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Earlier this month, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released its Biennial Report to Congress on the National Do Not Call Registry. Over 240 million Americans placed their phone numbers on this directory during the past two years. The FTC maintains a National Do Not Call Registry at www.donotcall.gov. By signing up and including your phone number, you can reduce the volume of calls from businesses seeking to sell their services and wares, however, the registry does not apply to charities. Charities are not required to stop calling people on this Do Not Call listing. 

Many charities raise funds using telemarketing and do so responsibly, but there are others that some donors find annoying for a variety of reasons including the timing and frequency of the phone appeals. 

If you fall into this group and are seeking ways to reduce your charity telemarketing calls here are some tips to keep in mind.

If a for-profit telemarketer calls on behalf of a charity, you can request that the telemarketer place you on their internal do not call list.  From that point on, the firm can no longer call you on behalf of that specific charity, but they can call on behalf of other charity clients. So, the key is to be patient and persistent in making that request when you receive a charity call at home. Use the words “place me on your do not call list” and be sure to make note of the time, date, the name of the charity, the name of the telemarketing firm, and the phone number they used. If they call again on behalf of that charity, you can file a complaint with FTC at www.ftc.gov.  The more info you include in your complaint, the easier it will be for the FTC to identify and target bad actors for enforcement actions.

 

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Video of the Week

As part of our Building Trust Video Series, we are pleased to revisit a previous video featuring Mabel Valdivia, Executive Director of Fonkoze USA, a BBB Accredited Charity that provides funds for microfinance loans to its partners in Haiti.  The majority of loan recipients are women who use the funds to start or expand a small business that enables them to earn an income and feed their families.

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Heart of Giving Podcast

This week’s Heart of Giving Podcast features an interview with Asahi Pompey, Global Head of Corporate Engagement and President of the Goldman Sachs Foundation. She discusses contemporary Corporate Social Responsibility and the implications of the One Million Black Women initiative undertaken by Goldman Sachs. 

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Recent Reports

We are always working with charities to publish or update reports for donors. Visit Give.org or local BBBs to check out any charity before giving. Our recently evaluated charities include:

• Compassion & Choices
• Upstate Forever
• New Israel Fund 

Finally, remember to let us know by going to give.org/charity-inquiry if you are interested in seeing a report on a charity not on the list and we will do our best to produce one.

H. Art Taylor, President & CEO
BBB Wise Giving Alliance