Most of the money raised by the Relief Fund, specifically, is spent on professionaltelemarketerswho charge high rates to aggressively solicit money on behalf of fallen officers. One donor said her elderly mother was approached by the organization to pay a $20 pledge they claimed was made by her dead father who passed away in the mid-80s. The organization supports officers critically injured or their immediate surviving family member if killed in the line-of-duty. The reporter approached Cabral in a meeting room, but he declined to comment and escorted her out into the hallway. "Legal aid is essential for helping people who cannot afford a lawyer. Often at smaller charities, it falls within the responsibilities of the finance committee or the executive committee.) The IUPA and the relief fund also uses almost 80% of its donated funds to pay telemarketers to obtain even more funds. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig), International Union of Police Associations, AFL-CIO. Cabral wasnt at the unions 10,000-square-foot office overlooking downtown Sarasota from atop the PNC Bank building, and he did not respond to a message left for him. Granted, 11 families received a total of $72,000, and some of it (about $25,000, or $2,500 per person) went towards law enforcement student tuition and scholarships. Three of them have been negative subjects in similar investigations from Public Integrity. The two are among only four men listed on their 2019 Form 990 in the area listing directors, officers, and trustees. If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. Unlike many other dues-funded unions, police groups which come in a variety of types, including labor organizations and associations often turn to high-priced professional fundraisers to raise on their behalf, according to a Public Integrity analysis of IRS data. There are so many negative narratives regarding LE floating out there right now, this does nothing to help it. Consolidation Period: From July 8, 2020 to the e-Laws currency date. As all contributors are required to list their address, occupation and employer. ft location in Sarasota, Florida, and other expenses.. Next to the picture theres a button that invites you to Donate Today and help families of fallen or injured officers. She was assigned to work as a telemarketer in the unions phone room, which she described as a high-pressure environment with lots of turnover. Law Enforcement Officers Relief Fund "To Assist Those Who Protect And Serve" Donate Injury Support Support for officers injured on the job Family Assistance Support for families of officers killed in the line of duty Disaster Relief Assistance for officers affected by natural disasters Charity L.E.O.R.F. The Policy on Legal Assistance and Indemnification applies to individuals appointed pursuant to legislation or a statutory authority who, as public office holders, have an employment relationship with the Crown. Call us or email us and we'll respond as soon as possible. Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund has earned a 94% for the Accountability & Finance beacon. Gain access to our exclusive library of online courses led by thought leaders and educators providing contextualized information to help nonprofit practitioners California resident Kellie Van Westen, 69, said she has family members who are law enforcement. While Yelp is not necessarily the final authority on a groups legitimacy, Simon Lewis, NPSF President felt the reviews warranted a response. Of the $703K in contributions for that quarter, $689,730 of it came from the fund itself. Scam attempts can be made over the phone, by mail or email, text or in person. Im so infuriated by the utter lack of enforcement, said Matt Weidner, a Florida lawyer who has been pushing state officials to crack down on nonprofits that spend most of the money they raise on fundraising. Make sure you click following and then click see first so you dont miss a thing! Law Enforcement Officers Relief Fund Inc. has earned a 60% for the Accountability & Finance beacon. Another former federal law enforcement officer said the solicitor tried to guilt trip him into a donation by suggesting I dont support law enforcement officers in our country.. 2023 Copyright Law Enforcement Today - All Rights Reserved. When I refused to give him the credit information, he became irritated and transferred my call to another man. Everything I have found on this organization is negative! If you are in jail or hospitalized, you have 52 business days to request a review. The police union and relief fund have contracted with Courtesy Call, Donor Relations and a handful of other companies owned by Las Vegas telemarketer Richard Zeitlin. Please check with the charity directly for any questions you may have. In this case, we deduct 15 points from the charity's Accountability and Transparency score. If you wish to donate, please refresh the page. As do organizations in other sectors, charities must be mindful of their management of total liabilites in relation to their total assets. Why does its charitable arm spend such a small percentage of donors money on charity? You read that correctly. Did you know that LET has a private home for those who support emergency responders and veterans? An associated political action committee, Law Enforcement for a Safer America, raised $4.5 million from donors across the country from July 1, 2018, to June 30, 2019. The Law Enforcement Officers Relief Fund is a nonprofit charity that says it provides "specialized relief when, tragically, a law enforcement officer is killed in the line-of-duty." So, if your phone rings, and the person on the other end says they are with the National Police Support Fundhang up. They are using other telemarketing firms, such as Residential Programs, Incorporated, who currently sport an F rating from the BBB. Want to make sure you never miss a story from Law Enforcement Today? The Law Enforcement Officers Relief Fund is part of the IUPA as well, and allegedly provides financial support to families of fallen officers while they wait for their full benefits to kick in. Despite how shady and sneaky the union and it affiliates are with obtaining more and more money, they dont do a very good job of hiding it. Total Revenue and Expenses - Data Available, IRS Published Data (Business Master File) - Data Available, Data Sources (IRS Forms 990) - Data Available, How to Donate Food and Prevent Food Waste. Annually, we put together a golf classic to benefit the Law Enforcement Officers Relief Fund. Police officers and their families most definitely need and deserve to be supported when tragedy strikes. Both men appear to make similar figures at the IUPA. The percentage each beacon contributes to the organizations overall rating depends on the number of beacons an organization has earned. The rest is a split between employees salary and benefits, buildings maintenance for its 10,000 sq. The reality is, they give 0% while claiming to support law enforcement and advancing their causes. (See image below.) IRS compliance information is also located directly on the page. 800-247-4872. (See image below.) Other names to beware of in association with the IUPA are the Police Officers Support Association and the National Emergency Responders Coalition, but now that Public Integrity has published their report, it would be wise to do extensive research into the organizations that you choose to donate to where claims of supporting law enforcement lie. Why Aren't Donated Clothes Always Given Away for Free? The IUPA and the relief fund also uses almost 80% of its donated funds to pay telemarketers to obtain even more funds. Learn more about our criteria and methodology. Ruth is Editor Emerita of the Nonprofit Quarterly. Source: IRS Form 990 (page 7), filing year 2020, Below are some key data points from the Exempt Organization IRS Business Master File (BMF) for this organization. Dozens of other police locals have at one point affiliated with IUPA, only to later disaffiliate, although by 1997, the union claimed 80,000 members. The caller tells you about how the organization is dedicated to promoting the interests of law enforcement officers. He also tells you the group is a nonprofit but may or may not quickly mention its a 527 nonprofit., The group is a real nonprofit organization, but it is a political group created primarily to influence the selection, nomination, election, appointment or defeat of candidates to federal, state or local public office.. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time. among only four men listed on their 2019 Form 990, their investigation of Circle of Friends for American Veterans, Sometimes a Lender or a Borrower Be: The Dos and Donts of PRIs, Funding the Impossible Dream: The Movement for Japanese American Redress, Asking the Right Person for the Right Amount, Fundraising Like a Community: Peorias Great Idea. The annual budget of the Relief Fund is listed at $1,793,000 and the amount paid out in grants was around $230,000, which amounts to far less than its two leaders are paid. This PAC raised $4.5 million from donors, and spent $4 million of that on fundraising. They reported contributions in the amount of $703,307. One, Outreach Calling, is run by Mark Gelvan, who has been banned in New York from conducting fundraisers due to his solicitors impersonating police officers. Cart ID: Not Assigned, Copyright 2023 | EIN 13-4148824 | Bridge ID 3108588923. The Law Enforcement Officers Relief Fund is a nonprofit charity that says it provides "specialized relief when, tragically, a law enforcement officer is killed in the line-of-duty." But a Center for Public Integrity investigation indicates most of the money it raises goes to telemarketing expenses and salaries. Unfortunately, these people are not the only ones who are taking advantage of the soft spot some people have for our law enforcement community. These include two FTC actions against alleged sham non-profits and the telemarketers who made deceptive claims about these so-called charities. Bills. Current CEO and Board Chair can be found in the Leadership & Adaptability report below. The amount spent to raise $1 in charitable contributions. $10,000 to a Florida-based organization that helps handicapped children and a $10,000 to a golf sponsorship for the Law Enforcement Officers Relief Fund . Overview: Founded in 1984, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) is dedicated to telling the story of U.S. law enforcement and making it safer for those who serve. Hard to imagine them doing that when they dont spend a penny to do what they say they are going to do. Partial Credit: The charity's audited financials were prepared by an independent accountant, but it did not have an audit oversight committee. We compute the average annual growth of program expenses using the following formula: [(Yn/Y0)(1/n)]-1, where Y0 is a charity's program expenses in the first year of the interval analyzed, Yn is the charity's program expenses in the most recent year, and n is the interval of years passed between Y0 and Yn. Not to mention the poor publicity this brings to the law enforcement world. This ratio is an indicator of an organizations solvency and or long term sustainability. LET Contributor Leah Anaya shared this story with us this week. Dividing these net available assets in the most recent year by a charity's average total expenses, yields the working capital ratio. You can request a review if your legal aid application was refused. make sense of changing conditions and improve infra-structure in their organizations. Louisiana survivors of Hurricane Laura should be aware of fraud and scams and report any suspicious . With so much stuff happening in the world on social media, its easy for things to get lost. I recently took about a dozen of these "police-support" calls to hear the pitches. We calculate the charity's average expenses over its three most recent fiscal years. The Law Enforcement Officers Relief Fund was established to provide support and resources to officers or the immediate surviving family members of the Law Enforcement Community when tragedy strikes. Description The organization provides assistance to Law Enforcement personnel, as well as immediate family members who have suffered loss as a result of disaster or unusual tragedy. Did a telemarketer contact you about fundraising on behalf of a charity or political action committee? The result: a rise in super PACs that use sympathetic-sounding causes primarily to line their own pockets (the FEC has called this subset "scam PACs"). About $82.3 million of that amount 77 percent paid for fundraising services. She served for three years at the Oakland Police Department, and just under five at the Vancouver Police Department in Washington State. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful. Three other IUPA executives earned more than $100,000 apiece during fiscal 2017-2018. Little went to political action or advocacy the core purposes of a PAC. Florida requires nonprofits to register and submit routine financial statements detailing their expenses, says Florida lawyer Matt Weidner, but that appears to be where the monitoring ends. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Public Integrity doesnt have paywalls and doesnt accept advertising so that our investigative reporting can have the widest possible impact on addressing inequality in the U.S. Our work is possible thanks to support from people like you. When natural disasters occur, it is common for some people to try to take advantage of survivors by posing as official disaster aid workers trying to help survivors complete their applications. So what happened to the other approximately 33% of that money? (It is not necessary that the audit committee be a separate committee. The Giving Basket is having some issues. National Police Support Fund representatives have been phoning potential donors in the St. Louis area over the past several weeks, including the wife of a retired police officer who said she . It is beyond disgusting that such a prominent and wealthy union group designed to assist our law enforcement communities and their families would see so little of that money going to those who need it. I have personally received this call more times than I can count from a man claiming to be with the NPTA. All the latest Law Enforcement Today news, updates and alerts delivered straight to your phone or inbox. Donors can be reluctant to contribute to a charity when their name, address, or other basic information may become part of donor lists that are exchanged or sold, resulting in an influx of charitable solicitations from other organizations. If this organization aligns with your passions and values, you can give with confidence. The association is listed as affiliated with the International Union of Police Associations (IUPA). Do your homework when deciding who to contribute to. Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund reported its three largest programs on its FY 2020 Form 990 as: Defending Wrongfully-Charged Law Enforcement Officers, Support of Law Enforcement Professional Associations. You can find her on social media @leahmsanaya or at www.leahanaya.com. In about 7 years (through March 2018), the union and relief fund spent a total of approximately $102.3 million, of which $82.3 million went towards fundraising. None of this has elicited scrutiny by charity regulators in Florida, which may be why it seems like such a disproportionate number of such cases emanate from the Sunshine State despite vows to crack down dating back to 2014. Partial Credit: There has been a diversion of assets within the last two years and the charity has used Schedule O on the Form 990 to explain: the nature of the diversion, the amount of money or property involved and the corrective action taken to address the matter. That adds up to a collective $65 million. Subscribe to the NPQ newsletter to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox. The culture of the organization is one that accepts complacency and allows individuals to get away with fireable offenses. There are so many negative narratives regarding LE floating out there right now, this does nothing to help it. Founded in 1978, NAPO is the strongest unified . Like many other states, Floridas law prohibits charities from misleading donors or misrepresenting themselves. Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund has earned a 94% for the Accountability & Finance beacon. We know because we checked when deciding which non-profits that support law enforcement and survivors that we as an organization support. That leaves a total revenue of $79,009. Did Giving Tuesdays High Results Miss You or Include You? Ever since, the group which plans to move its headquarters into a $2.6 million office building that one of its affiliates purchased in Sarasota last year continues to raise funds. The Law Enforcement Officers Relief Fund is part of the IUPA as well, and allegedly provides financial support to families of fallen officers while they wait for their full benefits to kick in. His employees then called security, who ushered the reporter out of the hotel. Full Credit: The charity's audited financials were prepared by an independent accountant with an audit oversight committee. The solution, the letter says, is clear: Give our law enforcement officers the crime prevention tools they need. Become a member of Nonprofit Quarterly. The association is listed as affiliated with the International Union of Police Associations (IUPA). The FOP has a Disaster Relief Fund which does have information for donations (it asks donors to text (615) 640-1317, and states contributions ARE tax deductible). Here is what they arent telling you. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) The IUPA has several red flags of its own, according to Public Integrity, as well as other sources. Why does the International Union of Police Associations contract with these telemarketers? Read the IRS policies for compensation reporting. If you call the number, you will be connected with an answering service. Make sure you click following and then click see first so you dont miss a thing! The union does not count these expenditures as fundraising expenses. ft location in Sarasota, Florida, and other expenses.. The amounts do not include nontaxable benefits, deferred compensation, or other amounts not reported on Form W-2. What is the point of spending any of this money (collecting and processing nonprofits forms) if the state isnt going to undertake any meaningful reviewmuch less actual regulationof those entities that are providing all this information, he asks.Ruth McCambridge. Conversely, organizations like the Fraternal Order of Police are completely up front with information such as its membership numbers (330,000 police officers according to the website) and let people know on the site that the National FOP doesnt conduct telephone solicitations. NPQ is the leading journal in the nonprofit sector written by social change experts. Their 4th quarter filing showed that they spent $782,959 while bringing in $777,184. Anything else is a waste of your time and possibly your money. Due to the unprecedented nature of the pandemic, we give charities such as this one the opportunity to share the story of COVID's impact on them, and doing this pauses our revision of their rating. Presented here are this organizations key compensated staff members as identified by our analysts. Did you know that LET has a private home for those who support emergency responders and veterans? This organization was impacted by COVID-19 in a way that effected their financial health in 2020. The International Union of Police Associations and its related organizations go by more than a dozen different names, including the Police Officers Support Association and the National Emergency Responders Coalition. Dividing a charity's total liabilities by its total assets yields this percentage. NPSF paid those four groups $1,863,361 in 2018, to do their fundraising for them. According to tax records, only a small fraction of donations made to the organization actually support law enforcement officers. Duane Collins, an San Francisco Police Officers Association board member shot back that they already paid dues. Subscribe to NPQ's newsletters to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox. But just a sliver of the donations given to Law Enforcement Officers Relief Fund helps those families, according to a Center for Public Integrity analysis of the groups tax returns. Ahthat amazing B+ rating from the BBB. He started asking for credit card information. This organization received multiple star ratings within this fiscal year, due to an update to its Accountability and Transparency data and/or the receipt of an amended Form 990. Legislative History: 2020, c. 11, Sched. You answer to hear a voice asking for a contribution to the National Police Support Fund. Proceeds get reinvested into giving these heroes a voice. In a letter responding to the dispute, IUPAs secretary-treasurer asked for contributions to the national unions PAC to give it a better position to obtain effective national legislation.. We have covered far too many of these stories over the years, so many of you will recognize the profile, which in this case involves Samuel Cabral and Hugh Cameron, two men (one making $209,000 and one making $142,000 from the Relief Fund) overseeing two organizations out of a single penthouse suite in Florida. This beacon provides an assessment of a charity's financial health (financial efficiency, sustainability, and trustworthiness) and its commitment to governance practices and policies. I have personally received this call more times than I can count from a man claiming to be with the NPTA. If anyone believes a Florida-based charity or any other organization or individual has violated the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, they should contact our office immediately, Ray said. Granted, 11 families received a total of $72,000, and some of it (about $25,000, or $2,500 per person) went towards law enforcement student tuition and scholarships. 2560 HUNTINGTON AVEAlexandria VA 22303-1447, AlexandriaVA | IRS ruling year: 1980 | EIN: 52-1095066, Our mission is benevolent and educational. So what happened to the other approximately 33% of that money? Ackloo and others raised $6 million for the union that year; the group brought in another $3 million in membership dues. We support and defend the law enforcement profession and those law enforcement officers who have devoted their lives to upholding the Constitution and serving the United States and its citizens while enforcing its laws. The Federal Trade Commission was investigating whether Zeitlins Courtesy Call and Donor Relations companies were engaging in unfair or deceptive acts or practices, but the agency dropped the matter in the fall of 2018, citing an ongoing grand jury investigation in Florida involving the two companies. That same tax year, the International Union of Police Associations gave 10 students pursuing advanced degrees in law enforcement an average of $2,500 apiece. They should be prepared by an independent accountant with oversight from an audit committee. No: This charity either does not have a written donor privacy policy in place to protect their contributors' personal information, or the existing policy does not meet our criteria.

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