Felica Key
ENC 91
James Wright
12 March 2013
Feeding the Third World Country The American Food Aid, Feed the Children and Food for Peace are just some of the organizations the United States have that are dedicated to feeding our third world countries. The United States feeds 10,000+ family’s in Africa alone. Have you turned on the T.V. lately and seen those heart jerking commercials asking for just pennies a day to feed children in other countries? Just giving up pennies a day, $7 a month or $50 a year seems so easy to do and you wouldn’t miss that money anyway right? But should you?
Feed the children is one of the most popular charity organizations in the United States. This charity was created by Reverend Larry Jones in 1979. The Oklahoma City headquarters buzzed with activity After the Haiti earthquake, as donors sent in a million dollars in cash. According to CBS News investigative correspondent Sharyl Attkisson, most donors have no idea about the nasty accusations that is tearing apart the billion-dollar a year charity.
Millions of donators ask themselves one simple question, where does my money really go? Do we want to give charities the benefit of the doubt that they are indeed honest? Do we hope that the hard earned money we give out of our pockets really go straight to those poor suffering? Those whom are moved by the sad and desperate TV commercials asking for our help would be appalled to find out, only 10% of the money they donate actually goes to those suffering.
Feed the Children ask for a mere $7 per month to provide: food, medical, education and other needs. The non-profit takes in roughly $1 billion annually in cash and in-kind contributions, making it one of the nation's largest charities. The charity's claim that it spends 91% of donations on programs[->0] and likely makes donors assume that the charity is doling out 91 cents worth of food for every $1 raised.” but that claim is completely misleading” said Laurie Styron, an analyst with the American Institute of Philanthropy, which examines the finances of some 500 large national charities and sponsors a charity rating service at charitywatch.org[->1].
According to AIP's (American Institute of Philanthropy) analysis, this group spends less than 25 cents of every donated dollar feeding children. Roughly 65 cents of every dollar is spent raising money, largely by running heart-rending radio and television advertisements and sending out direct-mail appeals.
How could their numbers be so off? The charity vastly overvalues its so-called “kind" gifts. That makes it appear that the charity is receiving more in donations--and giving out more in "kind" relief. Why inflate the value of non-cash contributions? Donors get big tax deductions for providing the goods and services that likely cost them a fraction as much. And the charity benefits because by inflating the value of these "donations," the millions that the organization spends on advertising and salaries appears to be a tiny portion of the overall budget.
According to the Charity Navigator, Feed the Children spends $20.7 million on administrative expenses, including six-figure salaries for Larry Jones ($234,937); Frances Sue Jones ($187,052) and Larri Sue Jones ($166,320), but, with reported contributions exceeding $1 billion, these expenses account for less than 2% of Feed the Children's budget. 2% doesn’t seem like much right? American Institute of Philanthropy, which calls Feed the Children "the most outrageous charity in America," says that 88% of the Feed The Children's private support comes from "in-kind" donations that AIP believes are reported at inflated values, which makes these ratios meaningless. So what does that mean? It means that feed the children exaggerates its donations to hide their cut of the money.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, there’s the family feud. On one side: founder Larry Jones. On the other: his daughter Larri Sue and the charity’s Board of Directors. It came to a head more than three years ago when each side accused the other side of money embezzlement.
In a lawsuit, Larry Jones accuses the Board of serious financial neglect, claims his daughter misused charity funds including living in a $1.2 million dollar Los Angeles home on the charity’s money, and that she engaged in illegal schemes to cover up unpaid taxes. Larri Sue and The board denied the claims and stated it was Larry who got caught taking bribes and kickbacks and awarded him and his wife unauthorized pay raises. Larry Jones fired his daughter and Board members who opposed him. But when a judge reinstated them, they turned around and fired him.
You shouldn’t let bad charities scare you off from helping people around the world. When a person gives to charity that person is giving because they want to help someone that is in need. When you turn on the television and see a commercial that you want to get involved in, make sure to do your homework. Check the internet for any controversy’s on that charity. Give them a call and ask them questions. A 100% nonprofit charity is unrealistic; someone is going to get paid. Check and make sure that your hard earned money is going to the right people for the right cause.

[->0] - http://www.feedthechildren.org/site/PageServer?pagename=org_financial_accountability
[->1] - http://charitywatch.org/