Sting holds an annual concert in NYC to raise money for his Rainforest Foundation. The Post story, an oddly industrious outing for the tab, says that a too-small percentage of the donations it raises goes to rainforest programs.

The 2006 concert—which drew Lenny Kravitz, Sheryl Crow and Will Ferrell to the landmark stage—raised $2,156,989, according to the latest available IRS tax filing.

Yet only $887,374 of the money raised, 41 percent, was divided among the charity’s eight programs that support native-land claims and forest preservation in Latin America and Africa—a paltry percentage, according to agencies that monitor nonprofits.

A well-run charity, they said, typically spends 75 percent of revenues on programs.

“This one would fall to the bottom of the bucket,” said Sandra Miniutti, a spokeswoman for Charity Navigator.

The paper couldn’t get Sting or anyone at his charity to respond. It’s kind of nasty:

Sting and [wife Trudy] Styler could not be reached for comment, and representatives for their two charities did not return repeated phone calls and e-mails.

When a Post reporter visited the downtown office last week, a receptionist said the entire staff was out attending a film festival.

This part is interesting as well:

There is also a potential problem with the foundation’s reporting of the value of its concert tickets. The charity sold the tickets for between $100 and $600 but estimated the fair market value at a mere $45 per ticket. This allowed buyers to write off most of the ticket price as a donation.

Such a show at Carnegie Hall would typically sell for a lot more; $100 might actually be lower than the ticket’s fair market value.