Assemblyman Tom Alfano held aloft a copy of Attorney General Elliot Spitzer's report "Pennies for Charity," and blasted telemarketing firms for "ripping off people who are donating to good and worthy causes."

"The Pennies for Charity" report is a study on telemarketing practices and its disclosure on monies donated to charities throughout the state.

Alfano, a member of the Assembly Leadership, complimented Spitzer's findings and noted "it's a disgrace that for every dollar donated over the telephone, through a telemarketer, about 22 cents is actually seen by the charity for those who live in Nassau County."

In the report, data was obtained from telemarketing disclosures and was analyzed to show just how much charities actually receive from fund-raising efforts. Alfano noted, "the results were most disturbing for the residents of Nassau County."

To the contributor living in Elmont, Franklin Square, West Hempstead, and the surrounding environs, the results are quite shocking. One would expect that 100 percent of donations would go directly to the charity. This is not the case, however, for the overwhelming majority of charities throughout the state.

The data analysis shows that, in fact, less than 50 percent of donations go to the cited charity in the overwhelming majority of cases. According to the report, $194.1 million in charitable donations was raised as a result of fund raising in New York in 1999. Of the money raised, only 28.5 percent ($55.3 million) actually went to the charity. In Nassau and Suffolk specifically $11.6 million was raised and only $2.6 million (22.4 percent) went to the charity of choice.

"This statistic alone is a wake-up call to not-for-profit organizations that telemarketers are taking them to the cleaners when it comes to their fund raising," Alfano stated.

The reason why charities do not receive the full amount raised is due to telemarketing firm contracts that charge the charity fees or commissions for services. One of the most shocking findings in the report according to Alfano was that, "in some cases a whopping 60 percent of the donation goes to the telemarketer.

"I bet that if the contributor is informed of the telemarketer's share they would rather just send the check straight to the charity without the telemarketer taking over 50 percent of the contribution," Assemblyman Alfano stated.

"It also raises another question," Alfano noted adding, "If the contributor knew that a large percentage of their donation would not be going to the charity of their choice, would they continue to donate to that charity?"

"Contributors need to demand to know how and where their money is going to be used," said Alfano. The contributor is still under the impression that the entire donation is going to the charity when, in reality, only a percentage is being received and the rest is paying for the telemarketer's services.

The overall analysis is startling. For example, in the data compiled, 35 charitable organizations dealt exclusively with children. Combined, the fund raisers for these groups raised approximately $43 million. However, the charities only received approximately $6.6 million (15 percent of dollars raised)

As bleak as the children's charities examples may seem, medical research fund raisers are also a victim. Out of a total of 22 different research fund-raising campaigns, only three actually received over 25 percent of the total funds raised. The total amount actually received by the research groups was 14 percent of what was donated.

While studying the data of the National Foundation for Cancer Research campaign, Alfano cited what he termed, "his biggest outrage in telemarketing prices." Telemarketers raised a total of $25,272 for the charity. However, due to telemarketing fees the foundation actually walked away from its campaign in debt. This means that after the campaign and the money was raised, the National Foundation for Cancer Research actually owed more money to the telemarketing firm than they had actually raised.

"The lesson from the Cancer Research campaign is the most sobering of all. After people donated to a worthy cause, the actual charity that is fighting for people and those afflicted with cancer had a bill to pay the telemarketers and they didn't get a cent," Alfano stated, adding, "It's a disgrace."

Alfano is kicking off a telemarketing awareness campaign with a tip sheet for families. The key is to always ask for the information to be sent to you. Ask how much of your donation is going to the charity. Check with the charity and get details on the program and then make an informed decision," Alfano concluded.