Washington
Lawmakers who want to discourage charities from spending most of the money they bring in on fund-raising costs are considering introducing legislation to require nonprofit groups to post information for donors to a Postal Service Web site, including the ratio of their fund-raising costs to program spending.
During a House subcommittee hearing today on an obscure postal rule, Rep. Danny K. Davis — chairman of the House Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and the District of Columbia — pointed out that under current law nonprofit organizations are not required to disclose much information to their donors. A central database with information on all charities would provide potential donors with the information they would need to make informed decisions on which charities to support, he said.
Rep. Henry Waxman, a California Democrat who oversaw recent hearings on veterans charities as chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, agreed.
Mr. Waxman cited the case of Roger Chapin, founder of Help Hospitalized Veterans, a Winchester, Calif., charity that the committee found spent $500,000 on salaries for Mr. Chapin and his wife, and $444,600 for a Northen Virginia condominium used by the couple.
“Donors don’t know where to get the information about these charities,” Mr. Waxman said. “They don’t know that Mr. Chapin’s organization spent only 25 cents per dollar on programs, with the rest going to fund-raising.”
Mr. Chapin has denied any wrongdoing, and said that he depended on professional companies that charge high fees to solicit donations.
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