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American Morning

Charity Purchase Dollars May Not Find Their Way to Charities

Aired February 05, 2002 - 08:37   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Big question this hour: Are your charity dollars going where they're supposed to, to the victims? Since September the 11th, millions of Americans have donated hundreds of millions of dollars in the name of patriotism and compassion.

But as CNN's Deborah Feyerick reports now, no matter how the good intention, your money may not be getting to the people who need it most.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There are a lot of things for sale following the September 11th tragedies. There are T-shirts and hats, posters and pins, but where is all the money going? Well, maybe not to charity, as you might think. For example, take these sneakers. They've got an American flag on the side, and they cost about 50 bucks. They were created by designer Steve Madden. He's got a store here in SoHo.

You go to Madden's website, and it says he's teamed up with actor Dennis Leary, who has a firefighter's charity. Well, as first reported in the "New York Times," since the disaster some 35,000 pairs have sold. It wasn't until January 15 that the deal between Steve Madden and Leary was formalized.

If you thought all $50 was going to charity, you'd be wrong. It was only 10 percent of all profits donated. The company says Steve wanted to do this for all the right reasons. There was no motivation to capitalize on this tragedy. The company says it has given $100,000 so far, and has yet to make back that amount.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I will be more inclined to buy a product that is donating to one that is not donating.

FEYERICK: Then there is this book, called "Brotherhood." It's sold at places like Barnes & Noble. On the inside, there are pictures of different firehouses. On the outside, there is a sticker that says "all profits donated to FDNY charities."

Well, that's not really true. You see you can buy this book for $30. American Express, which publishes it, is donating all its profits to charity. However, that's only after the actual book stores take their cut. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If it's something I really needed or wanted, and then I felt like some of the money was going to somebody, to benefit somebody, then I would probably do it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of times, only like 8 percent of the profit goes towards something. My main reason for buying it is for my proceeds to go to that certain organization.

FEYERICK: The concert at Madison Square Garden gave police and firefighters a chance to forget for a couple of hours. Want to buy the CD? You can, and all the proceeds will go to benefit the Robin Hood Relief Fund. That deal was cut before the CDs ever reached the shelves.

That's not the case with other CDs, where it's still unclear exactly how much of the profits will actually go to charity. The New York State attorney general says if you want to buy a CD, buy a CD. But if you want to give to charity, you better write a check for that charity.

Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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