April,
regulations
required
telemarketer
is still
reg
gistered
in
required,
database
avail
lable to solicit
several states.
audit required
online
Location of
charity that
made list of
50 worst
Wa.
8
Associated Community Services, with
call centers in Southfield and Dearborn,
is one of the biggest telemarketers in the
nation. In two years, it raised $10.7 million
for eight of the worst charities and kept
$9.3registration
million or nearly 88 percent
of all
Location
of
Charity
donations.
charity that made
required, disciplinary
list of 50 worst
database available
online, audit
required
Conn.
N.Y.
Mont.
Maine
2
N.D.
2
2
Minn.
4
Ore.
16
Oregon
Oregon has more registered charities
than Florida, which has five times its
population. This spring the state’s
legislature passed a bill that will eliminate
the state tax deduction for contributions
to charities that don’t spend at least 30
percent of their annual expenses on their
stated mission.
N.J.
Idaho
0
N.Y.
24
California
The California attorney general gets 1.2
million pieces of mail every year from
nearly 230,000 charities and solicitors
registered to collect donations in the
state. In the past year, the division’s 11
lawyers and eight auditors have sued just
one charity.
19
Ill.
7
Ohio
8
1
N.J. 16
Colo.
10
Del. 2
W.Va.
1
Kan.
1
Calif.
112
Ariz.
0
Ind.
Okla.
5
N.M.
2
Mo.
6
D.C. 0
N.C.
38
Tenn.
3
Miss.
75
Ga.
146
Ala.
1
Pa.
N.J.
Md.
Texas
5
Los
Angeles
Va.
FL
Sarasota
Fort
Myers
STEVE MADDEN and THOMAS BASSINGER | Times
Sources: state regulators and IRS filings
Hawaii
1
Texas
Tennessee
Of the 11 states that do not require all
charities to register, Texas is the biggest.
The state requires a small number of
charities to register, but only those raising
money in the name of law enforcement
officers and veterans.
Knoxville is home to James T. Reynolds
Sr., whose family operates a network of
five charities, all promising financial aid to
cancer patients. But most of the millions
raised go to the Reynolds family and their
hired-gun solicitors. Less than 2 cents of
every dollar donated gets to patients as
financial aid.
Pennsylvania took more than 300
serious actions against charities and
solicitors over the past decade, making
it the most aggressive enforcer in the
nation. Consumers can read the court
documents on the state’s website.
North Carolina sets the standard for
public disclosure. Its charity website lets
consumers see every document filed
by a charity or solicitor, including audits,
fundraising contracts and telemarketing
scripts.
Florida
Florida has about 25 people overseeing
nearly 17,000 charities and solicitors. But
most enforcement actions are for minor
paperwork errors. The state is home to
Kids Wish Network, which has paid its
solicitors nearly $110 million over the past
decade, making it No. 1 on the Times/CIR
list of the nation’s worst charities
Alaska
2
Tampa
Pennsylvania
Del.
Washington
D.C.
La.
1
Fla.
4
The two owners of Civic Development
Group had oceanside mansions in
New Jersey before the Federal Trade
Commission closed the telemarketing
company with a record $18.8 million fine
in March 2010. CDG raised money for
many of the nation’s 50 worst charities,
keeping as much as 90 percent of the
donations.
North Carolina
S.C.
4
Ark.
2
Nevada
Md. 14
Va.
5
Ky.
8
New Jersey
R.I. 1
Conn. 4
1
Utah
110
Mass.
9
Pa.
332
Iowa
Neb.
N.H.
28
Mich.
6
0
Nev.
Nevada, which does not require charities
or solicitors to register, is headquarters
to Courtesy Call and Outreach Calling,
two telemarketers used by many of the
nation’s worst charities. Each company
keeps about 90 percent of all donations.
Vt.
16
Wis.
8
S.D.
1
Wyo.
2
If consumers want to know who has
been targeted by New York’s attorney
general, they’d better catch the press
release. A spokeswoman said the
office doesn’t keep a database of its
disciplinary actions. She also refused to
provide information on the number of
charities and solicitors registered with
the state, the number of employees
handling charitable oversight or
how much money is raised through
registration and fines.