Craigslist expects to generate $36-million from advertisements on one section of its Web site and may donate some of that money to charity.
Sounds great, right?
Not to many nonprofit groups. The $36-million is coming from the “adult services” section of Craigslist, a place not just for legal adult activity but also prostitution and sex trafficking.
After Craigslist’s chief executive said recently that human trafficking would be an area of focus for the company’s charitable giving, charities that work on that issue said they didn’t want anything to do with the cash.
Rachel Lloyd, executive director of Girls Educational and Mentoring Services, told The New York Times that her group would refuse any Craigslist donations because the money was coming from “pimps and traffickers who have sold many of the girls who will then walk into my door.”
Salon writer Tracy Clark-Flory wondered about the dilemma that might face such charities if they were offered a big check by Craigslist. She called several groups and was told there wasn’t much of a dilemma at all.
An official with the National Organization for Women said that “it’s just logical that we wouldn’t be accepting money from the many businesses that profit from women’s suffering.”
Andrea Powell, director of FAIR Fund, was more measured, according to Ms. Clark-Flory.
“If Craigslist offered us a donation, my response would be, ‘Let’s have a conversation about developing a good corporate responsibility model, and then we can talk about a contribution that could help benefit the girls that your ads, frankly, help victimize,” she said, adding, “My gut reaction is to say no.”
How do you think nonprofit groups should respond to the offer of a donation from Craigslist?
4 Responses to Charities Say No to Craigslist Cash
gsweeten - May 3, 2010 at 11:08 pm
When God led His people out of Egypt He gave explicit instructions that they should “despoil” the slavers of gold, jewels, etc. My non profit that works with distressed families will gladly take the generous gifts of Craigslist.
wildwomanfundraising - May 4, 2010 at 1:23 am
You know, I see their point.But did you know that wikipedia was also started with prostitution cash?Yes. The founder of wikipedia made a lot of money in the adult film industry, and then decided to start wikipedia with it.So are you going to stop using wikipedia now?No. I don’t think you should.Likewise, if I were a nonprofit, I would take the money. I can do more good with it than leaving it with craigslist. I would use it to help fight the trafficking, prostitution and adult film industries. The advertisers who gave that money don’t know what happens to it. Why not use the money to work against them? Mazarinehttp://wildwomanfundraising.com
matthewlawrence - May 4, 2010 at 9:39 am
According to the NY Times article last week, Craigslist very quietly announced last May that it would end its commitment to donate profits from the adult services ads; in their mysterious way, they declined to say where the money would go instead.
donfdavis - May 4, 2010 at 9:45 am
It might be more challenging to ask whether a child advocacy group should advertise on that section of Craigslist. I’m reminded of a story I heard once about a late 19th century Christian evangelist, D.L. Moody. When asked why he took money for his ministry from “unbelievers” he supposedly replied “The Devil’s had it long enough.”