September 13, 2011
By Harvey Lipman
Staff Writer, The Record
Faced with an overwhelmingly negative response from the state's nonprofits, the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs has withdrawn a plan that would have restricted the language charities can use in soliciting donors.
Last month the division had floated what it called a "pre-proposal" for a rule requiring that nonprofits tell potential donors they may designate which of the charity's programs their money should fund. It would also have required nonprofits to note in their fundraising appeals that any non-directed donations could be used for whatever purposes the charities chose, including general operating expenses.
Many organizations wrote the division to point out that the language implied that management and other overhead expenses are inherently bad.
"Try delivering programs without those infrastructure supports," commented Robert Jones, CEO of Children's Aid and Family Services in Paramus.
Consumer Affairs Director Thomas Calcagni said the intent of the plan was to target questionable charities who "tout a particular program in order to generate donor interest, but then devote little, if any, of their donation dollars to that particular program."
He added that it was never his intention to make fundraising more difficult for legitimate charities.
"Many of the responses were helpful in explaining the cost and difficulty in implementing such a concept, and some nonprofits provided useful insight on alternative ways to generate donor awareness about the right to designate," Calcagni said.
While the division has withdrawn the pre-proposal, it will continue to work with non-profit groups to devise a more effective approach, he said.
Source: NorthJersey.com, August 21, 2011
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