It is rare that an opportunity to showcase a truly good and wholesome charity presents itself; one that actually utilizes 100% of all donations for charitable purposes instead of administrative ones. And I was even more amazed to find just such an organization right in my own community; within one of the most materialistic and corrupt of counties in America.
For reasons I cannot comprehend, I have somehow been drawn through wonderfully ironic circumstances to this place in the high desert called Salt Lake City. And perhaps this chance to expose one of the few good organizations left in the world today was one of those reasons for my being here.
As my readers should have noticed by now, and indeed by the title of this website (Reality Blog), I do not sell any products or services (like survival supplies or storage food while reporting that the world that we know it will end soon). Likewise, I do not voluntarily support any organization by posting advertising or links of any kind on my blog or other websites, unless they are the subject of such writing. For your information, this is my own effort to remain free and clear of any influence, restraint, or conflict of interest in my ability to report what needs to be heard. I consider and offer my writings and films free to all without restrictions or profit. I believe this is the very definition of community service. It is freedom defined. It is humanity, in and of itself. It is an offering of oneself without expectation of anything in return. It is charity…
But unfortunately, considering the world we live in, my investigations are without exception about corruption and greed in the corporate/government arena that has become the new “organized crime” – the lawlessness of the law. And so it gives me great pleasure to present to you a positive and enlightened story about an organization called UMCOR – the only true official “charity” that I know of.
Like a beacon of hope through selfless action and as a model of what can be, UMCOR has become a part of my life… and indeed, it has given me a bit of hope in this modern darkness we call our civilized society. And so today I’d like to introduce you to this charitable organization so that perhaps you too might make it a part of your life. Today, I would only ask of you to take the time to watch this 16 minute presentation on UMCOR, to pass it on to others who might need a bit of hope in their own lives, and to consider becoming involved in it yourself.
The following is my contribution to UMCOR:
What is UMCOR?
Now, after viewing this, I’d like for you to imagine what this beautiful charity could really do around the world and in America to actually help people if it had the support of all of the people who give instead to organizations like the The American Red Cross or The United Way, simply because the media tells them that they should…
Since The United Methodist Committee On Relief’s administrative expenses are wholey funded by donations from the United Methodist Church, the CEO and Methodist Board of Directors and employees of UMCOR receive no salary from UMCOR donations. In other words, no donations from you (other than the once a year international Methodist Church offering) will ever go to pay the salaries or business expenses of UMCOR (unless you want them to), because the real workers are actually unpaid volunteers from around the world!!!
Imagine…
In 2004, President and CEO of the American Red Cross Marsha J. Evans was paid $651,957 in salary, plus expenses. The board of Directors of the Red Cross is a who’s who of corporate business men and women, who’s companies in turn benefit from the grants of the American Red Cross in it’s disaster relief programs by your donations, which seldom are sufficient in practice to help the people in need.
Ralph, Dickerson Jr – the former president and CEO of United Way – received a salary of $420,000. (Source: Chronicle of Philanthropy)
The New York Times reported:
“The United Way of New York City said yesterday that an internal investigation had determined that its former leader, Ralph Dickerson Jr., diverted $227,000 of charitable assets for personal use in 2002 and 2003… Mr. Dickerson is not currently facing charges from the findings.”
(Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/14/nyregion/14united.html)
Why is he paying back the money?
Because he got caught.
In 2008, United Way President and CEO Brian Gallagher earned $1,037,410 in salary. (Source: Better Business Bureau link below)
All of this comes from your donations… your donations to CEO’s salaries.
The Better Business Bureau also lists the following expenses for “The United Way”:
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009, UWW’s program expenses were:
Investor relations $39,010,000
Community Impact Leadership & Learning $20,794,000
Campaign and Public Relations $8,711,000
Brand Leadership $8,195,000
UW Store $2,880,000
Public Policy $1,056,000
Total Program Expenses – $80,646,000
How does this add up when compared to the United Way’s charitable and investment income?
The Following information is based on UWW’s audited financial statements (CAFR) – consolidated for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009:
Source of Funds
Contributions $51,922,000
Membership support, net $29,202,000
Campaign efforts of Tri-State, net $13,569,000
Promotional materials sales $3,764,000
Conferences $1,816,000
Program Service Fees $1,072,000
Misc and other $671,000
Investment Income, net $342,000
Total Income – $102,358,000
(So $8 million in donations was spent on campaign expenses to earn $13 million in campaign donations, instead of feeding, clothing, and housing the poor and destitute.)
(Also, note that in order to have investment income, this requires The United Way to invest the contributions it receives, as opposed to using them to help people. So its expenses for “investor relations” was over $39,000,000 [almost 50% of listed expenses] while its return on investment was only $342,000? Is this a charity, really?)
Did any of this actually help someone in the world besides big business?
The report then goes on to add additional expenses of:
Fund raising expenses $1,003,000
Administrative expenses $8,827,000
For total expenses of – $90,476,000
It then states that:
Note: According to its 2009 audited financial statements (CAFR), UWW recorded Other Changes in Net Assets including loss from write off of investment in Trust, change in tax liability, and pension-related changes other than net periodic pension cost.
And of course, to add insult to injury, this corporation lists its “status” as:
This organization is tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. It is eligible to receive contributions deductible as charitable donations for federal income tax purposes.
Just what does the United Way do to help people besides raising money so that it can raise more money? Well, it does help some people so that it can make commercials which show that it helps people… granted.
You can also check on other charities, including UMCOR, here:
http://www.bbb.org/charity-reviews/national/#U
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Folks, the United Way has the potential to help people from all over the world… But it doesn’t. It has no time to do this because it is too busy investing, advertising, and fund-raising so that it can invest and advertise more. It is too busy attempting to infiltrate your paycheck as one of your “choices” of recommended charities to contribute to.
Is this what a charity is supposed to look like?
I don’t think so.
UMCOR, in this authors opinion, is the stand alone model of what a charity can and should be. It should be the stand alone model for even being granted a tax-exempt status in the first place. And it is the only charity that I choose to support because of these reasons.
I choose to volunteer my time to UMCOR, because I have nothing else to give. Anyone is welcome to give of themselves by just showing up to UMCOR and volunteering to work. If I could, I would also choose UMCOR to make monetary or supply donations to as well.
It is my hope that you might see things in the same way…
Thank you for watching.
.
–Clint Richardson (realitybloger.wordpress.com)
–Thursday, August 16th, 2012
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