is national police support fund legit

To raise awareness of Law Enforcement Officers who have died in the line of duty. Another useful fact: Organizations that file reports with the FEC have to list a treasurer. proudly complies with state regulations and required disclosures. These are Americas heroes. Videos on its site show cities in flames and say that officers have been injured during what the group describes as riots presumably referring to recent Black Lives Matter protests in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd. The National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO) is a coalition of police unions and associations from across the United States and was organized for the purpose of advancing the interests of America's law enforcement officers through legislative advocacy, political action and education. See the metrics below for more information. These Are the 9 Best Charities for Law Enforcement in 2023. Msg&data rates may apply. The answer is that, in many cases, these arent charities at all. The National Police Support Fund is a national political organization organized under Section 527 of the IRS Tax Code. The I.U.P.A. Promoting divisive rhetoric is detrimental to the public safety mission that requires any genuine law enforcement organization to be accountable to its constituents. National Police Support Fund is a national political organization organized under Section 527 of the IRS Tax Code. The National Policing Institute, a national, Washington, D.C.-based non-profit organization dedicated to advancing policing through science and innovation, has received information from several individuals who have been contacted by solicitors asking for donations in support of the "National Policing Institute," or in some cases the "National Police Fund," which we are not affiliated . The rest of the money has gone primarily to the firms helping it solicit donations including nearly $3 million in payments to one telemarketing company sued by the government last month for allegedly using deceptive tactics. Is National police Support Fund legit? Copyright 2023 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. The union is run by a retired police detective, and it is affiliated with the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), the countrys biggest federation of unions, which did not respond to requests for comment. Continuously redirected to the toll free number provided which cut out each time it was listed. I asked him where the money goes. This section is used to influence public opinion in support of the interests of . The Wilmington Police Department has no association with this organization and we have never even heard of them, stated a May release from the department. Contributions made to National Police Support Fund are not tax-deductible. The latter is the name of the PAC I found earlier that had raised $3.2 million in contributions. How a donation will be used, or how much of the donation actually goes to the charitys programs. KENNER, LA (WVUE) - The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office warns of a scam from the "American Police Officers Alliance" asking for donations for law enforcement. Don't Waste Your Money" is a registered trademark of Scripps Media, Inc. ("Scripps"). Law Enforcement for a Safer America has raked in nearly $10 million in donations from January 2019 to June 2020, according to data reported to the Federal Election Commission. If it is a scam they are awfully convincing on the phone but are also rather forceful. Up until the latest tax year when the groups appear to have changed how they categorize certain expenditures the pattern was largely the same from year to year: A small number of families received a couple thousand dollars apiece top employees of the union received more than $100,000 apiece and tens of millions went to telemarketers. The Police and Troopers Relief Foundation (PTRF) is a special program within the Law Enforcement Officers Relief Fund (LEORF), established by the International Union of Police Associations. Last month the National Police Association (NPA) filed an ethics complaint against Rachael Rollins, the new district attorney for Suffolk County, Massachusetts (who recently . Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Virginia incorporation papers show James Fotis is president of the Alliance and changed the name to the Defense Coalition. Most of the money raised went to telemarketing 87 percent and other expenses. In fact, they count on the confusion to gather contributions. Whoops! He said his father has always leaned heavily Democratic, supported President Barack Obama and previously expressed strong anti-Trump views. There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. For example, in 2019, nearly 90% of the organizations income was spent on its programming. Years later, as the success of the program and its activities grew, six chapters on the east coast decided to convene and discuss how athletics could be incorporated into the organizations programs. The latter is the name of the PAC I found earlier that had raised $3.2 million in contributions. Our grassroots organization was formed under Section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code, which allows us to engage in political activity. I looked up one called Law Enforcement for a Safer America PAC, which seemed to be especially active, based on Nomorobos monitoring. For anyone interested in supporting law enforcement, experts say, think local. Please reload the page and try again. Simple web searches can show that the 'charitable organization' calling either 1 . We found a website for them, but it gives very little information about the organization and their mission. Im calling on behalf of the National Save the Police Fund,* the voice on the phone told me. We are just passing along the information if you get a suspicious call asking for money for police officers.. "The National Police Support Fund is neither a 501(c)3 nor a 501(c)4 organization, but rather a political organization organized under Section 527 of the IRS Tax Code. In fact, former employees of these types of fundraisers have testified about how they used soundboard technology to play prerecorded messages as responses, in part so they could talk to several donors at once. The PTRF/LEORF was created to provide specialized relief when, tragically, a law enforcement officer is killed in the line-of-duty or seriously injured in . The organization also has a Gold Seal of Transparency from GuideStar. 2019 - The South African Department of Employment & Labour Disclaimer PAIA The union has recently claimed to have more than 100,000 members, but the IUPA has reported around 20,000 members in tax filings. In the report, National Police Support Fund reported about $61,000 in . Recommended Reading: How Many Hours To Become A Police Officer, Read Also: What Education Do I Need To Be A Police Officer. Similarly, the Police Coalition of America, which promises "to enact positive change and legislation that protects our citizens as well as our law enforcement," spent $530,000 on . Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription toAARP The Magazine. It wasnt the usual automated call, and hearing a human voice kept me on the line. The International Union of Police Associations and its related organizations go by more than a dozen different names, including the Police Officers Support Association and the National Emergency Responders Coalition. . The BBB said days later, the New Jersey State Police photo had been removed from the site. While several recordings uploaded online show that some callers have briefly mentioned the term PAC or have said that the group is supporting efforts to elect lawmakers to advocate for certain issues, the Montana attorney general wasnt the only person to say the group hadnt identified itself as required. It sounded like the solicitor was calling from a boiler room, where individuals dial from a list of working phone numbers. Many of these names could easily be confused with public charities, such as Autism Speaks, National Association of Police Organizations, or Veterans Assistance Foundation. The man on the other end of the phone is asking for money for the protection of police officers. Just want you notified that they are calling on area code 203 #s in CT now. Groups like Antifa and Black Lives Matter have inspired people to assassinate cops on the street. Law Enforcement for a Safer America does not disclose on its website who is running the super PAC, but public filings reveal that leaders of one of the countrys largest police unions are pulling the strings. Read our full report on the organization here, https://bit.ly/3xMbldo. The mailing scam, which was identified in a CNN article last fall and had already targeted residents in eastern states including Massachusetts and Wisconsin, asks recipients of the letter to donate $20 to an organization misleadingly calling itself the "Police Officers Support Association, PAC" according to Grass Valley Police Sgt. When I asked which state this drive was for, the caller could not answer and instead said it is for a national charity. Our Police, Firefighters, and all First Responders do need our support. The Better Business Bureau conducted an investigation and found . About $1.8 million went toward the salaries of union officials, including $199,700 for Cabral, the president. The NPAs immigration proposalAuthorizing local law enforcement officers to perform federal immigration law enforcement functionsis based on fear-mongering and a clear recipe for abuse and division. To find out more about these organizations, I probed the FEC website, where super PACs report their activity. It was found that only 2.7% of donations to the relief fund actually went to the families of fallen officers. The safest way to donate on social media or crowdfunding campaign is to give to people you actually know. That means of a $35 donation, no more than $3.50 goes to their stated cause. Our mission is to promote the interests of our nation's police officers within our nation's political and public policy process. Cookie Notice Instead, their contributions end up with a super PAC, Law Enforcement for a Safer America, which has ties to a controversial union and spends the majority of its money on its own operating costs. In fact, former employees of these types of fundraisers have testified about how they used soundboard technology to play prerecorded messages as responses, in part so they could talk to several donors at once. But almost no one was helped. The scenario is all too familiar. The tour began with 18 members of law enforcement, who rode from New Jersey to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C. Their impact and transparency ratings: The Police Unity Tour holds a Financial rating of 84 out of 100 from Charity Navigator. Discovery Company. The recording says it is "Kenneth Allen from the National Police Support Fund" and they are asking for donations. This policy has been repudiated by a significant number of law enforcement leaders, whose experience has led them to conclude that it would make their communities unsafe. Dont send your money to a national group collecting for causes that may not always be clear. Can the police officers count on you?. The organization also participates in advocacy work to emphasize some of the dangers law enforcement officers face, and the sacrifices they make to protect society. Just as you sit down to dinner, the phone rings and the caller asks for a donation. "I got burned a couple of years ago when I found out another charity I was contributing to was not a real charity, so I thought I should probably check this one out," Beckman said. The caller said he was phoning on behalf of the Committee for Police Officers Defense. Each organization says it is spending money for police officers being abused and unfairly targeted. One of Fotis websites solicits money for individuals who were guilty of a crime for doing their job the way they were trained to do it. This all looks very peculiar, said Richard Briffault, a professor at Columbia Law School who specializes in campaign finance. The application also included the name Police Officers Defense Coalition, as well as the Police Officers Defense Alliance. Just change the state to your state and verify the charity is listed with your state attorney general's office, or another regulatory office (each state has different requirements). National Police Support Fund - Alexandria, VA. An elderly man in Trenton, Mi., received a dire letter that warned of the greatest threats to our public safety in our nations history. Required fields are marked *. Do You Have To Call The Police After An Accident, How Long Does It Take To Get Into Police Academy, How Many People Were Killed By Police In 2020, Where To File A Police Report For Car Accident. After further investigation, they are not approved by the better business bureau and they have nothing but horrible reviews . The charitys affiliation with the government. The first thing I noticed was that I wasnt talking to live people; the answers all sounded scripted and recorded. Only one replied directly: 90 percent went to fundraising, and 10 percent went to police support. Asking for donations to the National Police Support Fund. Soft on Crime groups are targeting record numbers of individual law enforcement officers in law suits for police brutality. The matter now heads to the Senate, where the disapproval resolution may pass if every Republican plus rebellious Democratic Senator Joe Manchin (W.Va.) support the effort. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Wendy is fine with that and will sleep better now. I asked if the donation was tax-deductible and he said no but could not elaborate as to why that was. And it's very easy to catch the eye of someone.". Hope Cancer Fund The Tampa Bay Times and The Center for Investigative Reporting broke the charities up into five main categories: children, cancer, police/law enforcement, veterans, fire and other. This comes at a time when some community activists have been calling for defunding the police. Are the money-gathering techniques these scam PACs use illegal? Now, the last thing I want to do is discourage you from giving to causes you care about, like supporting police. Did you encounter any technical issues? Tax filings also show that the union operates its own call center and that a company the union controls purchased a nearly 20,000 square foot office building valued at more than $2.5 million, where the union is now based. The Committee for Police Officers Defense, the telemarketers who called me, applied for tax exemption in California. According to the complaint, DPSF conned people into donating more than $9.9 million. Here is the BBB caution: https://www.bbb.org/stlouis/news-events/bbb-warnings/2017/national-police-support-fund/, https://www.bbb.org/stlouis/news-events/bbb-warnings/2017/national-police-support-fund/. Virginia incorporation papers show James Fotis is president of the Alliance and changed the name to the Defense Coalition. An IRS report was filed on July 26. Police Protection Fund. The calls, which often target elderly donors, come from a variety of generic and similar-sounding aliases: The Police Officers Support Association, the National Emergency Responders Coalition and the National Coalition for Police & Troopers. This group purports on various websites that donations are being used to back candidates who will stand up for police and introduce legislation to help officers and provide benefits to families who have lost loved ones in the line of duty. Legitimate charities can be checked on websites such as www.guidestar.org. Ask if the donation is tax-deductible. POLICING THE MOST DANGEROUS CITY IN THE COUNTRY: What do Chicago's LEO's and citizens think? Just hang up. The recording says it is "Kenneth Allen from the National Police Support Fund" and they are asking for donations. It spent $103,700 on behalf of House candidates about 3% of the total, and it has contributed nothing directly to veterans groups. What they do: ThePolice Unity Tour raises funds and awareness for members of law enforcement who lost their lives during their service. In about 7 years (through March 2018), the union and relief fund spent a total of approximately $102.3 million, of which $82.3 million went towards fundraising. UPDATE 2020-10-29: Another new call from 585-206-3552 with a similar pre-recorded voice auto-responder identifying as 'Jeff Scott' with the National Police Support Fund. They are the tragi-charities. Gas station secured small business bailout money, then paid for Trump billboards, After learning from CNN that his 92-year-old father had given $1,200 to the super PAC, Curt Busse said that the donations were made as his fathers cognitive skills declined, making him a prime target for telemarketers. Tax records show the Fotis organization that phoned me raised $75,000 in 2021, up from $50,000 the year before. It only means they do not seek to make a profit on their activities. You May Like: Do You Need A Degree To Become A Police Officer. Being a generous person, she agreed to mail them $50. Contact us: contact@knowyourpolice.net, SCAM: National Police Support Fund donation, How To Get Insurance Information From Police Report, Is National Police Association Legitimate, How Many Years Of College To Become A Police Officer, Do You Need A Degree To Become A Police Officer, What Are The Steps To Becoming A Police Officer, How Many Hours To Become A Police Officer, What Education Do I Need To Be A Police Officer, How Do You Know If The Police Are Investigating You. With everything that's happening this pandemic year, people are getting more and more calls to support their local police. Write the names of the shady businesses in the comments section below, too. An image from Law Enforcement For A Safer America PAC's Facebook page. It was raising money using four different police-oriented names (one "association," two "coalitions" and one "support fund"). But whats the truth. When I asked which state this drive was for, the caller could not answer and instead said it is for a national charity. Lots of different special interest groups are nonprofits, including some private businesses that pay their executives quite well. AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that empowers people to choose how they live as they age. Especially after a tragedy or military-related event, fundraisers and causes show up on social media and people create crowdfunding campaigns to help those affected. Below are a few tips for screening for legitimate charities. . National Association of Police Athletic/Activities Leagues. A union receptionist also confirmed to CNN that the super PAC is run by the union, but union leaders did not respond to repeated calls, voicemails and emails that laid out the concerns from other police departments and donors and asked why so little of the $10 million raised went toward political activities. These charities usually rake in a few thousand dollars and disappear. Another telemarketing employee reached by CNN in the Philippines confirmed this, saying he solicited money on behalf of the super PAC and the IUPA using audio recordings of someone who sounded like they were actually calling from America, and that most of the people they reached were elderly adding he felt it was a scam because they didnt realize what they were actually donating to. The I.U.P.A. As the list of high-profile police shootings has grown in recent years and calls to defund the police have gotten louder, tensions between protesters and those who have rushed to the support of police some of whom have become part of a Blue Lives Matter movement have been building. 2023 Cable News Network. One woman received a call from the . He of course provided a non-reassuring answer with no defence when the jig was up, and ended the call. The rule of law is being eroded in our communities, and we need true Americans to stand up and join voices in support of the public servants who keep us safe. Why does this matter? This Florida-based union touts its federal lobbying efforts on behalf of local members. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. We warn against them because they come off as supportive of the Greenfield Police Department, or the local police, and yet they do not do anything for us, said police Chief Robert Haigh Jr. These tend to be monies for their own agendas, and not based on the locals. HARRISBURG Attorney General Josh Shapiro is warning Pennsylvanians to be on the lookout for bogus fundraising calls that purport to benefit the families of Martin F. Mack and Branden T. Sisca, the two fallen Pennsylvania State Police troopers tragically killed in the line of duty on I-95 South in Philadelphia. Multiple attempted calls from one number. Super PACs generally have far fewer state-level reporting requirements and are regulated by the Federal Election Commission (FEC), which has fewer enforcement options than the IRS. Each organization says it is spending money for police officers being abused and unfairly targeted. These callers typically use language that suggests they are charities raising money directly for local police. In the first half of 2021, this organization reported donations of $4.3 million; expenditures were just under $4.2 million, the bulk of this going to overhead fundraising, lawyers, lead lists and so on. The organization began as a service program providing mentorship and outreach activities to youth as a way to combat juvenile crime. When a charitys fundraiser calls to ask you for a donation, they have to follow some rules: A: We engage in activities aimed at supporting our law enforcement officers and standing up for their rights and values throughout the political process.

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