A popular selling feature this time of year donates part of the sale price to charity, but a New York report asks who really gets this money?

One can buy a scarf or lease a BMW, or most anything in between, with part of your money earmarked for charity, one of the fastest growing sectors of giving.

But, the New York Times says, non-profit experts are beginning to question the practice of so-called embedded giving. Such giving is unregulated and, in most cases, unaccountable.

Lucy Bernholz, founder and president of Blueprint Research and Design, a consulting firm for non-profit organizations, calls it "virtuousness as a marketing gimmick run amok. " She adds, "The potential for it to be a scam is huge."

Sometimes, charities do not even know they are supposed to be receiving donations, the report said.

Experts say such loose arrangements mean that donors cannot be sure where their money is going.  // Copyright 2007 by United Press International



Publication date: 14 December 2007   

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