AG Kroger Lists 20 "Worst" Charities

By NIGEL JAQUISS

John Kroger

Attorney General John Kroger’s office sends out a lot of press releases that have varying degrees of interest to the general public. But today’s information [PDF] could save Oregon consumers money and keep them from getting fleeced.

Kroger’s staff compiled a list of the 20 “worst” charities, using as the criterion the percentage of revenue those charities actually devote to their ostensible mission.

The charities that made the list spend 75 percent or more of revenues on administrative or fund-raising costs, leaving less than one-quarter of their money for direct service to beneficiaries. The good news about the 20 groups Kroger has identified as chiselers: none is based in Oregon. Kroger also provided advice on how to determine whether a non-profit is worth your money.

“It is important that generous Oregonians make charitable contributions to legitimate organizations,” Kroger said in a statement. “Many charities do great work, but some are little more than scams that do little to help the people they claim to support.”

WWeek 2015

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