Public Safety Fund-Raising Appeals:
Make Your Donations Count
Every day, police and firefighters
risk their lives to make your community safer. To show
your support, you may consider making a donation when
a fund-raiser calls from a fire or police service organization.
Before you write the check, the Federal Trade Commission
(FTC) urges you to consider these facts:
Simply having the words “police” or
“firefighter” in an organization’s
name doesn’t mean police or firefighters are
members of the group.
Just because an organization claims it has local
ties or works with local police or firefighters doesn’t
mean contributions will be used locally or for public
safety. The organization should be able to provide
you with written information describing the programs
your donation will support, and their fund-raising
costs before you donate.
Most solicitations for police and fire service organizations
are made by paid professional fund-raisers.
Donations to some police or firefighter groups may
not be tax deductible. Many kinds of organizations
are tax exempt, including fraternal organizations,
labor unions, and trade associations, but donations
to them may not be tax deductible.
Want to know where your public safety
contributions are going? Taking the following precautions
can help ensure that donation dollars will benefit the
people, organization, or community you want to help.
Ask fund-raisers for identification.
Many states require paid fund-raisers to identify
themselves as such and to name the organization for
which they’re soliciting.
Ask how your contribution will
be used. Ask what percentage of your contribution
will go to the fire or police organization, department,
or program. Also ask if your contribution will be
used locally. Get written information.
Call the organization or your local
police or fire department to verify a fund-raiser’s
claim to be collecting on behalf of the organization
or department. If the claim cannot be verified, report
the solicitation to your local law enforcement officials.
Ask if your contribution is tax-deductible.
Make your check payable to the official name of the
group or charity. Avoid cash gifts: Cash can be lost
or stolen.
Be wary if a fund-raiser suggests
you’ll receive special treatment for donating.
For example, no legitimate fund-raiser would guarantee
that you won’t be stopped for speeding if you
have a police organization’s decal in your car
window. Don’t feel intimidated about declining
to give. A caller who uses intimidation tactics is
likely to be a scam artist. Report the call to your
local law enforcement officials.
For more information about fraud-related
fundraising, visit the FTC web site at www.ftc.gov
or the National Charities Information Bureau at www.give.org.
Produced in cooperation
with the National Association of Attorneys General.
The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive
and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information
to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a
complaint or to get free
information on consumer issues, visit www.ftc.gov
or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The
FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft, and other fraud-related
complaints into
Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil
and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.