Two salesmen in Virginia were raising money for the homeless. They collected thousands of dollars in donations from generous Virginians, but only sent a few hundred dollars to a church in Southern Florida. Three weeks after investigators caught onto their scheme and shut them down, the scam artists were right back at it. They started their own “church,” “Richmond Christian Children’s Church,” which law enforcement busted after they took $5,000 from unsuspecting Virginians.
Non-profit charities are a $248 billion-a-year industry in America, with an estimated $4.38 billion a year donated in Virginia alone. Excluding religious groups, Virginians donate about $12 million daily. But as Mike Wright, manager of regulatory programs for the Va. Office of Consumer Affairs, cautions, “Check it out before you write the check.”
The Office of the Attorney General checks out non-profit organizations every day. It’s our job, and we take it seriously. To check the legitimacy of a charity or non-profit visit the Office of Consumer Affairs’ charity database at www.vdacs.virginia.gov/consumers or call 1-800-552-9963, Then search the group’s financial statements at www.Guidestar.org, to make sure they’re using your money as they claim.
One group of non-profits that does use your money wisely is a group that I have partnered with: The Federation of Virginia Food Banks. Food Banks are the safety net against hunger. Just ask Pam Irvine, executive director of the Southwestern Virginia Second Harvest Food Bank: “In every city and county across the Commonwealth, you will find someone who struggles to make choices every day between paying rent, buying medicine or purchasing food to feed their family.” And Lynn Brantley, president and CEO of the Capital Area Food Bank notes, “In Northern Virginia, one in six children is at risk of hunger.”
July is a notoriously bad month for Food Banks trying to serve the hungry. Donations plummet during the summer as camps and vacations distract from the hunger of our neighbors. This July, I hope you will join me and support Virginia’s Food Banks. You can get all the information you need by visiting my website at www.vaag.com. If you want to give to a trustworthy charity that deserves your help, I encourage you to support your local Food Bank.