Many Charities Behind on Their Fundraising This Season

Less than half of charities across North America are raising more money during the 2007 holiday giving season (defined as October through December) than they did
last year, according to a survey by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP).

AFP's 2007 Holiday Giving Survey found that just 48.3 percent of charities are raising more money during the last quarter of 2007 (as of Dec. 10) compared to the same period in 2006. Approximately a quarter (25.4 percent) have raised about the same amount, and 26.3 percent have raised less.

In general, larger organizations are faring better than smaller charities. Two-thirds of organizations with budgets greater than $50 million have raised more money during the last quarter of 2007 than in 2006, as are more than half (52.4 percent) of charities with budgets between $10 million and $50 million. In contrast, only about one-third (32.7 percent) of organizations with budgets smaller than $500,000 have raised more money during the last quarter of 2007 then they did during the
same period in 2006.

"While charities have been dealing with an uneven economy for several years now, the timing of the housing slump and credit crisis and their impact on the stock market and public confidence could not have a come at a worse time," says Paulette Maehara, president and CEO of AFP. "The holiday season is an important fundraising period for many organizations, so donor concerns about the economy are critical. Fundraising levels are not at the low levels they were in 2002 or 2003, but there are clearly many organizations that are negatively affected at this point."

For most charities, the last three months of the year are crucial for their fundraising. According to the survey, more than 40 percent of charities raise on average between one-third and one-half of their annual contributions during the last quarter of the year, and almost three in 10 charities raise more than 50 percent of their annual contributions during that time. Nearly two in ten respondents receive more than 40 percent of their annual contributions in the month of December alone.

Despite disappointing results so far in the last quarter of 2007, most charities are still very optimistic about the rest of the year. Two-thirds believe their fundraising results will improve during the remainder of December, while one-fourth of respondents predict their numbers will remain about the same. Only 7.6 percent believe their fundraising results will get worse before the end of the year.

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Islamic Charity and Five Individuals Indicted

The U.S. branch of an international Islamic charity and five of its officers, employees or associates have been indicted for illegally transferring funds to Iraq, laundering money, stealing federal funds, and obstructing tax laws by, among other things, falsely denying that a procurement agent of Osama bin Laden had been an employee of the charity, Assistant U.S. Attorney General for National Security Kenneth Wainstein, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri Bradley Schlozman, and Assistant Director of the FBI's Counterterrorism Division Joseph Billy announced.

The charity named in the 33-count indictment is the Islamic American Relief Agency (IARA), formerly known as the Islamic African Relief Agency-USA. IARA is an Islamic charitable organization headquartered in Columbia, Mo., that was officially formed in 1985 and closed in October 2004, when it was identified by the U.S. Treasury Department as a specially designated global terrorist organization, the Justice Department says.

Also charged in the indictment are Mubarak Hamed, 50, of Columbia, Mo., a naturalized U.S. citizen from Sudan who served as executive director of IARA; Ali Mohamed Bagegni, 53, formerly of Columbia, Mo. and currently of Iowa City, Iowa, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Libya and a former member of IARA's board of directors; Ahmad Mustafa, 54, of Columbia, Mo., a citizen of Iraq and a former fund-raiser for IARA; Khalid Al-Sudanee, 55, a citizen and resident of Jordan and the regional director of the Middle East office of the Islamic African Relief Agency (also known as the Islamic Relief Agency, or ISRA); and Abdel Azim El-Siddiq, 50, of Palos Heights, Ill., a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Sudan and formerly vice president for international operations for IARA, the Justice Department says.

"Today's indictment paints an alarming picture of theft, money laundering, and fraud by the U.S. branch of an international charitable organization. These charges demonstrate our resolve to thoroughly investigate and prosecute any charities that abuse their tax-exempt status to engage in wide-ranging criminal activity," says Wainstein.

"The FBI will continue to work closely with our law enforcement andintelligence community partners to ensure charitable donations are notmisused for criminal purposes," says Billy.

The indictment, which was returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on Tuesday, March 6, was unsealed and made public upon the arrest and initial court appearance of several co-defendants, the Justice Department says.

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Catholic Charities Launches Campaign To Cut Poverty In Half

Catholic Charities USA today announced a new multi-year initiative to cut poverty in half by2020, urging Congress and the Bush administration to give a much higher priority to the needs of the poor in budget and policy decisions on issues such as health care, housing, nutrition, and economic security.

"Poverty is a moral and social wound on the soul of our country and threatens the health and economic well-being of both families and our nation," Rev. Larry Snyder, president of Catholic Charities USA, said at a briefing this morning on Capitol Hill. "We must marshal the strength andthe collective will of our nation to take on this tragedy that affects 37 million people who are living in poverty in one of the wealthiest nations in the world."

"The Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America is about who we are as a nation," Father Snyder said. "We must no longer ignore the injustice ofpoverty and the extreme in equality in America and instead must seize this opportunity to advocate for changes that promote human dignity and thecommon good."

The goal of Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America is to cut the poverty rate in the United States in half by 2020. Catholic Charities USA is leading a broad effort that will involve partners in social serviceagencies, the faith community, and other groups in a sustained effort to convince government officials of the importance of making systemic changes in government programs to help the poor and most vulnerable in our society.

With more than 275 years of experience in serving those living in poverty, Catholic Charities has a unique understanding of this growing problem and its devastating impact on families and the nation.

"Catholic Charities agencies provide help and offer hope to more than 7.4 million people each year, and in communities across the country, our agencies have been coping with a steady increase in demand for emergencyassistance, primarily among working families," Father Snyder said. "Each day, our agencies serve families who work hard but still do not earn enough to provide for their basic needs."

"Catholic Charities USA pledges its experience and resources to help reduce poverty in America. But, we can only succeed with the activeinvolvement of Congress and the administration. Only through partnershipsbetween government and community leaders like Catholic Charities, will we develop the capacity and the scale necessary to attack poverty in a comprehensive and sustained way," said Father Snyder.

Catholic Charities USA's Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America will urge Congress and the administration to improve programs and policies in four key issue areas: health care, affordable housing, nutritionassistance, and family economic security for the poor and vulnerable.

"Good government is about making choices and setting priorities that serve the common good, and we will work in partnership in this campaignwith Catholic organizations and other partners to encourage elected leaders to give greater priority to attending to the needs of the poorest and mostvulnerable persons in society," Father Snyder said. "Choices made in the federal budget process about what is funded -- and how to pay for it --must be judged by whether the life and dignity of families are protected or undermined."

Key components of the campaign will include sustained and comprehensive outreach to the administration and Congress as well as activities in local communities throughout the country on the need for action to reduce poverty, Catholic Charities says.


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