Yesterday, I received a fundraising letter from the Mothers Against Drunk Driving Richmond Area Annual Fund Campaign. The letter was sent from their headquarters in Irving, Texas. The letter was filled with lots of hyperbole and exclamation points and urged me to join the fight against "America's drunk driving nightmare." (Despite what the letter implicates, I have previously posted that drunk driving deaths have decreased in Virginia.)
The letter included a real check for $2.50 with the following advertising copy, "You can cash it if you choose, but I'm counting on you not to. To be honest I needed to get your attention and I felt the check was a good way to do that. It may not seem like much- $2.50- but you wouldn't simply overlook that sum, would you?" The letter went on to state that MADD is going to send a petition to Governor Kaine asking for "increased sobriety checkpoints, stiffer penalties for providing alcohol to minors, and prosecuting repeat offenders to the extent provided by law." I believe the well-paid copywriter meant to say, "prosecuting repeat offenders to the full extent provided by law."
The letter then states: "You see, we've seen a serious decline in contributions and were worried that some of our life-saving programs will suffer in the months ahead." There may be a very good reason for the decline in contributions. The public is becoming increasingly aware that MADD has a very poor rating for its extremely high costs of administration and fund raising versus the amount of money that actually goes to charity. California DUI guru Lawrence Taylor, a long-time critic of MADD, was kind enough to let me share with you his post on this issue, originally reported in his blog- www.duiblog.com.
As I've posted repeatedly in the past, Mothers Against Drunk Driving is a self-serving beaurocracy focused equally on Prohibition and cash. According to their own IRS statements, the U.S. organization alone brings in over $50 million a year in contributions -- and, according to watchdog Charity Navigator, has a low 2-star efficiency rating out of 4 (the Director of Program and Development, for example, is paid $152,408 a year).
It would appear that MADD's sister organization to the north is similarly oriented:
MADD Rejects 'Disgruntled' Critics
Charity's CEO dismisses volunteers' complaints that so little of donations go to programs
Toronto, Dec. 10 -- MADD Canada's top official has called a group of relatives of drunk driving victims who complained about his charity "disgruntled" and lashed out at the Star for exposing its high fundraising and administrative costs...
A story published in the Saturday Star revealed that Mothers Against Drunk Driving Canada has such high costs that only about 19 cents of every dollar goes to victim services and the fight against drunk driving.
In addition to a detailed analysis of MADD's financial records, the story was based on interviews with leading volunteers of MADD who all work with the charity because they lost a loved one to a drunk driver.
The volunteers believe in the counselling and public awareness work of their local chapters but agreed to speak out against the charity's administration to force a change and restore confidence in what was once a low-cost, grassroots charity.
In his news release, (MADD CEO Andrew) Murie dismissed their complaints and said they are "obviously disgruntled with the organization."...
Yesterday, more than 100 MADD donors contacted the Star to say they had been suspicious of MADD's fundraising practices due to the high volume of telemarketing calls and other fundraising contacts they receive, sometimes monthly. MADD has numerous paid fundraising campaigns, using paid telemarketers, a company that sends people knocking on doors, a direct mail company and a company that distributes chocolate mint boxes around the province.
"I am absolutely furious at reading what MADD is doing with donors' dollars," said Joyce Williamson, 77, a widow who has made frequent $25 donations to MADD for many years.
When she learned from the Star article that so little of her cheque was going to charitable works, she decided not to give to MADD again.
She said MADD's paid door and phone canvassers used "emotional blackmail" by pressing her on the phone or at the door with numerous stories of drunk driving fatalities. The Star's story revealed that telemarketers work off a script that encourages them to press prospective donors three successive times after the person has said "no."
The Star's investigation found the paid fundraisers take most of the money, and send the remainder to head office.
And the "War on Drunk Driving" goes on...
-Lawrence Taylor
So, I know you are wondering-what did I do with the check for $2.50? Of course, I cashed it and used it to buy a beer at 7-11 and raised a toast to people like Larry Taylor who are willing to tell the truth and are willing to request that the public and legislatures use a little more common sense and a lot more Constitution in examining what is an extremely complicated issue.
I would never contribute a dime to a charity that doesn't rate at least 3 stars on Charity Navigator. For those of you who may have contributed to MADD- you know that $2.50 went to whet my whistle, now you should demand an explanation why so much of the remaining $49,999,997.50 was spent on salaries and fundraising.
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