Paid fundraisers come at great cost to nonprofits

An investigation by Tim Darragh of The Morning Call (Allentown, Penn.) shows that the majority of money raised by paid fundraisers hired by Pennsylvaina nonprofits went to the fundraisers, not the charities. "Of the 2,716 campaigns using professional fundraisers reported to the state since 2002, fundraiser costs exceeded the amount left for the nonprofit nearly three-quarters of the time. In all, 53 percent of the $7.2 billion raised covered the fundraisers' fees and costs, records show."