The charity muggers on our streets
A Seven News investigation has checked the financial reports of more than 20 charities and found that many are pocketing more than people might think.
Charities like Barnardo's, Make A Wish and Amnesty Australia spend at least 25 per cent of donations on fundraising.
Some spend much more: 'Sids and Kids NSW' spends 71 cents in every dollar.
But what about those cheery people who try to stop us for a chat when we are out shopping?
While the industry calls them face-to-face fundraisers, detractors call them charity muggers or chuggers for short.
They sign up two hundred thousand people a year, raising 350 million dollars. After that the money trail becomes difficult to follow.
Most are professionals, employed by Cornucopia Consulting, The Fundraising People and Ways Fundraising.
They hit the streets for The Red Cross, Care Australia, The Cancer Council, Amnesty, Save The Children, the RSPCA and many more charities.
However few people realise that the cut for these consultants' can be up to 100 per cent of your first year of donations.
While most of us are happy to donate to charities, we want to know how our donations are spent.
"If I give money to a charity, I want to know what that money has done, where that money has been spent, and how they're spending it,” said charity analyst Sam Thorp.
Rob Edwards from the Fundraising Institute said that charities were ultimately businesses.
"The point is, they are businesses at the end of the day, and they compete. They compete for share of the donor dollar."
He added that face-to-face fundraising continued to be the most profitable and most viable method of installing regular giving programs.
Cornucopia flies in the top fundraisers from the UK, while others promise free travel around Australia for their employees.
The Fundraising People's personnel earn $728 a week, plus super, and what they say are "unlimited bonuses."
"Any business that has a sales focus has to have a performance element in it - there's no question about that,’ Mr Edwards said.
To see how it works, 7News signed up to the Cancer Council, coincidentally with the woman who is the face of the Cancer Council and the consultancy.
It is written in the contract that her employer gets 68 per cent of a person's first year of donations.
Sydney City councillor Edward Mandla wants the industry reined in.
"You can see here in the city Australians are very industrious, very busy, they want to be left alone and get about their business and then all of a sudden, you're under charity siege,” he said.
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News break - April 9
