The Breast Cancer Charity Scam
LatestThere are few causes that are more widely supported than the effort to end breast cancer, yet somehow making sure your money actually goes to supporting research and helping people affected by the disease has become exeedingly difficult. You’re probably aware that companies pushing products festooned with pink ribbons are often giving almost nothing to breast cancer charities. However, it isn’t just the pink yogurt lids and Snuggies for the cure that you need to watch out for. The world of breast cancer fundraising is riddled with despicable people looking to make money off of your good intentions.
An article in the October issue of Marie Claire paints a disturbing picture of where breast cancer fundraising is right now. On the one hand, we seems to have reached critical mass on awareness now that NFL players are sporting pink on the football field, and people are donating tremendous amounts of money to the cause. The magazine reports:
Last year, the National Institutes of Health, the nation’s top agency for health-related research, allocated $763 million to the study of breast cancer, more than double what it committed to any other cancer. The Department of Defense also funds breast cancer research ($150 million this year), as do several states, most notably Texas and California. All that is in addition to the money raised by the roughly 1,400 IRS-recognized, tax-exempt charities in this country devoted to breast cancer. They operate in every state and in just about every major city. The largest of them, Dallas-based Susan G. Komen for the Cure, grossed $420 million last year alone. All told, an estimated $6 billion is raised every year in the name of breast cancer. And the money keeps pouring in.
This has led to many developments in the way we treat breast cancer, but we aren’t much closer to finding a cure than we were 20 years ago. Part of the reason is that many charities that claim to support breast cancer research actually only exist to make people rich.