For-profit fund-raising businesses kept nearly 54 cents of every dollar raised, according to an analysis of more than 5,800 campaigns on behalf of charities that were registered with the state attorney general from 1997 to 2006, reports The Los Angeles Times.

According to the newspaper, records filed with the California attorney general’s office show that telemarketers, direct-mail businesses, and other consultants reported raising $2.6-billion. They kept nearly $1.4-billion. Many of the organizations are based in states outside California and raise money across the country.

Although commercial fund raisers in California are required to file fund-raising reports with the state, many do not, but they are rarely caught because the state lacks the staff to enforce the law, the newspaper said.

With more than 300 fund raisers registered in California, the number of campaigns and the amount of money raised by for-profit firms has risen by about two-thirds since 2000, the newspaper found.

The newspaper also provided access to a searchable database it compiled to show the amounts that charities registered in California received.

To see results of a national study conducted by The Chronicle, read this special report from our archive.

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