St. Andrews Optimists welcomed speaker Doug Renew, Chief Investigator for the South Carolina Secretary of State’s Office November 8.
An early ‘90s graduate of Irmo High School, Renew spoke about scams that proliferate during the Holidays. All the scams target unsuspecting victims in order to separate those victims from their money. Scammers’ activities can range anywhere from asking for a specific monetary amount to outright identity theft.
The scammers take advantage of the climate of charitable giving to the less fortunate that seems to come with the Holidays. Renew noted South Carolina ranks in the Top 15 most benevolent of U.S. states, the flip side of which is that the state is a very tempting target for scammers. Nationally, 70 percent of U.S. citizens give to one benevolent cause or another each year. Renew’s advice is “give from the heart, but please give smart.”
To be considered a bona fide charity, every entity must qualify for 501C(3) status and must be registered with the Secretary of State Office. To meet those qualifications, a charity must fit the following definition:
“An individual or organization that is or holds itself out to be established for any benevolent, social welfare, scientific, educational, environmental, philanthropic, humane, patriotic, public health, civic, or other eleemosynary purpose, or for the benefit of law enforcement personnel, firefighters, or other persons who protect the public safety.”
Most fundraising efforts fall into two categories:
1. The charity uses its own personnel to make contact with potential donors. Those solicitors are typically volunteers.
2. Paid professional fundraisers, who must identify themselves as such when initially contacting prospective donors. They must be registered with the Secretary of State’s Office, along with a current financial statement that includes the percentage of collections that will go to the beneficiaries of the donations. Failure to register, failure to disclose the financial percentages, and/or failure to identify as paid fundraisers can incur a $2,000 fine.
The Better Business Bureau recommends a charity give at least 65 percent of its collections to the end beneficiaries.
If in doubt, consumers can research a potential cause online at the following:
sos.sc.gov
www.charitynavigator.org
www.give.org
www.ftc.gov
www.candid.gov
www.nasconet.org
The Secretary of State’s Office also maintains a give smart app, and the contact number for investigations is 803-734-1728.
Pictured are Club President Gary Boyd, Mr. Renew, and speaker sponsor Mike Johnson who presented the speaker with a copy of the Optimist Creed.
