Questionable Telemarketing from the International Union of Police Associations in Florida

SARASOTA, Fla. /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- *2 Cents*, a citizen group, has launched a new website aimed at highlighting the telemarketing practices of the International Union of Police Associations (IUPA). While law enforcement officers work hard to protect our communities, IUPA's charitable fundraising faces scrutiny.
IUPA raised $ 4.8 million in public donations last year, but spent $ 4.3 million of those donations in the fundraising process, including $ 1.9 million in fees to LAS, LLC, its for-profit telemarketing contractor.
IUPA consequently received a total of about 0,000 through telemarketing, but made only ,900 in donations to law enforcement causes and scholarships, meaning only 1.2% of the total donations went to actual charitable causes. The rest went to officer salaries and meetings in fancy hotels. IUPA is running a deficit and depends on public donations to keep paying the over $ 600,000 a year in salaries to union leaders.
IUPA's headquarters are in Sarasota, Florida.
"It does not make any sense that less than two pennies of every dollar donation goes to legitimate charitable causes. If government officials can't or haven't done anything about this, it is time we must," said group spokeswoman Allison Schmidt. "We encourage everyone to go to our website and share their complaints, information, or stories about IUPA and LAS."
The website, www.centsonline.org, allows interested individuals to: learn about IUPA and their relationship with LAS, what to do if they receive these calls, and register their complaints about the company's telemarketing practices if they have experienced calls from IUPA representatives soliciting money.
For more information go to: www.centsonline.org.
Source: 2 Cents; Web Site: http://www.centsonline.org/

Copyright 1999-2007, The Legal Record