Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson just issued a report that finds that the largest auto donation enterprise in the country is little more than a self-dealing, profit-making enterprise.
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“The compliance report found that the auto Donation Foundation’s solicitations were misleading because they did not disclose that auto Donation Foundation – rather than Make-A-Wish – was the recipient of the donated vehicles”, the attorney general’s office said in a statement.
According to internal documents released by Swanson, the Make-A-Wish Minnesota chief executive resigned in June amid an independent probe. Auto Donation Foundation, which has a presence in 40 states, is accused of passing along only 20 percent of what it raises to the charity it claims to support, the Make-A-Wish Foundation. A spokesman for the foundation said Ms. Swanson’s inquiry failed to take into account “the significant marketing, operational, and compliance costs” associated with a vehicle-donation program.
In addition, those fundraising services were provided by two for-profit companies owned by Bill Bigley and Randy Heiligman, the same people who run the CDF. The report lays out findings of its investigation and allows charities a few time address the deficiencies. The foundation makes itself attractive to donors by arranging quick pickup of inoperable vehicles and documentation that could be used for income tax deductions.
One of the for-profit firms, National Fundraising Management, managed the charity’s fundraising and operations activities.
The auto Donation Foundation and National Fundraising Management both issued statements disagreeing with the compliance report but said they would not be doing media interviews.
The vehicle Donation Foundation’s revenue more than doubled in four years from $14.4 million in 2011 to $37.3 million in 2014, according to Swanson.
The “Charities Review Council” recommends that no more than 30 percent of a charity’s proceeds go to administrative costs.
Bigley and the Heiligmans’ compensation for running the nonprofit.
The 2013 tax form, prepared by Edina, Minn.-based Abdo Eick & Meyers, lists 45 Make-A-Wish chapters as having received grants and other assistance for the 2013 tax year. “They advertise they are part of Make-A-Wish, and they are not”. Make-A-Wish Foundation, headquartered in Phoenix, Ariz., and the local Minneapolis, Minn.-based chapter, did not return phone calls seeking comment by presstime.
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Bigley and Heiligman’s for-profit fundraising company, National Fundraising Management. In 2014, the vehicle Donation Foundation ended up on the “Scrooge List” published by the South Carolina secretary of state and the Oregon AG’s “Worst Charity” list, so we have to assume that they had a few awareness that there were problems afoot.
