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The Women’s Cancer Fund raised $18.3 million by pledging to support patients and telling donors that their money would help cover the living expenses of women receiving treatment for the disease. But a new lawsuit by the FTC and 10 states alleges that much of that money went toward payments to charity presidents and for-profit fundraisers.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court on March 11, alleges that the Women’s Cancer Fund raised funds by making deceptive and misleading claims from 2017 to 2022. In fact, the majority of the donations went toward paying the charity’s president, Gregory Anderson, a $775,139 salary, $15.55 million to a for-profit fundraising organization, and expenses, the complaint alleges.
”[O]”Of the $18.25 million donated to the Women’s Cancer Fund, only $194,809, or approximately 1 percent, went directly to supporting women with cancer,” the lawsuit alleges.
Although charities incur overhead costs, it is generally considered good practice to spend only a portion of the budget on overhead costs, and CharityWatch is a nonprofit organization that spends less than 25% on operating costs. The organization has been rated as “highly efficient.” The lawsuit alleges that donors who opened their wallets to donate to the Women’s Cancer Fund were deceived by the organization’s marketing efforts.
The Women’s Cancer Fund, also known as the International Cancer Recovery Foundation, also used donations to pay for expenses such as hotels and travel, the lawsuit alleges.
“International Cancer Recovery Foundation and Mr. Anderson exploited the generosity of American donors in the most egregious way,” FTC Consumer Protection Director Samuel Levin said in a statement earlier this month. “The FTC is committed to aggressively pursuing illegal activities like this that harm donors and deprive legitimate charities of needed funds. We will join in this effort to protect the public. We are grateful to our national partners for their support.”
The states participating in the lawsuit are California, Florida, Massachusetts, Maryland, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
The Women’s Cancer Fund did not immediately respond to CBS MoneyWatch’s request for comment.
The cancer diagnosis comes after weeks of speculation about Duchess Kate’s health.
WATCH: Princess Kate reveals cancer diagnosis in video statement
Duchess Kate has been diagnosed with cancer and is undergoing preventive chemotherapy.
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