Oregon Bans Another Telemarketer

A number of states, including Oregon, stepped up pressure on some charity fundraisers last year, taking action against telemarketers who kept most of the money raised for themselves.

The pressure is continuing into 2011 as Oregon Attorney General John Kroger announced this week he has signed an agreement with Community Support, Inc. to resolve allegations arising from the large national telemarketing firm's aggressive fundraising activity on behalf of numerous nonprofit organizations.

"Telemarketers that break the law are not welcome in Oregon," Korger said.

The agreement follows a lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice last May that accused Community Support of violating numerous provisions under Oregon consumer protection law and settlements it previously had reached with Oregon.

According to the 2010 complaint, Community Support employed an illegal and aggressive scheme to solicit donations in the name of several client organizations and failed to disclose its professional fundraising status to donors, despite retaining at least 80 percent of the money it raised on behalf of veterans' and other charitable organizations.

Lengthy record

Community Support has long been associated with nonprofits that claim to benefit causes with widespread public appeal but devote a small fraction of revenues and donations to their charitable purpose. Those charities include the National Vietnam Veterans Foundation, Inc., United States Navy Veterans Association, Firefighters Support Foundation, Inc., Woman to Woman Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc. and Cancer Center for Detection and Prevention, Kroger said.

Kroger and some of his colleagues in other states have been aggressively pursuing fraudulent or misleading charities in recent months. At the end of the year Kroger issued a list of what he called “the 20 worst charities,” warning consumers to avoid them.

To deter unscrupulous charities from preying on the good will of Oregon donors, Kroger said he will ask the 2011 Legislature to pass a law that will use the tax code to fight charities that spend most of the money they raise on telemarketers, administration and executive salaries.

The proposal would eliminate the Oregon tax deduction for donations to charities that spend less than 30 percent of the money they raise on the people they claim to support.