Charities and IRS 990 Forms

Having been inundated with calls from health, veterans and other organizations seeking money, I decided to do a little research (librarians love doing that) to see just how worthy these organizations might be. http://www.guidestar.org/ is a great free (you can pay for additional information) that has the 990 forms for every 503(c)3 (charitable organization) in the country. These forms contain a wealth of information including the officers names, compensation and how much is spent on program services and fund raising. The information I've found on every telemarketing request for money we've received is nothing short of scandalous. More than 95% of the funds raised goes to fund-raising and officer compensation. I am beginning to suspect that telemarketing groups are creating charities just to fund themselves. I recommend this to everyone. It's easy and just takes a few minutes.