A press release issued by the Michigan Attorney General on September 4^th reminds us that we sometimes need to be extra careful when considering a charity’s name. The Attorney General’s complaint is seeking to dissolve ten entities that had names that appear affiliated with well-known charities such as American Cancer Society, American Red Cross, and United Way, when in fact, they are not. These entities were incorporated in Michigan with the help of a former New York stockbroker with a history of alleged fraudulent activity. None of them were registered as charitable organizations with Michigan. The names of these look-alike groups are:

• American Cancer Foundation of Detroit
• American Cancer Foundation of Grand Rapids
• American Cancer Foundation of Lansing
• American Cancer Foundation of Michigan
• American Cancer Society of Detroit
• American Cancer Society of Michigan
• American Red Cross of Detroit
• American Red Cross of Michigan
• United Way of Detroit
• United Way of Michigan

In addition, the Michigan release notes that the referenced former stockbroker registered nonprofits in California, Wisconsin, Ohio, Georgia, New York, Florida and Maryland all using similar variations of the names United Way, American Red Cross and American Cancer Society. The release further explains that the former stockbroker “and his allies may be committing multiple violations of the Michigan Nonprofit Corporations Act (NCA), which led the Attorney General’s office to seek from the Court a permanent injunction against the defendants and involuntary dissolution of the entities. The states of California, North Dakota and Washington took similar action in 2018 and 2019 against entities that this person established.”

While it is not unusual for a charity to identify a disease, problem or issue that it seeks to address as part of its official name, it can be suspicious if the name appears to closely mimic or match that of a long established and recognized charity brand. While sometimes elements of similarity are unintentional and just reflect the popularity of a cause, there can be instances when organizers are seeking to deceive the public.

To help avoid donor confusion on name similarity, here are some suggestions:

Review the Name Carefully.  While this advice may seem obvious, because of other demands on our time and attention, we are not always as careful as we should be.

Visit the Charity’s Website. This can help you verify the organization’s location, current activities, and if you have potentially confused it with another group. If the charity name suggests it is a local affiliate of a larger known group, visit the website of that group’s national office to help verify that connection. For example, see the website links for the following national charity offices:

American Cancer Society local affiliates
American Red Cross locations
United Ways in the United States

Address Verification. Don’t assume the charity is located in the city and/or state appearing on the return envelope in a direct mail appeal. For large mailings, it is common for charities to use a different address, such as a P.O. Box, to help provide security and ensure prompt depositing of contributions. So, if you are just using the address to verify the identity of the charity, you may be mistaken.

Be Wary of Pressure to Donate Immediately. Excessive pressure in fundraising can unfortunately also be used as a means of reducing your likelihood of checking out the charity before donating.

Confirm Charity’s Registration with Government Agencies. About 40 of the 50 states in the U.S. require soliciting charities to register with a state government agency such as the office of the Attorney General or Secretary of State. In Canada, visit the charity registration page at the Canada Revenue Agency.

Check with Give.org.  Visit the charity reports on Give.org and at your BBB to verify if a charity meets the BBB Standards for Charity Accountability. The American Cancer Society, American Red Cross and United Way Worldwide are BBB Accredited Charities (i.e., they meet the referenced 20 BBB Charity Standards.)

Video of the Week

As part of our Building Trust Video Series, we are pleased to provide a 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.

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:

• Limbs for Life Foundation
• MidwayUSA Foundation
• Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation

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