You’ve all gotten them, right? An envelope, or sometimes even a box, from some alleged charity you’ve never heard of before. You open it up and discover personalized mailing labels, greeting cards, a notepad, a tree ornament, a cheap electronic doodad, a coin, or whatever, along with a plea to send a donation.
The strategy the charity is employing is twofold: some confused old people and idiots will think they’re required to send a donation in exchange for the junk, and some others will feel compelled to send a donation because they would otherwise feel guilty about accepting something for nothing from a charity.
I call these “guilt mailings.”
(Interestingly, the UK’s Institute of Fundraising says they’re a no-no: “Fundraising organisations ought to be able to demonstrate that the purpose of the enclosure was to enhance the message and/or the emotional engagement in the cause, and not to generate a donation primarily because of financial guilt or to cause embarrassment.”)
I know what the senders of these mailings are trying to do, and I know it’s slimy, so I’m completely immune to their efforts to generate guilt. Not only that, but rather than prompting me to donate, guilt mailings tend to have the opposite effect — I tend to put any charity which uses them onto my “do not donate” list for good. If the freebie is useful, I go ahead and use it without any qualms at all. I’m heartless about it… when they send reply envelopes with stamps on them, I cut off the stamps and use them to send my own letters, just on principle.
I thought by now I’d seen it all, but I received in the mail today the guilt mailing to beat all guilt mailings, from St. Joseph’s Indian School in Chamberlain, South Dakota:
(click for larger image)
What have we got here? Taking it from the top:
- The envelope in which everything was packaged.
- A big card with a pretty picture and “Special Holiday Gifts for YOU from the Lakota children!” printed on it, with a ribbon, two bows, and a retractable ball-point pen taped to it.
- Twenty-four personalized address labels and six gift stickers, with “What shall I bring to the Lord, the God of heaven, when I come to worship him? – Micah 6:6″ on the back of them. Oh, I don’t know, how about a retractable ball-point pen and some personalized address labels?
- The pitch letter about the poor Lakota Indian children (one of them with the fictional name “Emily Fire Cloud”; oh, it’s just too trite for words!) that St. Joseph’s wants you to help them missionize.
- Notepad (not personalized; cheapskates!) with the same bible quote on the back of it.
- The first of eight rather fancy Christmas cards with envelopes.
- Reply card and return envelope.
- More cards and envelopes, and finally, a piece of wrapping paper.
Imagine my surprise (not!) that the American Institute of Philanthropy has not issued a rating to this charity. They are a religious organization and therefore exempt from reporting laws, and they declined the AIP’s requests for information that would enable them to issue a rating. The BBB Wise Giving Alliance says that St. Joseph’s fails to meet three of the 20 standards they use to rate charities. And if you donate to St. Joseph’s, they’ll sell your personal information to make more money off of you. And let’s not forget about those messy allegations of abuse at the school.
Here’s my personal rating for St. Joseph’s: a big, fat, F.
UPDATE: The only sign of any organization other than St. Joseph’s on any of the materials enclosed in the mailing is this tiny logo on the back of the greeting cards, enlarged here for readability:
Googling for “reproducta” takes you to http://www.reproducta.com/, and the “For Fundraising” box on Reproducta’s home page takes you to http://www.quadrigaart.com/. Judging from the content on the latter site, this mailing was probably produced by Quadriga Art, Inc.
![[Digg]](http://blog.kamens.us/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/digg.png)
![[Facebook]](http://blog.kamens.us/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/facebook.png)
![[Email]](http://blog.kamens.us/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/email.png)
well documented. let’s figure out who sold them this marketing package. I doubt they put this package together themselves.
@Chuck: See update above.
Has anyone gone to Chamberlain to see the school? Do they do valid work?
I don’t need to visit the school to know what kind of school they are — I can know that from the offensive tear-jerker mailing they sent out, essentially portraying the Indians (and yes, they called them “Indians”, not Native Americans) as poor, backwards people who need to be rescued by the church.
I also don’t need to visit the school to know that the reason why Catholics run schools on reservations is to convert kids to Christianity.
This is not an institution I would support even if they hadn’t sent the most obscene guilt mailing I’ve ever seen.
I have been supporting St. Joseph’s through my small donations. What I have researched shows that they do not meet BBB standards on 3 of 20 counts – mostly to do with who is the President, and that 59% rather than 65% goes to the institution – not surprising in that, unlike many charity organizations, it has a staff of teachers, a medical staff, etc to compensate. While I too do not care for the flood of materials I receive from this organization (I feel that more could be saved should they cut this back), I am of the opinion that your level of indignance is a bit high and heavy for the matter. There are far worse organizations in the charity game. Also, there exists a standing invitation to visit the campus and see for ourselves what is being done. Perhaps someone should take them up. I also feel that your mentioning of a lawsuit is disingenuous; as is typical in these cases, a small group (20) allege abuse occured 50 to 20 years ago (1955-85) – it was all tied in to a Federal lawsuit regarding Federally run Indian boarding schools – of which, St. Joseph’s was not considered and the case dismissed. Of course, the 20 accusing St. Joseph’s in particular are still free to have their day in court regarding these, at the moment, allegations. To date this has not occured to my knowledge. I hope this information is found useful.
I have been supporting St. Joseph’s through my small donations. What I have researched shows that they do not meet BBB standards on 3 of 20 counts
Every one of the twenty criteria used by the BBB to evaluate charities is important. The point of these twenty criteria is that if a charity fails even just one of them, there is probably something wrong. Furthermore, many of the charities evaluated by the BBB pass all twenty criteria. Therefore, to suggest that the BBB’s failing grade for St. Joseph’s should be disregarded because they fail on only three of the BBB’s twenty criteria is disingenuous.
– mostly to do with who is the President,
No, actually, that’s not correct. The problem is not who is president of the organization, but rather that the president, a paid position, is also the chairman of the board.
Paid officers of any organization are supposed to be employed by the board, which is supposed to have the power to tell the paid officers what to do and to hire and fire them. When the chairman of the board is one of those paid officers, then at best that power is compromised, and at worst the entire board is a sham whose sole purpose is to rubber-stamp decisions the officers have already made on their own. This is a very significant issue, which is why it is one of the BBB’s criteria.
and that 59% rather than 65% goes to the institution – not surprising in that, unlike many charity organizations, it has a staff of teachers, a medical staff, etc to compensate.
First of all, there are many charitable organizations with much, much larger staffs than St. Joseph’s which still manage to satisfy this criterion.
Second, “a staff of teachers, a medical staff, etc.” are all program expenses and therefore are included in the percentage of expenses spent on program service activities. For this organization to spend only 59% of its budget on program expenses even including wages for a paid staff of 217 (according to the BBB Web site) is very, very bad.
On the other hand, it’s not surprising, since according to the information on the BBB Web site, 30% of their annual expenditures are related to fund-raising. That’s a very bad percentage for a reputable charity. Which, again, is why this is one of the BBB’s criteria.
I note that you did not mention the third criterion which the BBB failed St. Joseph’s on, i.e., “Standard 18: Privacy for Written Appeals & Internet Privacy”. This, of course, is exactly what we’re talking about here, so it’s not surprising that they fail to live up to this standard, which is also not a minor issue.
While I too do not care for the flood of materials I receive from this organization (I feel that more could be saved should they cut this back), I am of the opinion that your level of indignance is a bit high and heavy for the matter. There are far worse organizations in the charity game.
Hmm. I thought Catholics weren’t into the whole moral relativism thing? The fact that there are worse sinners than St. Joseph’s does not reduce the magnitude of their sins. Furthermore I’ve been receiving charitable solicitations in the mail for, literally, decades, and this is far and away the worst guilt mailing I’ve ever seen. So sorry, but I don’t think my “level of indignance is a bit high and heavy for the matter.”
Also, there exists a standing invitation to visit the campus and see for ourselves what is being done. Perhaps someone should take them up.
Oh, I’m sure the dog-and-pony show they put on for visitors will give much more unbiased, objective information about the quality of the charity than their financial statements and BBB evaluation. Not!
I also feel that your mentioning of a lawsuit is disingenuous; as is typical in these cases, a small group (20) allege abuse occured 50 to 20 years ago (1955-85) – it was all tied in to a Federal lawsuit regarding Federally run Indian boarding schools – of which, St. Joseph’s was not considered and the case dismissed. Of course, the 20 accusing St. Joseph’s in particular are still free to have their day in court regarding these, at the moment, allegations. To date this has not occured to my knowledge. I hope this information is found useful.
You seem to know an awful lot about this lawsuit for someone whose only relationship with the organization is that you have been supporting them through small donations. Can you provide links to public information which confirms the facts you’ve asserted above?
“You seem to know an awful lot about this lawsuit for someone whose only relationship with the organization is that you have been supporting them through small donations. Can you provide links to public information which confirms the facts you’ve asserted above?”
umm… just google “St. Joseph’s Indian School” and “lawsuit” you’ll find all you need to know. You do know how to google. don’t you? Of course, then you may find something that is contrary to your position.
I am not going to get into a pissing war with someone whose mind is made up that St. Joseph’s is a sham. To assume that I am a Catholic (that was your intention, was it not?) and that I am somehow affiliated with this organization is typical of someone with an agenda. You, I am afraid, have a very narrow mindset as to what truly works in America and what is a fraud.
I, for one, am sorry I stumbled across your soapbox. Please, do contribute some of your time (of which you seem to have a lot on your hands), and some cash to the charity of your choice as you see fit.
To assume that I am a Catholic (that was your intention, was it not?)
No, it was not. I meant exactly what I said.
… and that I am somehow affiliated with this organization
Yes, it seemed to me, and continues to seem to me, that your knowledge of the school and zeal to defend it are greater than one would typically find in someone whose sole relationship to the school was as a small donor.
Other readers of my blog can, of course, draw their own conclusions.
umm… just google “St. Joseph’s Indian School” and “lawsuit” you’ll find all you need to know. You do know how to google. don’t you? Of course, then you may find something that is contrary to your position.
I did the search you suggested and found nothing to support your assertion that the lawsuit “was all tied to a Federal lawsuit regarding Federally run Indian boarding schools.” What I found, instead, was that the lawsuit was dismissed in Federal court on a technicality — the plaintiffs were required by law and treaty to take such complaints first to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which they did not do. I also found other instances of allegations of abuse against St. Joseph’s, and even instances where St. Joseph’s essentially admitted to abuse having taking place at the school in the past. It is furthermore worth noting that there were many documented instances of abuse at Indian schools of the type described in the lawsuit we’re discussing around the time of the abuse alleged in that lawsuit.
It is certainly your right to give the school the benefit of the doubt, but the preponderance of available evidence suggests to me that the abuse allegations are credible.
I am not going to get into a pissing war with someone whose mind is made up that St. Joseph’s is a sham.
I have never said that they are a sham.
What I said was that their fundraising practices are wasteful and offensive, that they do not meet objective standards for charities as measured by third parties such as the AIP and the BBB, and that anyone with an iota of common sense knows that the reason why Catholics run schools on Indian reservations is to convert Indians to Catholicism.
I think it’s interesting that you focused on the last two sentences in my comment and ignored the rest (and indeed the most substantive portions) of it. I assume that this is because you have no response?
I first received such mailings from St Joseph’s nearly 20 years ago. I felt insulted that the “pitch” maintained that the children were better off away from their homes and families.
That has always been the attitude of Indian boarding schools. The intent was to “kill the Indian but save the man” (or woman). It was asserted by the first superintendent of the first Indian boarding school that in everthing but skin color, he could turn the Indian into a White man.
As for abuses, I know people who were abused in religious boarding schools. These were not merely isolated incidents. At most of these schools, it was the norm. It was part of the institutional mindset. These were helpless children, under the complete control of adults who were corrupted by the absolute power they had over these children’s lives. And these adults were protected by their church leaders.
Abuses like these are not uncommon in residential institutions. I recall seeing a news report just a few years ago about abuse in a home for mentally challenged adults. A video was turned in to a TV station that showed the abuse. Periodically, one hears of abuse in senior care homes. And prison abuses are common but unreported and largely ignored.
When twenty individuals (not a small amount) to report abuse at the same institution for a span of thirty years, one has to admit that the chances are good that it’s no coincidence nor conspiracy.
People must be aware that abuses, especially sexual abuse, are so devastating and shameful that the victim may have blocked the memories of the trauma or may not have been willing to deal with the issue. I admire the man in his seventies who was willing to bring the case to a public forum. I know someone in his fifties who has dealt with boarding school abuse on a personal level but has not joined a lawsuit. Many of his peers are dead. They died young, often from alcohol-related issues. He completely understands the pain and trauma they were trying to numb, as he went through the same thing.
At the government boarding school nearby, which has been closed for over 25 years, children’s bones were found in what used to be a field. The elders and other former students don’t speak much of the abuses that occurred there. But there can be no doubt that children were abused and even killed there.
Even Oprah’s school had abuses, and that was a place where the founder herself was very conscious of child abuse. The biggest part of the problem is that, especially in residential settings, adults know that they have complete control over the lives of the students. “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
In my opinion, residential schools for children ought to be obsolete. I will not support any such school, even if it were within my church’s denomination.
Jonathan,
We appreciate your views and the feelings you have about our fundraising tactics.
After reviewing your original post, I felt it important to comment.
The boys and girls in our care are our top priority. Their parents and guardians have entrusted them to us; it is our responsibility to make sure the children have a safe, stable, loving home and the highest education possible.
These children come from this nation’s poorest, most needy families. Their families seek us out. In addition to the 200 boys and girls in our care, another 150 Native American children are on our waiting list.
As the school’s director, I take the task of caring for the children seriously. Because I’m charged with such a huge responsibility, I work closely with my team and our partners to ensure funds will continue to be raised for these children in need, not just for today but also for years to come.
We do not submit our financial information to every watchdog group out there. Doing so would require more staff and hours than we can spare. However, we do not hide our information. Our financial information is mailed to anyone who requests it, and we make our annual report available online each year.
Putting more of each dollar raised toward programs and children is important to us; it’s a goal my team and I have every year. But, our central South Dakota location, private status and program expansions make cutting our fundraising efforts back challenging – even irresponsible.
The package you received from us was produced by Reproducta – a subsidiary of Quadriga Art – as you indicated. However, it was created under our watchful eye. We control our marketing efforts internally and make every effort possible to ensure what we’re sending in the mail yields the strongest return possible … all so we can continue providing much-needed services to Lakota (Sioux) children. The story in the letter you received is real; as we say in the letter, the children’s names are not in order to protect their privacy.
At St. Joseph’s, we work extremely hard to make sure the children in our care understand, respect and appreciate their culture. Native American Studies is a regular part of our curriculum for all the boys and girls; in the class, children learn their native language, stories and traditions. The lessons are infused throughout our school.
We also integrate the children’s culture in to their homes and daily activities. We firmly believe the children we serve will be prepared to better achieve their life’s goals by embracing their culture. I assure you honoring and respecting the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota people and cultures is important to all of us.
Our invitation to visit our campus is genuine. Our purpose is not to turn American Indian children in to Catholics. Our mission is to provide Lakota (Sioux) children in need with the basics of food, clothing and medical care while we put special emphasis on the spiritual, emotional and educational development of each child as we respect their culture and heritage.
I respect your opinions and thoughts. In turn, I hope you will respect the work we are dedicated to carrying out for Native American children in dire need. I personally have been serving Native American children and their families – regardless of their faith – for over 20 year. St. Joseph’s has been supporting American Indian people since 1927 … all at no cost to them.
Without the support of friends from around the country, the children in our care would have nowhere to turn. Parents, grandparents, guardians and former students tell me all the time how grateful they are for the opportunities, love and education we give their children.
If you would like to learn more about the children at St. Joseph’s or our programs, I hope you’ll visit our Web site, http://www.stjo.org
God bless,
Fr. Steve
St. Joseph’s Indian School, Director
Fr. Huffstetter,
Thank you for your response.
I wonder if you could answer a few questions for me.
Are there crucifixes on the walls at St. Joseph’s? Any statues of saints?
Is there a daily mass? Do students attend? Are they required to?
What percentage of students who graduate from St. Joseph’s convert to Catholicism?
We do not submit our financial information to every watchdog group out there. Doing so would require more staff and hours than we can spare. However, we do not hide our information. Our financial information is mailed to anyone who requests it, and we make our annual report available online each year.
No one ever suggested that you should mail your financial information any watchdog groups who have not requested it. That is a red herring.
The American Institute of Philanthropy says they requested financial information from you and you did not provide it. How do you reconcile that with your statement that your financial information is mailed to anyone who requests it?
Although you are exempt as a religious organization from filing charity reports with the government, there’s nothing saying you can’t file such reports if you want to. If, indeed, you are not trying to hide anything, then why don’t you file those reports?
Are you aware that if you were to post your financial information on your Web site, which would take maybe an hour per year with a scanner to produce a PDF of the relevant documents, it would not cost you any “staff and hours” at all to provide it to as many people as want it?
I will send you under separate cover my mailing address with a request for you to send me your most recent detailed financial report. We’ll see what comes of it.
As promised above, I sent to email to St. Joseph’s and asked them to mail me their financial information. I received a response from Fr. Huffstetter, in which he referred me to http://www.stjo.org/report. I wrote to the American Institute of Philanthropy and asked why, given that St. Joseph’s publishes financial information on their Web site, they claim to be unable to evaluate the organization. They responded:
In other words, while it may indeed be true that the annual report published by St. Joseph’s is a condensed version of more detailed audited financial statements, it is not nearly enough for the AIP or any other watchdog organization to properly evaluate the organization, and St. Joseph’s apparently refuses to release more detailed information to those organizations.
While Fr. Huffstetter claims that St. Joseph’s isn’t trying to hide anything and provides financial information to anyone who asks for it, the information they provide is inadequate to actually evaluate the work of the organization. This is in contrast to the vast majority of charities listed in the AIP’s rating guide, many of whom, like St. Joseph’s, are exempt from reporting requirements, who do provide to the AIP and other watchdogs adequate information for evaluation.
Does anyone know if you can stop these places from soliciting one’s parents. My mother keeps getting duped by these places and giving them all kinds of money.
thx..
mark, your mother will be generously blessed even if the money she gives isn’t entirely used for its intended purposes. I bet your the kind to refuse to give money to a homeless person or the street “bum” because you fear they might blow it on alcohol. If you’re really that concerned about crooked charities and they people they are alleged to serve, why don’t you start your own charity? I mean, after all, you seem awfully concerned about what other people are doing wrong, why don’t you and others of your “concerned” mindset show the rest of us how it should be done? Not up to it yourself, then quit your self-righteous complaining!
Hey, Jonathan, what are you doing to help the plight of Native American children? Sounds like you’re the kind of self-righteous, fingerpointing jerk who would rather blindly criticize those who are trying to help in the most difficult of situations than doing anything yourself to help those you cleverly feign concern about. We call anti-Christian, secular bigots like you bleeding heart tightwads because all you typically do is complain about what others are doing in the name of their faith while you do nothing in the name of your faith … except complain and point ignorant fingers of judgement. At least the director of SJIS sounds ten times the adult you do so when you get finished playing with your Tonka toys in the sandbox how about illuminating the rest us as to what you do with the thousands of dollars (like our family does each and every year) otherwise intelligent, middle-class American like you must be giving to help Native American children, Central American children or South American children have a better life that they otherwise wouldn’t have because of YOUR generosity … or do you generally blow your loose cash on the latest X-Box releases, smokes, drink, loose women, or having a good night on the town? Or do you prefer to blow it on redecorating your mother’s basement to make your sweating over a keyboard a little easier?
I just love people who jump to conclusions without knowing anything at all about what they are saying.
For your information, my wife and I give thousands of dollars to charity every year. We reserve our limited charitable funds for organizations which have a history of doing work we respect in an open, transparent fashion; of successfully using the vast majority of the donations they receive for their work rather than for overhead; and of allowing independent third parties to audit their finances to confirm that they are doing so. These are the metrics which I believe any responsible person should use when deciding whether to donate to a particular charity.
My wife and I do many hours of volunteer work for local charities every year.
As for whether the director of SJIS is “ten times the adult” I am, I would point out that he lied about releasing his organization’s financial records to independent third parties for review, and he lied about giving me the answers to the questions directed at him which I posted above. He sent me private email on January 14, in which he said, “I saw you posted a response to my response on your blog. I do have answers for you and will post them as quickly as I am able; however, it may be tomorrow.” It is now almost two months later; do you see the answers he promised? Using lies to defend his organization against legitimate criticism does not seem particularly adult to me.
My family does not have an X-Box or any other game console. Neither I nor my wife drinks or smokes. I have been faithful to my wife since the day I met her almost 20 years ago. As a parent of five young children, I rarely have the time or energy to have a “good night on the town,” and I would imagine that the seven of us would have a tough time fitting in my parents’ basement.
In short, you’re an idiot.
Well, hasn’t this been entertaining! I received an unsolicited mailing from St. Joseph’s today and decided to do a bit of web research. I concur that it is a bit unnerving to receive such a full package of goods as a solicitation for charitable contribution: my mailing included a small ‘dreamcatcher’, mailing labels, notepad and other trinkets. I can’t help but wonder how an alleged charity can afford such apparently random ‘cold call’ mailings.
I also note that the ad hominem attacks in this thread have been by defenders of St. Joseph’s against those who have raised legitimate concerns about the nature of this organization. Gee, that speaks well for St. Joseph’s!
In sum, I will continue to direct my family’s charitable giving to organizations whose legitimacy is not in question. There’s plenty of need to ‘go around’, so if you want to give to St. Joseph’s, knock yourself out. It smells funny enough to me that I don’t feel an overwhelming need to go out on a limb here.
And for God’s sake, people, you can disagree without calling each other names.
I am by no means a saint and I am here because I received a “package” and thanking me for my contribution.
I was wondering how they “had”
I was wondering how they had my address and everything.
Also why and how they could afford to send out such things as NWbiker also wonders.
I do not like things sent to me in the mail and generally put other stuff in the envelopes and send them on their way (if postage is paid) (sometimes other coupons sometimes shredded paper. Hey I get tired of people sending me paper that I have to throw away. It is like someone is handing it to me saying “get rid of that–OK”
LOL—relax though people-do what you will–I am sorry for the people that get “duped” if that is the way you feel.
We are all here for such a short time—Try spreading a smile or two instead of smart “ss comments, trying to prove you are smarter than each other.
We should all be nicer to one another.
Take care and have a great week!!!
Anthony
Thank you for the information provided here. I have known about St. Joseph’s since visiting the school in 1995. At the time of my visit I wondered about the lack of Native American adults involved with the program, other than the artists who were selling things through the museum. I have never contributed any money to the organization, choosing instead to donate to Ogala Lakota College in hopes of providing Native American families, not just children, with the means to improve their lives and preserve their culture. I have been dismayed at the tactics used by St. Joseph and found my way here today because of the mailing I received yesterday, probably the same one that Anthony received. I also received the mailing that Jonathan received last fall. I am thankful to everyone who has posted here–this conversation has helped me understand more about St Joseph’s Indian School. I plan to return the items I received and ask them to stop sending me stuff. I’ll let you know if it works.
I too am sick of getting mailings asking for money, all the while they are
sending (stuff) and wanting reimbursement for what they sent and asking for money at the same time
Save your mailings and “stuff” as WILL NOT BE SENDING ANY MONEY.
TAKE ME OFF YOUR LIST NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We quasi-regularly give money (several hundred $) to The Nature Conservancy (pretty much the only enviro org I’ll even remotely consider giving money to). Each time we’ve donated we’ve told them “We’re just giving a donation. We don’t want any newsletters, we don’t want to be on any mailing lists. We don’t want to be sent any membership cards or receive any phone calls. If any of those ever happens we’ll never give you another dime.”
So far it’s worked. Aside from the “No goods or services were received by the donor” letter we’ve never heard a peep from them.
I live in Chamberlain (pop. 2500) and because of its small size, I would like to remain anonymous.
Unfortunately, there have been many accusations of child sex abuse at St. Joe’s over the years. In fact, the attorney for St. Joe’s got legislation passed this year in SD to try to limit the liability. I believe Fr. Steve has tried to do a good job and to put the children first. However, until the Catholic Church changes …
My sister got one of those “guilt mailings” a couple of months ago and sent in $10. Two weeks ago she sent them another $10 and today she received an envelope with the usual “guilt” items. There was one pamphlet in the mailing that finally opened her eyes. They suggested that she put St. Joseph’s in her Will.
I felt bad for my sister because her heart was in the right place, but I am very happy that she finally got her eyes opened. I suggested that from now on give to local charities such as the food bank. That way she can see first hand where her hard earned money is going.
thanks. I think this was a great site and thanks for sharing all the comments. i will not donate to this orginazation.
I’m of the same mindset that it is wiser to give donations locally where you have the ability & opportunity to see where your dollars go. An additional bonus to giving to your local charities is that you have opportunities to volunteer your ‘free time’ which seems to be on all of their ‘wish lists’
In a most general way, I will defend St Joseph’s for filling the need to provide children a safe environment to live and be educated. Perhaps some posters here are not as aware as they should be of the desperate poverty in this area of our country. I feel that Fr. Huffstetter is doing the best he can and with a good heart.
However, after donated very small amounts for a couple years, I became perplexed at the incredible volume of mailings. Surely they spent more mailing me stuff than I ever donated. I requested that they at least reduce their mailings to me, and they did. I inspected the annual report they sent me a few years ago, which was much worse than their current one. At that time, and to this day, it appears to me that a very large chunk of the donations goes directly to the Catholic Church. What is this “Apostolate of Prayer Programs” category? More than 6 million dollars out of 28.5 million total program services expenditures. Fund Raising and Donor Development exceeds, as far as I can determine, what they directly spend on the children by a wide margin.
These things left me with the uncomfortable feeling that St Josephs is more cash cow for the Catholic Church than it is safe haven for children. Again, I believe in the mission of helping these children, whether it’s through a religious organization or not, and I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, but they would win back my support by being a little more clear and transparent about their financial statement.
I feel that Fr. Huffstetter is doing the best he can and with a good heart.
I would be more likely to believe that if St. Joseph’s released real, complete financial statements, as opposed to the thing on their Web site which they laughably call financial statements; or if Fr. Huffstetter hadn’t deceptively claimed that they release their financial statements to anyone who asks, while at the same time he knew full well that the thing they release to anyone who asks isn’t anywhere near what they actually need to properly audit the charity’s performance; or if Fr. Huffstetter hadn’t claimed that he would respond to the questions I asked him about the operation of the school and then never did so.
Wow, when you say “Musings of an indignant mind”, you really mean it!
Thank you. Very enlightening.