The NY Post goes after Sting’s charity
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; $100 might actually be lower than the ticket’s fair market value.
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As a fundraiser with the Rainforest Foundation UK for 6 years, I was privy to the workings of Stings fundraising machine and totally agree with your article about Sting hoarding money raised to protect the rainforest. A critical point to make is that the money from the concert is put into the Rainforest Fund, not directly to the Rainforest Foundation UK or Norway, which are independent charities. The Rainforest Fund acts as a private play fund for Sting and close family friends to direct to whatever charity takes their whim. The similarity between the organisations is only in the name and that is where it stops. The Rainforest Foundation UK and Norway are independent from the Rainforest Fund and have been campaigning successfully on behalf of forest peoples around the world for over 15 years. Their funding comes from many sources, including government, foundations, individuals, and as grant recipients from the Rainforest Foundation Fund. The fact that the Rainforest Foundation UK and Norway receive grants from their respective governments is testament to their genuine success at protecting the rights of forest peoples and their land, as well as recognising their transparency and adherence to strict governance controls that, for example, avoid the hoarding of vast amounts of money as practiced by the Rainforest Fund. Over the 6 years I was with the Rainforest Foundation UK, I was proud to be associated with the passionate people who worked there, and our partners who risked their lives in conflict prone areas such as Democratic Republic of Congo. During that time I was shocked at the way Sting and the Rainforest Fund would raise US$ millions in our name and sit on the money while our partners in rainforest countries struggled day by day to makes ends meet.