Every two years, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) produces a report to Congress about the Do Not Call Registry. The latest report issued on January 8, 2024, announced that 249 million Americans placed their telephone number on this registry. The FTC received over two million complaints last year that alleged violations, mostly due to robocalls. While signing up for this Registry helps people reduce the volume of telemarketing calls from businesses, the Do Not Call Registry does not apply to charities. Charities are not required to stop calling people on this Do Not Call listing.

Although there are many charitable organizations that make fundraising calls responsibly, there are some that don’t. Potential donors might be annoyed by the frequency and timing of such calls. In other instances, they are upset to learn that mismanaged fundraising campaigns that call people can sometimes result in very little going to the charity and more than 80% going to the fundraising company.

There are some things that donors can do, however, to help reduce the volume of charity telemarketing:

• If a for-profit telemarketing company calls, you can request that they place you on their internal do not call list. The firm can no longer call you on behalf of that charity but could call on behalf of other charities.
• In making such a request, make sure to use the words “place me on your do not call list” and note the date, time, name of charity, and name of the telemarketing firm.
• If they call again on behalf of that charity, you can file a complaint with the FTC at www.ftc.gov.

If you are interested in supporting a charity that has called you, BBB Wise Giving Alliance urges you to find out more about the group before you donate. Visit Give.org to see if there is a report that verifies if they meet the 20 BBB Standards for Charity Accountability. Also, visit the website of the organization to learn more about their planned activities.

Heart of Giving Podcast

This week’s Heart of Giving Podcast features Donald Summers, Founder & CEO, Altruist Partners which seeks to help charities deliver impact and address strategic, fundraising, and organizational challenges.

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:

• Gift of Adoption Fund
• MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger
• For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST)

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.