One of the Nation’s Worst Charities, Right Here!
Salt Lake City, UT., April 22, 2014 -- Better Business Bureau (BBB) in Utah urges local donors to use caution when solicited for donations by Breast Cancer Financial Assistance Fund (BCFAF). BCFAF is a name used by Cancer Fund of America, Knoxville, TN.
BCFAF not only has been the subject of numerous legal actions by government entities, it was recently spotlighted in a detailed investigative report by the Tampa Bay Times and the Center for Investigative Reporting as the Second Worst Charity in the United States. Cancer Fund of America also known as BCFAF was also the subject of a 2009 news warning from BBB in St. Louis.
According to the Utah Division of Corporations and Commercial Code, BCFAF’s local address is 6875 South 900 East in Midvale, UT. A BBB operator was given the address of 514 West Pickett Circle #B, Salt Lake City, UT 84115 by a caller to BBB. This address was verified by a BBB investigator in a phone call to Cancer Fund of America shortly thereafter. When a BBB investigator visited this address, she was informed by a neighbor tenant that the tenant at that address was Feature Films for Families.
Feature Films for Families has an “F” grade from BBB and its chief executive officer, Forrest S. Baker, is also listed as principal of another company in BBB’s database, Corporations for Character.
BBB research shows that Cancer Fund of America, also known as, BCFAF hired Corporations for Character to solicit for donations via telephone. According to the 2012 IRS Form 990 for Cancer Fund of America, also known as BCFAF, Corporations for Character raised $448,276 and kept $410,996 with $37,280 (or a little over 8%) going to the charity.
Corporations for Character and Feature Films for Families are also the subject of a May 9, 2011, complaint in which the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice allege the defendants made 16 million calls to numbers on the Do Not Call Registry and misrepresented how funds would be used.
BBB offers the following tips if you are solicited via telephone:
· Before giving, ask for written information from the organization, in particular if you have never heard of them before.
· Be wary of names that sound like well-known charities.
· Don’t give in to high pressure tactics; your money is just as good tomorrow as it is today. Take the time to research.
· Ask the caller if they are a professional telemarketer and how much, if any, of the donation you make will go to the charity. Programs should receive 65% or more.
· Be aware that once you donate through a telemarketer, you may open yourself up to unwanted additional solicitations by phone or U.S. Mail.
· For more information on charities in Utah, contact your BBB at 801-892-6009 or visit our website at www.utah.bbb.org.
Below and posted on our website (http://www.bbb.org/utah/news-events/news-releases/2014/04/one-of-the-nations-worst-charities-right-here/) is a news release regarding a charity which is based out of Tennessee, but using a Utah business to make their phone calls to consumers.
The BBB has standards for charities (http://www.bbb.org/us/standards-for-charity-accountability/), one of which is that the charity spend at least 65% of its total expenses on program activities. In 2012 based on the latest IRS 990 form we could find, this charity spent a little over 8% 54%. Consumer should always check out charities prior to donating. We offer six tips for consumers below.
I apologize- I misquoted - the charity (Cancer Fund of America) spent 54% on programs (although some dispute that it is that high). The business here in Utah - Corporations for Character raised $448,276 and kept $410,996 with $37,280 (or a little over 8%) going to the charity (BCFAF).
