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 (page 8): “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.
UPDATE [April 5, 2011]: It turns out that Quadriga Art, Inc. does not exactly have a stellar record. According to the American Institute of Philanthropy, at least two different charities for which Quadriga did fundraising, Disabled Veterans National Foundation and SPCA International, paid Quadriga so much for its services that they ended up in major debt to Quadriga, i.e., Quadriga charged them significantly more than they raised, to the tune of millions of dollars. Furthermore, at least one and perhaps both of these charities had contracts with Quadriga which required that their debt to Quadriga be paid off before they could use a single cent of donations for the services their charities were actually supposed to be providing. By utilizing Quadriga’s services, St. Joseph’s has affiliated itself with a fundraising company which thinks nothing of ripping off charities, and puts itself in the company of charities which are at best mismanaged and at worst fraudulent.
UPDATE [December 4, 2011]: Check out the dream-catchers (remarked upon by several people in comments below) that are currently being included in the guilt mailings from St. Joseph’s (click for a full-size image):
If it is true that the Lakota Indian School received 266 million dollars, then they are wealthier than i will ever be. I raised 6 children on a whole lot less per child, they never went without whatever they needed or wanted. I do believe that giving should be unconditional. It is the intent with which one gives that creates the blessing for both parties. Blessed are those who whisper,”I believe in you”, for they shall see their children’s dreams come true. I shall continue to pray this prayer and not be hampered. If we all make that a priority, send angels daily to the children, we can support them spiritually. What better gift can there be? Blessed be to all who struggle
Go to the school’s website http://www.stjo.org, look at their financial page and
download their annual financial report. Fifty-six million in revenue and support. Fifteen million in investment returns. Study it! I got stuck on the paltry college scholarship fund. Look at their donor development costs which is not their fund raising costs. This is not surprising, this is what we have been raised to expect. The Lakota children are fodder. $50,000 in college scholarships?
OMG I have donated to St Josephs Indian School many times for many years. Thank you for all the info on this blog. I will never donate to these scam artists again!
I am from the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe in South Dakota. I live in Lower Brule, SD which is about 30 minutes from the school. I do have nieces & nephews that attend St. Joseph’s Indian School. The campus is beautiful. This is not a scam. They truly help out Native American children. The children are all of Native American decent. St. Joseph’s school has a very good educational system. My nephew has attended St. Joseph’s Indian School since he was in the 1st Grade. He is now a Junior in high school. He has excelled academically and athletically. The school offers scholarship programs to the students that attended St. Joseph’s Indian School. I have another nephew that went to Europe with another group of students from the St. Joseph’s Indian School on a culture tour. He is a senior that is in St. Joseph’s Indian School. He has also excelled academically and his scholarship will benefit him tremendously. St. Joseph’s is not a scam. The place offers so much to our children.
You’re missing the point. Many points, actually. Here are some of them:
St. Joseph’s raises millions of dollars and refuses to tell people in any concrete, transparent way what happens to that money.
It is clear that much of the money they raise does not go to the school, and they don’t tell donors that.
Charity watchdog groups, including CharityWatch and the BBB, which closely examine St. Joseph’s consistently give it a poor rating or indicate that it is unwilling to make available enough data about its operations for it to be rated properly.
Quadriga Art, the fundraising company they use, regularly enters into deals with clients wherein far more money raised from the fundraising goes to Qaudriga than to the client.
Guilt mailings are, in my opinion and the opinion of many others, by definition slimy and wrong.
By the way, just out of curiosity, if you live in South Dakota, why does it appear that your comment was posted from Arizona?
I am not on here to argue. It’s my thought. I personally see the good out of St. Joseph’s Indian School with my own family attending the school today. I have never been to Arizona.
its nice to hear from someone who has actually seen what the school can do personally instead of hearing from people that have done research on one website and all of a sudden think they know everything about it. we actually post on our website were ever penny goes every year and if you have never met a child from the school seen the school or even attend a luncheon before I suggest you either attend one of those or do a little more research on thing before you start accusing people that are helping children from 7 out of 10 poorest counties in the country. And by the way it isn’t a boarding school the kids guardians place them there so they have a safe environment to be a child. They aren’t guilt mailings that is how those kids live everyday! scare isn’t it? and we are also still under review with the BBB they have not made a final decision yet!
As I’ve explained here many times, whether or not the school does good work for its students is irrelevant to most of the criticisms of it that I and others have made here. It is tiresome to see defenders of the school repeatedly opine about how great it is without addressing the financial and structural concerns in any substantive way.
No, you don’t. The “2012 Annual Report” published on your web site is a whopping two pages long, and most of it is fluff. It isn’t nearly enough information for a trusted, independent organization such as CharityWatch to produce a meaningful analysis of its finances, and when CharityWatch asked for more information, a request which many other charities have willingly satisfied, STJO refused.
The second half of this sentence is a non-sequitur with regards to the first half, so I’m not really sure what you’re point is here. A school whose “guardians place them there” is a boarding school.
How the kids live has nothing whatsoever to do with whether the fundraising mailings sent out by the school are guilt mailings, a term which you clearly do not understand.
That is not true.
http://www.bbb.org/charity-reviews/national/american-indian/st-josephs-indian-school-and-missions-in-chamberlain-sd-675
I received my “free” gifts (send 5$ to cover expenses) last Saturday. I never send money to groups sending “gifts”, enclose “gift coupons” and want the donation by a certain date. However, for the kids, I was considering doing so until I came upon this site. (I try to always check out who I’m buying from or donating to.) You brought me to my senses.
THANKS
The original post was, what? A year ago? Just got a new set of guilt from St. John’s. My aging aunt used to donate, don’t know how we got on the list, but the recent mailing is just obscene & includes a certificate from the children!! This needs to be in the news again to explain to our senior citizens (& other good-hearted folk) what a supreme scam this is! Thanks for the info. It was so much it ‘smelled rotten’ and it so is!!
i am so glad i seen this about guilt mail i was just about to donate an something told me to check it out. i give to the wwF for animals and st.judes others no way theres to many scams and con artist in this world lookin for the all mighty score to to someones bank account and thanx to you they did’nt and will not get me!
If any of you would like to make a real contribution to a reservation school and be assured that your money will most definitely make a difference, then I can suggest two schools: Red Cloud School in Pine Ridge, and Little Wound High School in Kyle.
They (and a few other schools and orgs on the rez) have lists of what they need at http://www.friendsofpineridgereservation.org/ … that site makes a good beginning with donating to places there and seeing what they need.
Got a mailing today in Texas and immediately was suspicious……not about a scam but because of the horrific stories about Indian Schools in US history where children were stripped of their own culture in favor of being converted to Christianity. Thanks for this site. Will not give these people a penny! Will report them instead.
I’ve been trying for years to get info on this St joseph Indian school but only got confusing and incomplete info. I too sent money and almost did it again with the latest Christmas scam!
I stumbled onto to this site and finally know the truth. I won’t be used this time!
Thank You
Got this today complete with Christmas Dream Catcher. I have made donations directly to the Lakota so this caught me off guard. But I didn’t recognize the name of the school so I goggled and ended up here.
If you are looking for a legit way to help out the Lakota, do a search on Friends of Pine Ridge Reservation. There are lists of actual items needed for kids and elders and you send them directly to the reservation. No middle man making a profit off of it.
Another thumbs up for FOPRR. They and One Spirit are great ways to get help directly to the reservations.
Thank you for all the info here – I too searched for info on the St. Joseph’s Indian School. I have followed the Quadriga Arts disabled veteran scandal on CNN – looks like another scam!
I used to live near an “Indian School” growing up – complete with fences and concertina wire on top. This is a tragic episode in America’s past.
I appreciate the information on an option to contribute to the Lakota by legitimate means.
I agree received a t-shirt, socks and just received a coloring book and coasters from Running Strong I figure if they have this much money to send this stuff then they don’t need mine.
Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me.
received a followup phone call at 8pm friday saying the elders and children are starving and demanding a $500 donation…. i fail to believe the Lakota indians are willingly subjecting themselves to this brand of abject humiliation
Conditions on the rez are pretty bad. The school in not on the reservation though so each dollar to them is a dollar less than can be going to help the very problem they are citing.
The school makes a point of saying things are bad there in the mailer. So that is their stated rationale for why they want to separate children from their families/culture in the first place.
Basically SJIS plays on sympathies and hopes most will not know anything about the situation.
I have to say that after reading up on St Joseph Indian School,I feel like the biggest chump on the planet!I,too,have received packets of Christmas cards,stationary,pens,notepads,stickers,dreamcatchers,etc.
over the years and I’ve always wondered how much it all cost to manufacture and send,I knew it wasn’t done for free,but had no idea it was all such a scam!I have donated to this organization for years,usually at Christmas,but that is all stopping effective immediately.Shame on the administration of St Joseph’s and God Bless the kids.They’ve been shamefully used!
yes I received all the stuff in the mailing. I am sending the donation because I still have hope. I believe and yes “Virginia there is a Santa”. You may call me stupid but I will donate this once
Thank you, this information was helpful. I will ask them(St Joseph’s Indian School) to remove my name from their mailing list. I wish there was a safe way to help the children with out being scammed…
Several years ago I was stupid enough to send a donation to St. Joseph’s, and I have been harassed ever since. Once I wrote and asked them to stop. They didn’t. Another time I wrote “Deceased” on the mailing. When that did not deter them, I suspected that this was the product of a fundraising organization who didn’t care. However, I didn’t realize how corrupt they were until I watched Anderson Cooper’s expose of Quadriga Art. The damage they have to disabled vets ad animals in desperate need of care, as well as the children at St. Joseph’s, is appalling. I hope Sen. Baucus follows through on his plans to investigate them. I only wish I had kept the many mailings I have received. I would like to help the investigation in any way!
I’ve been donating money to St. Joseph’s Indian School for years and am APPALLED and THOROUGHLY DISGUSTED that the school has fallen victim to such this HORRENDOUS SCAM.
Haven’t Native American Indians suffered enough for CENTURIES??? The answer of course is YES in EVERY WAY POSSIBLE.
Get this straightened out in the courts IMMEDIATELY….. so I can continue to donate to this EXTREMELY WORTHY CAUSE. The school should get the MONEY $$$$$$$ paid back to them NOW.
I am DISGUSTED with the GREED in America, at the expense of the innocent. These children DESERVE MUCH, MUCH BETTER. Give them ALL the opportunities they have been denied for far too long.
Umm …. have you been reading this? The school is not the victim. The school is the entity scamming people. In the process it diverts resources that could have gone into helping the Native Americans that it purports to help.
Yes, got my “junk mail” today and I must tell the truth I briefly thought about sending them a few dollars. Why “briefly”? Because, the Indian people are skilled creative craft makers, and for that cheesy DREAM CATCHER to be made in CHINA, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt, it was a hoax. If the Lakota wanted or needed money, the “business” of these gifts would be made by the nation and the money kept within their own tribe………….Made in China is NOT a good thing (unless you are Mitt!)
Just received this in my mail today in Massachusetts. Did some research and found numerous negative reports from BBB to individuals from thievery to sex abuse. It;s still going on and I am so glad I don’t trust unsolicited mailings. Warning everyone who will listen. Package contains so much stuff I knew it was a scam REAL CHARITIES CONSERVE THEIR FUNDS,
I RECEIVED THE SAME THING AS THESE OTHER PEOPLE BUT I
WASN’T THINKING AND I IMMEDIATELY WROTE A CHECK AND
MAILED IT TO LAKODA SCHOOL——ALONG WITH THE DREAM CATCHER.
I JUST DIDN’T CHECK IT OUT AND BELIEVED THEM. I AM SO SORRY
ABOUT IT BUT I ALSO GOT A PHONE CALL TODAY THANKING ME
FOR THE DONATION AND SAYING THEY WOULD SEND ME MORE ABOUT
IT IN THE FUTURE. BOY I JUST NEED TO CHECK OUT THINGS MORE.
I FALL FOR THE CHILDREN THOUGH.
Beulah, beulah beulah, when will you learn. now they have on their EASY list and will be calling plus sharing you with their accomplices
I was suspect at first glance.Why does greed screw it for real causes?I recall the United Way scandal from yers ago,look it up.
Glad I read the comments.
I went to the Better Business bureau, this “charity does not pass any standards for a legit charity, one of the standards is spend at least 51% on the actual cause. AND THEY MADE 266 MILLOION DOLLARS LAST YEAR !!!!!!!
I received my “GIFT” pkg today and yessss was considering giving, but did the same… checked out BBB and other sites such as this. THANK YOU!!!! I’m sure a lot of people feel that their $8, $12, or even $20 gift (Which was what I was planning on sending) would help out, but I guess these gifts do add up but as lining pockets rather than what those kindhearted out there intend these gifts for. These forums do help. Thanks again 🙂
no they didn’t … be serious
So glad I went on line and researched this school. I felt so guilty at first because it was from a school and all of this stuff they sent!
I received my package of ‘goodies’ in todays mail and went to the computer to check ’em out. Found your site. I won’t feel guilty now when all ends up in the trash can.
On a gut feeling I decided to check via computer on St. Joe’s;(did I mention I’m a push-over when it comes to sad letters re: children); I was about to write the check – then I thought of the cost of the “dream catcher” mailing along with all the other items/mailings I’ve received from Fr. whats-his-name.
All I have to say to these scammers is SHAME ON YOU!!! and may you receive in the coming days on this earth what you richly deserve!!!!!!!!!!! And its not a dream catcher, you bunch of creeps!!!! CHL
Total Scam!!…..got my packet today
My father in law had very little money but regularly donated. He passed away a few months ago and I’m amazed at how much junk St. Joseph’s Indian School keeps sending. Today he received a packed full of glitzy stamps, notepads, and yes, one more of those ever-popular Made in China dreamcatchers. I checked the charity ratings for these guys and was appalled. I only wish that my father in law had checked before he donated.
Okay, I’m sitting here with my checkbook open and my pen in my hand. I recently read an article in National Geographic Mag. about the condition of the Lakota Tribe in the Dakotas. I really would like to help these children. The letter I received from “Aurora” in my packet really pulled at my heart. Is there any reputable charity I may donate to? I refuse to be a victim myself. I will not be sending any money to St. Joseph’s, but, I would like to help the children of the Lakota.
The Dream Catcher…I’m throwing the cheap, chinese piece of s… into the trash can. I consider it lower than an American Flag made in China. The American Flag stands very prominately in my consciousness and the Dream Catcher is a symbol of spirituality for the Lakota. How can anyone use the spiritual beliefs of a nation to solicit funds?
I wish someone would clear this up for me…
Is there any reputable charity I may donate to? I refuse to be a victim myself. I will not be sending any money to St. Joseph’s, but, I would like to help the children of the Lakota.
CharityWatch gives a B- or higher grade to the following charitable organizations helping American Indians: American Indian College Fund (A-); American Indian Youth Running Strong / Christian Relief Services Charities (B-); Association on American Indian Affairs (B); Futures for Children (A).
Allow me use this opportunity to strongly recommend a CharityWatch membership to anyone who makes charitable donations on a regular basis and wants to stay informed about the world of charitable giving and have access to an independent, turstworthy source of charity ratings.
You may donate to a family in the most need on ONE Spirit, They are to my knowledge the only Lakota tribe approved Non-profit. They are smaller, but they are good. You can pick out items directly to send to the families off the OKINI list. Or you may choose to send a general donation to ONE Spirit. I would suggest if you are making a general donation of money donate towards the program that gives wood or food to the Lakota. Every winter the Lakota need two things very Badly wood and food. Again if you want to see who needs help the most check their Okini List. It will have the list of the most needy.
There is also One Spirit and some other good orgs. The problem is sorting out the good charities from the scams as a lot of the latter will play on sympathies to get people not to look too closely.
We rec’d the “Dreamcatcher” also. Made me sick.
I got one of these fund raising packets today with the dream catcher made in China et al. Of course, I felt very olbiged.
I have a friend who is a doctor on an Indian reservation, so I decided to do a google search. Thanks to everyone who took the time to write. I was struck that it was supposedly a Catholic school doing the fund raising….Catholics usually get their funds not from public mailings.
I’m close to a number of charities, like for Tibetan nuns and Buddhist schools in Ladakh. They don’t do fund raising by buying mailing lists from credit card companies. You have to be careful when sending donations.
Just got a letter in the mail. Having just been to Crazy Horse Monument in May you feel a kinship and want to help. Looking closer at the dreamcatcher it looks like nothing I purchased in SD. It’s cheaply made and so I went to this side and no there will be no money from me. My guilt trip is over , and after reading some of these post I will be very careful from now on. We all like to help children and if the Lakota children would benefit, my check would be in the mail. It’s just a shame that a priest would lend his name to raplng children in a different way.
Received a mailing today with the dream catcher and notepad inclosed. Asking for a donation to help these poor children. No money will be sent. I would like to help children not high paid administrator or organizations who charge big fees to get donations for these groups. People should stick with groups like local church, USO, or Salvation Army.
I received the mailer yesterday. Immediately I wanted to send money. Until I looked on the BBB website and saw that the charity does not meet their standard. Then I came across this website. So they wont be getting any money from me.
I also find it interesting that the head of the school makes $69,000 a year
What do you find interesting about this salary? How much do you think the head of a school should make?
He’s a priest. All of a priest’s needs are supposed to be seen to by the Church, and if I’m not mistaken, priests take a vow of poverty. Why does a priest running a Catholic school receive a salary at all?
http://www.bbb.org/charity-reviews/national/american-indian/st-josephs-indian-school-and-missions-in-chamberlain-sd-675/governance-and-staff
(This page also reveals the interesting fact that in 2010 the school made a $1 million contribution to the expansion of the Priest of the Sacred Heart retirement facilities, at a time when four members of the board of directors of the school were Priests of the Sacred Heart. Do you think the school is mentioning in its solicitations to donors that their contributions might go to a retirement home for priests rather than to helping the Lakota?)
Nuns take a vow of poverty. Not all priests take a vow of poverty. Depends on which denomiation they joined. Priest get to keep money and property if they did not join a religious denomination that takes the vow of poverty.
I received today my first mailing from the “school”, including the dreamcatcher. After looking through the package, I almost felt like I should send them the $12.00 they were asking for. HOWEVER, I googled the name (Fr Steve Huffstetter) and learned more about it. Keeping the “stuff”, but not responding, because it appears I would then receive subsequent mailings rather often. Thanks for the insight!
I just email them and told them they insulted me with their made in china dream catcher. I have the real thing that I gladly overpaid the person that made it by hand along side the road, it means more to me.
DONT send them anything, if u want send a check to the local county social services people that do and can help.
This is the letter I sent them about it talking about their dream catcher. Including what they had done to it, why, and what I was going to do to fix their blunder.
http://blog.kamens.us/2009/10/16/the-most-obscene-guilt-mailing-ive-ever-seen/comment-page-1/#comment-113272
I can’t speak to the uses of the money St. Joe’s raises through its funding efforts. I have used the dream catchers in an art project. BUT I do know of St. Joe’s Indian School in Chamberlain as I live in an adjoining town. Attendance at the school is voluntary. There are many reasons a family might choose to send their child to a boarding school, including distance to the nearest school and quality of education. The grounds and building are beautiful. High school kids attend the local high schools. Some, perhaps many, employees are Native American, and they are one of the best employers in town in terms of wages and benefits. ($11 million does not seem like a huge amount of money to support a boarding school of that size and scope.)
these people are using the indian kids to scam for money. i am disgusted. they need to spend the money on the kids….help to set up businesses and schools where these children are living. why do they get a 501 c3 designation? way to screw the indians one more time.
I donated to this ‘non-profit” for almost ten years. Then the tribe casino’s became a big thing and I thought, If the tribes are making so much money, then why does priest need to sollicit funds for a school? If the Indian community isn’t going to take care of thier own, then wh should I feel so oligated to do so. I wrote a letter to Dr. Stephen Huffstetter and asked him about my concerns. His reply was that the casino’s were not doing well.
This was interesting sinse I often return home and drive the 30-40 minutes to the casino near Flandreau SD. They sare doing so well that they have a hotel attached and have rebuilt over the years. Given the rating or lack of one and what I know personally about the area, I’m frustrated, but I am comfortable with filing new solicitations from the school right into the circular file.
Actually, that casino does not benefit the tribe as a whole. Even if it did, the total economic impact from it would not fix the poverty in that area. I am guessing that is true of a lot of those types of casinos, but that is beside the point. The school is the problem and you only have to look at ratings of charities to see that. Any charity that sends THAT much on a donations mailing is a big warning flag. The fact that they see the solution is to take kids away from families rather than try to improve life on the reservation is another. Or read history, ANY christian school near a rez would do best not to be tooting their own horns.
I thought they were scamming. The cheap dream catchers made in China prompted me to check. They get no money from me.
I was about to put a check in the mails, because I got a personal letter, but I decided, to check this out on line, and discovered St. Joseph’s is not endorsed, and why.
I have to say, I have had my misgivings for a long time, having received countless Indian blankets, dream catchers, and other stuff, such as cards and stickers, repeatedly, every week since I did donate, and it might have been St. Joseph’s. My biggest problem is not the need, but that it seems clear, the monies are going into further promotional activity, and actually paying for this guilt charity, and others.
I am glad I decided to check again, before sending a cheque, because it’s really tugging at me, the great need, and I know it’s there, and solicitations that are making of that need, a continuous and ongoing guilt trip, and then, of course, the money that funds the guilt, is the money, has to be, that comes in. So it cannot be used for the right purposes.
Yes, I am a sucker, but I am so glad this time, I stopped, before writing the check and looked into this further.
I donated also to them and since then I have been getting all that you mentioned in your post and many other people are contacting me, some I never even heard of asking for donations. They all have those self-addressed stickers and maybe a notepad. The Indian School even called me twice to wish me a happy birthday and of course they sent me a birthday card. I was thinking of sending them some more money until I ran across this blog. I was going to email them to thank them for the birthday card and wishes. I feel real stupid but I’m really getting tired of all the mail and stuff now.
I received yet another request for money from St. Joseph”s Indian School, this time to help renovate the dormitories. This was about the 4th request since Christmas. The ‘guilt mailing’s” ( I am ashamed to say) worked very well with me – especially the ‘dream catchers’!! At this point I decided I had sent enough and maybe I should check them out. Which I did on Google – following the link about ‘most obscene guilt mailing’. I am glad I did. Thank you. I shan’t be opening any further communications from St. Joseph’s !!
This week, March 26th, I received another request for funds for the Lakota Children at St. Joseph’s Indian School, South Dakota. In the past I received packets of dream catchers, note pads and address labels. I have sent monies – the last at Christmas in the amount of $38.00.
However, the letter I received this week asked “Did you receive the dreamcatcher gift we mailed to you?” It reminded me of a bill collection agency. I finally got on Google and what a shock!!! Child molestation, money not for charity. I am deeply saddened that children continue to be used as abuse tools for the Priests in the Catholic Religion.
I received a second letter, dated March 15,20012– I had gotten a first letter and sent a small donation.
This second letter talked about GO GREEN so you do not have to waste paper and postage. They want me to authorize a
monthly withdrawal from my checking account so that they will not have to send requests by using paper and postage in the future. Also I would save in the same way–VERY THOUGHTFUL
Sounds like a form of Nigerian Scam.
They had two pictures. One was of a young girl, along with a
sad story about her, before coming to the Indian School.
I have no intention of filling out their enclosed form and letter
to them. But I am worried that they can use a form of the
Nigerian Scam
I am an investigative producer for CNN based in New York City and currently researching a segment on charities and the direct mail organizations they employ. If you’d like to get in touch with me about St. Joseph’s or Quadriga Arts, please email me at: david.fitzpatrick@turner.com.
Many thanks
I received the dreamcatcher and several other gifts from St. Josephs. On the donation reply card it states an option as “$5 to cover the cost of the dreamcatcher.” I was considering a donation to them but wanted to check them out first. I am glad I did. I also did not realize they were a Christian organization, although I shuold have realized. I would NOT donate money to a Christian organization with any missionary initiative with Native American children.
You are part of the problem. I don’t agree with their practices, but the lack of God in the hearts of Americans is why this country is going to hell.
Talk about a groan-worthy comment!
As to your comment about ‘lack of g*d’. Would is surprise you to know that quite a few people who work with charities and such are atheists, pagans, and other non-abrahamic systems?
In relation to native americans? Can you be any MORE dense? I would encourage you do do a bit of research into boarding schools and the effect they have had on native americans.
Ya think? Naw….. And, we get deeper into debt and more governmental control
I got one of there guilt christmas packages. My Grandpa and Uncle had told me when I was a child about a school that they had been abused at in re guards to there culture. I had took the package over to my dad and he could not believe it that was the very school grandpa and uncle gone to. How dare they. They spread love in Gods words and at same time give guilt packages to help the very people they have been hurting for years. Only a family behind the scene would know this. I will only give them tears.
Brian, that’s about the most asinine statement I have heard. Perhaps you should review history, “christians” were the ones who spread across this land, taking what they had no right to take through dishonesty and murder. I find it completely laughable that you would think that a religion created by white hypocrites would be of any benefit to anyone but white hypocrites.
I printed out the BBB report listing the 6 standards this organization does not meet and thought I’d send it back to them. I know I’ve gotten gotten calls in the past from “Indian” charities and done similar research and when I’ve gotten the callbacks have given the same info verbally which usually resulted in a hangup. I don’t know of any Indian Nation itself that would stoop to tactics this low and most would be insulted speaking as someone who is part Cherokee, Sioux and Blackfoot.
I also fell for this organizations tactics. Since that time i have only countuined my support of the the Women’s shelter in my town, Mobile Meals and St. Jude’s . These are all legitimate and perform a great service. Each in their own special way.
I just got an envelope from St. Joseph’s Indian School this afternoon.
I’ve never received anything from them before. I’m appalled. Not only is it a waste of money to send this bundle of stuff to someone who has no relationship with the school but why isn’t that money going toward the school children? The final kicker for me was the dreamcatcher made in China.
All of this prompted me to look up the school’s charity rating, and that was another sad discovery. They won’t be getting a check from me.
I also got a letter from St. Joseph’s Indian School this afternoon. I’m 21 and I get these packages all the time, I’m guessing cause I buy a ton of things from magazines and donate to a couple charities I know are spending the money the right away and not pocketing most of it. But back to the subject, Like you I never gotten anything from them before, nor ever heard of them before. So i decided to look through everything they sent me and read what they sent t. What made me laugh is that they send me a story about a child at that school, well the gift certificates they also send is addressed to ” A Lakota Child” but in the whole package it’s telling me a story about a child named “Pilamaya”. I also noticed that the dream catcher was made in china along with a ton of personalized labels, a calendar, a note pad, a certificate of appreciation. I felt kinda bad accepting the dream catcher and personalized address labels but after reading where the dream catcher was made at and reading on a website about how the pocket 50% of the money, I no longer felt bad about accepting it. Like other charities who try to guilt me into sending money, They wont be getting anything from me.
I DID SAME , DREAM CATCHER MADE IN CHINA …WHAT THE HECK IS THIS KINDA CRAP . taking advantage of others in name of themselves….WRONG!!
BTW, that free “dream catcher” gift is made in China.
Oh, boy, here we go again. I had been a practicing Catholic
For many years until I discovered that our
Parish pastor had been a child molester for many years.
He developed a “second collection” which he
Said was being used to create new parishes in the
Rural communities of our state. I was told by a priest who was
A beloved friend of our family that this pastor was using this money
To furnish the rectory with expensive furniture you might see
In Buckingham Palace. The pastor in question finally
Committed suicide. Here we go again. A million dollars for the priest’s
Retirement home? I will not be sending any more money to
St. Joseph’s Indian School. Pity the poor children.
To be legal, a charity has to contribute 50% to the charity and 50% is for administrative costs. Sounds fair. BUT, when they get into the big bucks, administrative people give themselves a raise to millions of dollars and still remain legal. No matter how much they raise, administrative costs are always 50% only because they can do it. The justification is that without them, the charity would receive that much less. So, you decide.
It infuriates me when adults take from children. If you want to donate, do it directly to the children not thru and organization. Also watch donating to the tribal elders also. You need to do your homework when donating to any organization – a lot of homework!
It’s pretty hard for most people to donate “directly to the children”; the involvement of some organization is usually required. That’s why, as you said, it’s extremely important to carefully research any organization to which you donate to make sure they’re going to use your donation as you intended.
I am a member of Charity Watch, and I won’t donate to any organization which they grade lower than a B-. St. Joseph’s, in particular, is not graded by Charity Watch because they refused to provide the detailed financial information that Charity Watch needs to produce its ratings. Lack of transparency of that sort should be a huge red flag to potential donors.
I was about to write a check until I read the BBB report on this outfit. They donated $1,000,000 to the priest’s retirement home. They also spend millions on fund raising, but still made a profit of $11,000,000 in 2010. I was guilty but now I am free.
Ummm ….. read up on native residential schools (which are nearly always ran by ‘christian’ groups) and native children sometime. I guarantee that you will not cut the school any slack after that even without knowing anything about this particular one!
The mailer goes on and on about the bad conditions the children have so the solution they see is to take the children away. Which of course ignores the other option: improving the conditions so ALL of the children (and adults) there benefit.
To say nothing of the ‘gifts’ themselves. Their keynote one is a cheaply made dreamcatcher. Then, to add a HUGE insult, they ruin it by turning it into an object for making people feel guilty.