Report: Solicited donations cut into charities

BOSTON – Massachusetts charities that hire professional solicitors received an average of 34 percent of the proceeds collected during charitable campaigns in 2012, according to a report released last week by Attorney General Martha Coakley.
The “Report on Professional Solicitations for Charity,” which examines the professionals paid by organizations to solicit donations from the public and are required by statute to register with the state, is published annually and is designed to assist people in “making informed decisions,” Coakley said in a news release.
In 2012, professional solicitors collected more than $266 million, which was $122 million less than in 2011. Of the amount collected by professional solicitors in 2012, about $91 million ended up with the actual charities. The rest went to the solicitors.
On average, only 34 cents of every dollar that a professional solicitor collected was returned to the charity. In 2011, an average of 49 cents of every dollar that a professional solicitor raised went back to the charity. •

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