False charities being targeted by state officials

Country-wide initiative is launched

By Christina Marnik, Journal staff writer

West Virginia Secretary of State Natalie Tennant, at podium, speaks to the community outside the Berkeley County Judicial Center Thursday afternoon. (Journal photo by Christina Marnik)

MARTINSBURG - West Virginia Secretary of State Natalie E. Tennant said Thursday that the sense of family, community and charity that binds residents throughout the Mountain State means that no one will be alone during difficult times.

She hopes that an initiative called Operation False Charity 2009 will make sure that the giving nature of those who choose to help others by donating to charities throughout West Virginia aren't taken advantage of.

Tennant discussed the campaign at a news conference Thursday morning in front of the Berkeley County Judicial Center. She said it is part of a country-wide effort that involves the Federal Trade Commission, secretaries of state, attorneys general and local law enforcement working together to ensure people are aware of where their money is going.

"I think it's a great thing. There's too many charities being put out on the market that don't represent the true giving," said Ken Herbaugh, who is on the board of directors for the Berkeley County Special Olympics. "They pose to be representing a local organization doing charity work, for example the Special Olympics, and when you track it down, you find out the actual charities are not located locally but out of state or two or three states away from you."

Part of the initiative is making people aware of what they are giving their money to. Information is available on the secretary of state's Web site that will make it easier for people to determine what charities are legitimate and also what charities will use the money in the most efficient way.

The Investigative Unit of the Secretary of State's Office will also look into complaints of charity fraud.

"We need charities to make our community strong. We need people to donate to charities. And we need the Secretary of State to do our part and our responsibility is registering and keeping track of the charities," Tennant said Thursday following the press conference.

By visiting the Web site, people can check the legitimacy of more than 2,500 registered West Virginia charities and see what percentage of donations from West Virginia residents will be used in the state.

They will also be able to see how much money was donated to the charity in the past fiscal year, how much money it spent on administrative costs and fundraising and how much it spent on initiatives in West Virginia.

"The United Way has always emphasized about giving donor dollars to the best agency that will make the best use of their dollars," said Jan Callen, executive director of United Way of the Eastern Panhandle."It's just one more tool donors can use to judge which charity they want to give to.

- Staff writer Christina Marnik can be reached at (304) 263-8931, ext. 182, or cmarnik@journal-news.net