MADD suspends fundraising

[Andrew_Pakula]

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Con...l=968793972154

MADD suspends fundraising

Charity in turmoil as chapters demand outside auditor examine books

Dec. 13, 2006. 05:25 AM
KEVIN DONOVAN
STAFF REPORTER

MADD Canada has stopped fundraising across the country pending an internal review of allegations that most donor money stays with professional telemarketers and door-knockers.

But leading volunteers with the anti-drunk driving charity say that's not enough. They want chief executive officer Andrew Murie to bring in an outside firm to scour the $12 million-a-year charity's books.

"There should be an independent accounting firm reviewing these allegations," said Lynne Magee, treasurer of the Huron County chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. She and dozens of volunteers confronted Murie on the subject during a heated conference call Monday night. "But we were met with an arrogant response, that MADD has its own accounting firm and lawyers to handle this."

Magee, whose 17-year-old son was killed by a drunk driver 12 years ago, said the public has always given generously to the charity and deserves to have its money spent wisely. She wrote a letter this week to Murie stating her concerns.

"Fundraising is a necessary evil — we know that. It is the way in which it is being carried out that is offensive to many chapter members, victims and the general public," Magee said in the letter, which was copied to the Toronto Star.

A Star investigation published Saturday delved into MADD's internal financial statements and revealed that only about 19 cents of every dollar goes to victim services and the fight against drunk driving. The charity, which has for many years been telling the public that most of its money is spent on charitable programs, has been counting as charity the work of professional telemarketers and other fundraisers. MADD does this, Murie has said, on the theory that their calls for cash are also spreading the message that drinking and driving is a criminal offence with sometimes fatal consequences. The federal charity regulator does not condone this practice.

Murie has not returned requests for interviews over the past month, including a request made yesterday by the Star. In a letter to the newspaper two weeks ago Murie defended MADD's fundraising practices, saying they ensure "that individual members of the Canadian public are informed about the seriousness of impaired driving."

Shortly after the story was published, the national charity's fundraising campaigns were suspended, Murie announced Monday evening, according to MADD volunteers on the national conference call. "We've been off the phones since Saturday morning," Murie said during the call.

He said there would be a review of the charity's fundraising practices to see if they were obeying federal charity regulations. No time frame for the review was given, but volunteers were told the review would be done internally.

Meanwhile, MADD is in turmoil, with many of the grassroots chapters at odds with Murie's head office in Oakville.

When the public donates to local chapters the money stays in the community and helps fund services for victims and their families. During the conference call, chapter leaders said they are trying to get the message out to donate locally to avoid the big cut in each donation taken by head office. Chapters have "red ribbon" boxes that take donations for the local group.

However, a move over the past two years by head office to spread its own boxes (offering chocolate medallion mints instead of red ribbons) throughout Ontario is angering local volunteers. It is unclear how much the for-profit company that manages the national boxes takes from each cash donation.

"Head office is coming into our community and taking donations that we could put to better use," said Colin Feeney, the Durham chapter vice-president. Feeney was hit by a drunk driver in 2003 and suffered a permanent head injury.

The fight over local donations is just one of numerous battles between MADD management and its volunteers. Dozens of volunteers have told the Star that the charity will not listen to their concerns. Some top volunteers have resigned and others have said they are considering leaving the charity.

"One big happy family (MADD) isn't," said Magee, who lives in Wingham. She founded the chapter in 1994 when her son Patrick and his friend, 16 year-old Kevin Rintoul, were killed in a head-on collision with a drunk driver travelling in the wrong lane and trying to pass on a hill. The drunk driver, who was also killed, was a 32-year-old father of three with a new baby due, Magee said.

As a volunteer, she goes into high schools and tells students the story of that sad day. "I tell them how we lost Patrick. I take the students from the time he got up the morning of the accident to the point where we took him off life support and made the decision to donate his organs."

Magee does this speaking free of charge and is concerned that MADD's decision to use an expensive multimedia show (it costs schools about $800) is taking away from the power of a victim's family member telling a personal story. These days, she says, MADD head office asks her only to introduce the video.

Volunteers on the conference call say Murie refused to provide internal financial information to the local chapters. Murie also, volunteers say, said that the Canada Revenue Agency regulator had given them a clean bill of health following an audit in 2002-2003.

But a copy of the revenue agency's letter to Murie at the conclusion of the audit tells a different story. The March 3, 2003 letter from CRA states that MADD made "incorrect allocations of expenditures" and confused fundraising with charity. The CRA letter warns MADD that to retain its charitable status it must not count as charity "amounts paid for purely fund-raising expenses such as door-to-door, direct mail, and telemarketing fees."

The letter warns MADD it may be audited in the future. The Canada Revenue Agency will not comment on specific charities or say if it is investigating a charity. Several senior MADD volunteers say they are considering making a formal complaint to the regulator.

[Toast]

Good. Fuck that whole organization.

[gurr8]

Fucking MADD...what a piece of shit organization doing worthless work.

[Karl Connor]

they need all the money they can get to install all those sobriety-check stations on the highways

[gurr8]

Anyone stupid enough to donate money to MADD isn't going to care about these revelations.

[wHATcOLOR]

i love the donate to netphoria link in the sig after that post

[Nimrod's Son]

I can't say I'm in the least bit surprised. Charities who are also major lobbying groups rarely get the money where you think it should go.

[Skellington]

It's kind of strange that the CEO of Mothers Against Drunk Driving is not a female.

[Karl Connor]

maybe he's female inside. like born in a mans body

[Trotskilicious]

hey guys did you know that drinking and driving is a criminal offense and it can have fatal concequences? i just learned that by reading the article. way to go MADD! They bring the light of knowledge to the dark caverns of ignorance.

[Ol' Couch Ass]

I usually drive better after a few cocktails. Strangely, after 10 cocktails, I drive much worse.

[siloviki]

Originally Posted by Toast

Good. Fuck that whole organization.

Precisely.

So MADD, that righteous bunch of cunts are breaking the law.

Intentionally. A bit different from someone whose judgment is impaired by alcohol

Why don't these self righteous cunts target the Canadian gov't who can't get out of the Sin Tax applied to alcohol?

Much easier to target those who use the Canadian gov't sponsored alcohol racket.

So MADD, fucking around and lying to the public and tax evasion are right ....you moralist cunts.

[diplodocus]

Originally Posted by Ol' Couch Ass

I usually drive better after a few cocktails. Strangely, after 10 cocktails, I drive much worse.

have you ever driven the ambulance drunk.

[Ol' Couch Ass]

Originally Posted by diplodocus

have you ever driven the ambulance drunk.

No... they frown heavily on that sort of thing. But, as you can imagine, others have done so (especially in rural, redneck areas).

[Charmbag]

I went to a MADD school assembly a couple years ago, and at one point they gave a few people in the crowd including myself statistics that they wanted us to read. Mine had to do with the number of liquor commercials a person sees before they turn 18, but it was some really outrageous number. I don't think it would have been possible if you watched TV 24 hours a day because you'd have to see something like 15 ads everyday for your whole life. But when I pointed this out to the lady passing them out she insisted that it was correct and seemed pretty affronted that I would second-guess their numbers. So I just gave it back...

[Mayfuck]

nobody should ever donate money to anything