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11 May 2012

What do you think of charities in some celebrity's name, actual 501(c)(3)-compliant charities*, whose only function is to provide lavishly catered meet-and-greet opportunities to the underprivileged with that celebrity and his or her circle? →[More:]

I am a bit dumbfounded on this concept, and I am working to establish a personal opinion. Sure, meeting one's idol can be a thrilling and motivating experience, but that seems a bit thin to establish an entire tax-exempt organization that funnels away up to a couple hundred thousand dollars of a celebrity's income year after year.

What am I missing? What are the ethics involved? Is this a tax loophole? Should such organizations be challenged to expand their range?

*I have a couple charities in mind, but I don't want to identify them so that we can keep this discussion somewhat objective. I have verified that these events are their sole purpose.

post by: Ardiril at: 00:46 | 8 comments

I've never heard of this and using your generalized description I can't find any information about them but based on your same generalized description this sounds fucking heinous. I'm guessing this is not helpful but it's all I can give you with the info I have.

posted by arse_hat 11 May | 01:13

I am also fishing a bit here to see how rare or common these sorts are.

posted by Ardiril 11 May | 01:51

I hope my lack of knowledge of these things means they are rare and is not just an indication of my ignorance.

posted by arse_hat 11 May | 01:57

Same with me. I discovered this just this week. If you read the IRS code, meeting the criteria is fairly easy. The celeb need only show up and say, "How-de-do." So long as he doesn't eat anything, as a trivial example, or in any other way benefit from the event (other than ego-stroking), it's all legal.

posted by Ardiril 11 May | 02:04

Which celebrity meet-n-greet charities are you referring to specifically? I know of tons of, for instance, childrens' charities carrying celebrities names, but they actually do charitable work and aren't simply "meet a celebrity" operations.

posted by Thorzdad 11 May | 06:48

Celebrities have fragile egos, and they need to feed them by showing the world how generous and wonderful they are. Remember Joan Crawford adopting a bunch of kids?

I met a student at Perkins School for the Blind, a woman who has having problems because her celebrity adopted mother "abandoned" her (didn't want her to come home, or something) once she was no longer cute and useful.

It's also possible that in some cases, the charity is set up because that celebrity's child has a certain disability, and the celebrity wants to find a cure (again, ego).

posted by Melismata 11 May | 10:24

I don't want to taint the name of these charities should my suspicions be no more than another of my delusional states. I know of many charities that have tangible programs, like camps or targeting specific maladies. That is why this particular set caught my attention. Anyway, I will be asking for their financial statements, although why their reports are not already online like most other charities provide is another gray area.

In my research, too, I discovered a situation known as carousel fraud where groups shift money to each other as donations with each fundraiser taking his or her commission.

posted by Ardiril 11 May | 10:47

I've never heard of this either. It sounds pretty marginal. I've spent my entire professional life in nonprofits and this phenomenon certainly hasn't been big enough to make a blip in any discussions I've ever been in.

All charities are required to provide a public Form 990. If they're not indexed by the likes of Charity Navigator, they may not be 501(c)3s -- (c)6s can be doing business advocacy and the like and don't have the same reporting obligations.

I would be interested to learn what you discover. IF they are indeed 501(c)3s, there's some possibility of them being tax shelters. If you find something unsettling the authority to talk to is your state attorney general's office. They have oversight over NPO charters.

posted by Miko 11 May | 18:10

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