Minnesota Fundraisers Booted From Iowa

One by one, professional fundraisers are being eliminated from Iowa. The state's attorney general, Tom Miller, has announced yet another group – this one from Minnesota – has been barred from asking Iowans for money.

Public Safety Council, LLP, and Community Safety, LLC, both headquartered in Minneapolis, their subcontractor, Safety Services, LLC, of St. Paul, and their principals, J. Michael Callan and Robert T. Callan, have entered into a formal agreement with the Attorney General, called an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance (AVC), to refrain from future fundraising or charitable solicitations directed to people or businesses in Iowa.  The agreement takes effect immediately.

Miller, and many of his colleague in other states, have recently stepped up their enforcement efforts against fundraisers they have determined not to be real charities, or those that contribute a small fraction of what they collect to the cause they allegedly represent.

This is the second go-round for this group. In December, these companies signed an AVC to change their fundraising practices in Iowa.  However, Miller alleged that subsequent solicitations did not comply with the December AVC or Iowa law.

From a call center in St. Paul, telephone solicitors called Iowans on behalf of at least three Iowa law enforcement associations, including the Iowa State Police Association (ISPA), the Iowa State Reserve Law Officers Association (ISRLOA), and the Iowa Peace Officers Association (IPOA), which was formerly known as the Iowa Association of Chiefs of Police and Peace Officers

Charities don't get much

In each case, the organizations received 15-16 percent of donations, while fundraisers retained the rest. Several calls, which were recorded by the Consumer Protection Division, revealed unfair and deceptive conduct, Miller has alleged. The fundraisers denied wrongdoing or liability of any kind.

Miller has been able to stay on top of these types of operations because, for the last year, his office has operated the telephone number that in the past belonged to an elderly resident of the state. Needless to say, that number receives a large number of solicitation calls. Each one is recorded.

Miller, meanwhile, urges consumers everywhere to exercise discretion when giving to a charity. Be wary of claims that the caller is a charity worker or volunteer, that most of your donation goes to the cause, or that your donation will be used locally.

Also, don't let a sympathetic charity name fool you – some fundraisers exaggerate or fabricate their support for veterans or military families, law enforcement, fire fighters, victims of disease, and children’s causes because people have a hard time saying no to these requests.