When Giving Meets Gouging: High Costs Cheat Charities
The Holiday season is a time for giving in America, with nearly 50% of all charitable contributions taking place between Thanksgiving and the end of the year. Unfortunately, it’s also a time for gouging, not just of consumers, but of charitable organizations, too.
St. Louis, MO (PRWEB via PR Web
Direct) December 10, 2004 –- The Holiday season is a time for giving in
America, with nearly 50% of all charitable contributions taking place between
Thanksgiving and the end of the year. Unfortunately, it’s also a time for
gouging.
We all hear the occasional sad story of a consumer who is
swindled by an unscrupulous fundraising organization, whose claims of charitable
giving are nothing more than a front, with just a few pennies out of every
dollar actually going to charity. Perhaps the bigger problem, though
infrequently publicized, are the high costs often charged to legitimate
charities for goods and services, making them unnecessarily inefficient. In both
cases, the ultimate losers are those least capable of fighting back: the
needy.
John Huhn is CEO of St. Louis-based fulfillment expert NewStream
Solutions, which recently founded National Support Services, a not-for-profit
organization that can make even well-established charities more efficient. “If
your school or charitable organization is like most, multiple suppliers are
needed to manufacture your fundraising items, handle order processing and
fulfillment, even help you generate traffic to your website. Even if you’re a
mega-charity, you’re not likely getting the best bang for your buck. We see
overcharges every day.”
National Support, which according to Director
John Schranck is dedicated to online fundraising through the sale of popular
items like the new stars and stripes “United We Stand” and the camouflage
“Support Our Troops” silicon rubber awareness wristbands, benefits from
discounted service charges from NewStream, since normal salary and
administrative overhead costs are not passed through to National Support. The
net result is a much greater overall level of giving for those most in need. And
through a recently developed Partner Program, other fundraisers can now take
advantage of the same low cost structure as www.nationalsupport.org
becomes an online fundraising destination.
Inspired by the wildly popular
and successful LiveStrong silicon wristbands that have fueled the Lance
Armstrong Foundation this year, fundraisers everywhere are rushing to “compete”
for donated dollars with product offerings of their own. For them, National
Support is a great way to sell products and raise funds more efficiently, while
reaching givers well beyond their current geographic scope via the internet.
The National Support Services Partner Program is a unique opportunity
for charities to get up to 100% of the net proceeds back for sales of
fundraising items when they send web traffic to National Support. An
organization can make their own fundraising products available on the National
Support site, or simply send traffic from their own website to buy the National
Support products, with proceeds forwarded to them every month.
As a
full-service fulfillment and e-commerce company, NewStream was already reducing
costs and making its non-profit clients more efficient, managing products
ranging from the familiar pink bracelets to holiday CDs for the troops overseas.
With the new Partner Program from National Support Services, fundraisers
everywhere have an opportunity to channel even more contributions to those in
need.
About National Support Services
National Support Services is an
organization established by NewStream Solutions of St. Louis, Missouri to
generate financial resources in support of charitable causes. National Support
has filed for 501 (c) 3 status as a non-profit charitable organization. For more
information, please visit www.NationalSupport.org.
About NewStream Solutions
LLC
NewStream Solutions is a full-service provider of fulfillment, call
center and e-commerce solutions for companies organizations worldwide.
NewStream, located in St. Louis, Missouri, also owns patent-pending robotic
packaging technology for digital media. For more information, please visit www.NewStreamSolutions.com.
Contact: John
Schranck
National Support Services
(636) 300-5840
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/12/prweb187865.htm