Be leery of charity requests Public safety calls not always genuine

Hardly a week goes by without at least one business or consumer contacting COMBAT to check the legitimacy of a (usually telephoned) police, sheriff or fire department fund-raiser.

Law enforcement and firefighting professionals risk their lives to make our communities safer. To show your support for their good work, you should consider making donations to their charitable appeals. But before you write the check, make sure you are dealing with a local and legitimate police or fire department and that your gift will help your community.

Northeast COMBAT urges you to consider these facts:

Simply having the word “sheriff,” “police” or “firefighter” in an organization’s name doesn’t mean police officers or firefighters are members of the group.

Just because an organization claims it has local ties or works with local police or firefighters doesn’t mean contributions will be used locally or for public safety. The solicitor should provide written information describing the programs your donation will support.

Know how your money will be spent. What percentage of your gift will go directly to charitable purposes and how much for fund raising?

Most solicitations for sheriff, police and their service organizations are made by paid professional fund-raisers and local organizations can receive as little as 5 percent of the money raised.

Donations to some sheriff, police, or firefighter groups may not be tax deductible. Many kinds of organizations are tax exempt, but not tax deductible.

Take the following precautions to be sure your gifts actually benefit the people, organization or community you want to help:

. Ask fund-raisers for identification. Many states require paid fund-raisers to identify themselves as such and to name the organization for which they are soliciting.

. Ask how your contribution will be used. Ask what percentage of your contribution will go to local departments or programs. Get written information.

. Call your law enforcement or fire department to verify a fund-raiser’s claim to be collecting on their behalf. If the claim cannot be verified, report the solicitation to your local law enforcement officials and Northeast COMBAT.

. Ask if your contribution is tax-deductible. Make checks payable to the official name of the group or charity. Avoid cash gifts.

. Keep a record of the transaction. Retain the solicitor’s address, telephone number and a copy of written documentation of the transaction.

Be wary if a fund-raiser suggests you’ll receive special treatment for donating. For example, no legitimate fund-raiser would guarantee that you won’t be stopped for speeding if you have a police organization’s decal on your car. Don’t feel intimidated about declining to give. A caller who uses intimidation tactics is likely to be a scam artist. Report the call to your local law enforcement or firefighting officials. They deserve to know what is being done in their name.

It’s a shame that a few marketing and fund-raising profiteers make it difficult for local charities to raise money for good works, but that’s the reality. Many businesses and consumers have begun refusing to accept telephone solicitations at all. This is a shame because good causes suffer for the sins of bad people.

One reason COMBAT is creating a Maine Center for the Public Interest is to provide a statewide network to alert Maine people to fraudulent solicitations and provide a convenient way (telephone, Web site, e-mail) for businesses and consumers to check legitimacy. For information on the Maine center, write “Consumer Forum” and enclose a stamped, self-addressed business sized envelope.

Consumer Forum is a collaborative effort of the Bangor Daily News and Northeast COMBAT. Send questions to Consumer Forum, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor, Maine 04402-1329. COMBAT is a nonprofit organization with annual dues of $10. For membership information, write to the above address.