Q: Someone called our home to solicit cash donations for the Fire Fighters VI Fireball Classic charity volleyball game. The caller assured us that 100 percent of the funds raised goes directly to the firefighters, which is not true. Can't anything be done to stop them from flat-out lying to the public? Please warn your readers. Firefighters get profit
from event, not 100%The event involves a federal firefighters union, while a telemarketing official insists no one would say that the union would get all proceeds.
Patrick Pavao, president of the 160-member Hawaii International Association of Firefighters, Local 263, said the union has contracted with Celebrity Sports Challenge to co-sponsor the Jan. 27 event at the Blaisdell Arena.
"I'll provide a team, they do all the paperwork (and marketing)," he said. Members work for the Federal Fire Department at most military bases on Oahu.
The game is being promoted as "NFL Superstar Players and Cheerleaders" vs. "Local Sports Personalities and Fire Fighters." Players won't be known until after the NFL season is over in December, said Joseph "Mike" McGuinn, whose company is organizing the event.
A game last year netted the union $2,000-$3,000, which was used for training, Pavao said.
Although he believed other groups also benefited last year, McGuinn said, only "numerous free tickets" were offered to children's charities.
"It is possible" that other groups may benefit, depending on the budget, he said.
About your complaint, "No one has said that 100 percent of the proceeds" go to the firefighters. That would be impossible just considering expenses, McGuinn said. The union is guaranteed "a minimum of $6,000-$10,000 in 1997 and 1998," plus all revenues on tickets firefighters sell.
His company hopes for a 10-20 percent profit, McGuinn said.
The Honolulu Police Department, meanwhile, is continuing to look into complaints that Celebrity Sports Challenge and rival telemarketer, Athletes for Kids, solicited donations for local events supposedly involving police officers. Police were not involved, said Lt. Dan Hanagami.
The investigation is "tedious," he said, because hundreds of people have to be interviewed.
Q: We get calls all the time from groups trying to sell us tickets to a charitable event. How do we know where the money is going?
There are a number of questions you should ask, beginning with how much money is going to the charity, said Jo Ann Uchida, director of the state Office of Consumer Protection. If you don't get a direct answer, you may want to ask more questions.
What usually happens is that once you give money, you get on a mailing or phone list. So be selective in your giving, she said.
Other questions: 1. What's the money going to be used for? 2. Is it going to be used in Hawaii? 3. Is the caller a volunteer or paid solicitor? Often people assume, wrongly, that the caller is a member of the charitable organization. If the person is not, ask how much is going to the charity and how much to the telemarketer. 4. If it's important to you, ask if a donation is tax deductible.
Charitable organizations usually have brochures or can provide tax information on how they spend their money. If they're unwilling to provide written information, that should be a red flag, Uchida said. "You may make the person calling you fairly nervous and they may not know the answers," she said. "But it's your money and you're entitled to get some answers."
Having said all that, she added that there are many worthwhile charities that do need public support. "It takes people to do a little bit of homework."