Hanahan Nonprofit: We Are Not a Scrooge

A Hanahan nonprofit has a message for donors and South Carolina Secretary of State Mark Hammond: "We are not a Scrooge."

Earlier this week, Hammond released the 17th annual Scrooges and Angels. The annual list recognizes charities that spend much of their expenditures on program services.

But it also names 10 charrites the Secretary of State considers Scrooges, due to filed expenditures that put less than 40 percent of donations toward program services.

According to Hammond, the Fraternal Order of Police Tri-County Lodge No. 3 spent 4.1 percent of its donations on services.

In a public statement, Lodge No. 3 Vice President Matthew A. Woodall said their poor showing was a "simple paperwork issue." 

"Last year our lodge used 90 percent of funds toward our programs, compared to the 4.1 percent listed this year," Woodall stated. "Rest assured that our lodge has always been in the forefront of member benefits and services."  

Other nonprofits that Hammond named as Scrooges include: 

• American Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc., Baltimore
• Defeat Diabetes Foundation, Inc., Madeira Beach, Fla.
• Firefighters Support Services, Incorporated, Wyandotte, MI
• Fraternal Order of Police York County Lodge #15, Rock Hill
• Military Order of the Purple Heart Service Foundation Inc., Annandale, Va.
• Missional Advancement Project Inc., Aiken
• Operation Lookout National Center For Missing Youth, Everett, WA
• United States Deputy Sheriffs’ Association Inc., Ashburn, Va.
• Veterans Support Foundation, Silver Spring, M.D.

"As Secretary of State, I have the duty of enforcing the Solicitation of Charitable Funds Act, and of protecting the public against "Scrooge" organizations that want to take advantage of our giving spirit," Hammond said in a statement.

The 10 Angels, with program services exceeding 80 percent of their expenditures, were:

• America's VetDogs - the Veterans’s K-9 Corps, Inc., Smithtown, NY
• Deep Well Project, Hilton Head Island
• Early Learning Partnership of York County, Rock Hill
• East Cooper Community Outreach (ECCO), Mount Pleasant
• Habitat for Humanity of North Augusta, North Augusta
• Humane Society of McCormick County, McCormick
• Nurturing Center, Inc., Columbia
• Rosa Clark Medical Clinic Association, Inc., Seneca
• Samaritan House of Orangeburg, Inc., Orangeburg
• South Carolina Hunters and Landowners for the Hungry, Spartanburg

The Secretary of State's website provides charity spending and fundraising information and can calculate the percentage of expenditures that are committed to program services.

"Times are still tough in South Carolina, but our residents continue to be some of the most generous people in the nation and always answer the call when it comes to defending and helping the less fortunate," Hammond said. "However, there are those who would take advantage of our generosity. So I ask that you check out any organization before you contribute your hard-earned money."