is national police support fund legit

Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Also worth noting is that while his organization is based in Virginia, and gets its mail in Stafford, TX, Fotis lives in Lake Worth, FL. Use a search engine to look for " your state + charity list ". Our movement is comprised of tens of thousands of Americans from all walks of life who are joined together by their common respect for the rule of law and united in their support for the police officers who put their lives on the line every day in their communities. Ive become suspicious after reading what they had to say . Type of a scam Charity. He organized the Police Unity Tour as a fundraising event to honor members of law enforcement who had lost their lives in the line of service. The BBB said days later, the New Jersey State Police photo had been removed from the site. We don't engage in telemarketing. For more information, please see our So we can Verify, National Coalition for Police and Troopers is a site owned by a PAC, isn't a charitable organization. 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Also in Massachusetts, a Wilmington police officer received a call soliciting donations. The Arizona Fraternal Order of Police is a real organization, but protect yourself and ask questions when you receive calls like these. They count on local press coverage and a quick website. If a charity is forced to move its headquarters to a new state on account of the dodgy dealings and underhand practices its been getting up to in its old home, anyone with any sense should know to keep well away, Unfortunately, the United States Deputy Sheriffs Association is well versed enough in manipulation to convince even the most well-meaning of folk that its still a cause worthy of their support. It spent $103,700 on behalf of House candidates about 3% of the total, and it has contributed nothing directly to veterans groups. 2019 - The South African Department of Employment & Labour Disclaimer PAIA Promoting divisive rhetoric is detrimental to the public safety mission that requires any genuine law enforcement organization to be accountable to its constituents. Just as you sit down to dinner, the phone rings and the caller asks for a donation. They are the tragi-charities. What they do: ThePolice Unity Tour raises funds and awareness for members of law enforcement who lost their lives during their service. I have asked 5 times to be removed from their call list, but they are still constantly calling, at this point it is harassment and it needs to STOP! I received a phone call asking me to donate to National Police Support Fund I was going to give them my debit card number over the phone but changed my mind at the last moment. 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. The scenario is all too familiar. The organization began as a service program providing mentorship and outreach activities to youth as a way to combat juvenile crime. Stated that donations were not tax-deductible. I asked them to mail me a bill instead and they did , I called the phone number on the letter and did not get a respond so I decided to go to their website . 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. If the potential donors suspected they had given to the group before, the callers were instructed to say: I have no way of knowing because we feel that donations are given from the heart, not the hand, so we keep all donation records confidential, according to the FAQ. The Committee for Police Officers Defense, the telemarketers who called me, applied for tax exemption in California. National Association of Police Athletics/Activities League. People are receiving phone scam calls asking for donations to help out local police departments or slain and wounded police offers. Across the industry, calls are computer-generated before being routed to telemarketers, something Politicause and TPFE employees said allowed their firms to maximize the number of calls and to pester people repeatedly. The National Police Association is a 501(C)3 non-profit organization, IRS NTEE classification code B01, Alliance/Advocacy Organizations, within the Educational . Super PACs are able to raise unlimited amounts of money, which they can use to advocate for political candidates or causes. Pearl S Buck International's stated purpose is to provide opportunities to explore and appreciate other cultures, build better lives for children around the globe and promote the legacy of our founder by preserving and interpreting her National Historic Landmark home. Legitimate charities can be checked on websites such as www.guidestar.org. Ask if the donation is tax-deductible. I've asked them repeatedly to stop calling this typically results in additional calls back to back from different numbers. The latter is the name of the PAC I found earlier that had raised $3.2 million in contributions. Groups like Antifa and Black Lives Matter have inspired people to assassinate cops on the street. Please do your homework and avoid scams and misleading appeals for your hard-earned money.. You can find more information about "who is the National Police Support . You read that correctly. He was donating to anyone who asked him for money, he said. See the metrics below for more information. The answer is that, in many cases, these arent charities at all. Below are our favorite charities for law enforcement: National Police Foundation. I said I do not donate over the phone, he said I did not need to they would mail me a pledge kit. 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. A secretive political group has been pulling in millions of dollars in recent months amid a growing Blue Lives Matter movement, with a cadre of telemarketers urgently telling Americans that now is the time to support the police and keep them safe. And cops are facing increasing disrespect on the streets as criminals have become emboldened by the wave of anti-cop rhetoric in the news media and by many politicians. BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - From unmarked strip-mall offices in small-town Alabama, the calls go out across the United States, meant to talk people into giving . 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. Recommended Reading: How Many Hours To Become A Police Officer, Read Also: What Education Do I Need To Be A Police Officer. Filed Jan. 29, 2020, 3:45 p.m. GMT. The National Police Support Fund. I have asked 5 times to be removed from their call list, but they are still constantly calling, at this point it is harassment and it needs to STOP! Just want you notified that they are calling on area code 203 #s in CT now. This section is used to influence public opinion in support of the interests of . This organization spends the vast majority of its donations on children. These callers typically use language that suggests they are charities raising money directly for local police. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try Of those who gave more than $200, which are required to be disclosed to the federal government, roughly 80% were retirees, according to an analysis of the data. IRS reports show that in 2011 alone, executive director Ken Howles drew an $87000 salary of the little money left over, only around 9-14% made its way into the hands of the troopers. Simple web searches can show that the 'charitable organization' calling either 1 . 7:35 AM EDT, Fri October 16, 2020. 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. Is National police Support Fund legit? At least seven local police departments from around the country and a state attorney general have issued scam alerts and other notices about these fundraising efforts, warning residents in their communities as recently as this summer that they have no affiliation with this group. How a donation will be used, or how much of the donation actually goes to the charitys programs. Another law enforcement charity that faced disciplinary action was the American Association of State Troopers, which was fined a total of $321,115 in three states - Georgia, Mississippi and Pennsylvania. Our movement is comprised of tens of thousands of Americans from all walks of life who are joined together by their common . It was found that only 2.7% of donations to the relief fund actually went to the families of fallen officers. As a wife of a police officer this is absolutely disgusting! she stated. Contributions are not tax deductible. Key battles deserve tight alliances. 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. "The words police and words firefighter are not trademarked," Kemerer explained, "so it is very easy for scammers to use those names and create fake organizations. You May Like: Do You Need A Degree To Become A Police Officer. 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. Trump billboards along a desert stretch of highway near the border of California and Arizona were paid for by a small business that received a federal loan. This comes at a time when some community activists have been calling for "defunding" the police. Each organization says it is spending money for police officers being abused and unfairly targeted. Not authorized by any candidate or candidates committee.Paid for by National Police Support Fund, Inc. |Privacy & Refund Policy| Sitemap, Biggest Issues Facing Police Officers Today. Im calling on behalf of the National Save the Police Fund,* the voice on the phone told me. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. One very common hustle is the name game. I asked if the donation was tax-deductible and he said no but could not elaborate as to why that was. This comes at a time when some community activists have been calling for defunding the police. Gotten calls like this? Police Unity Tour. Many of these names could easily be confused with public charities, such as Autism Speaks, National Association of Police Organizations, or Veterans Assistance Foundation. I got a call from them saying it was the time of year to start up the donation drive, and the phone operator tries his best to kay in with a guilt trip to get you to "donate." An IRS report was filed on July 26. Our grassroots organization was formed under Section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code, which allows us to engage in political activity. Contributions made to National Police Support Fund are not tax-deductible. Cookie Notice National Police Support Fund is a grassroots political organization that is committed to aligning the interests and needs of police officers with the public's issues and concerns within the national political process. ThePAC, organized by Zachary Bass, spent 90% of its take on fundraising, campaign filings show. These callers typically use language that suggests they are charities raising money directly for local police. An employee who said he previously worked for two companies that raised money for Law Enforcement for a Safer America said that at his more recent job, callers were instructed not to disclose that they were calling on behalf of a super PAC. Free online workshop! On 11/4 another local call came it was the same man! January 11, 2019. Ask for information, check sites like Charitynavigator.org and then if it all checks out, write that check. It appears their lack of transparency regarding where the money goes was the reason for the BBB caution. We are just passing along the information if you get a suspicious call asking for money for police officers.. 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. BREAKING The House just voted to block Biden's woke ESG rule, which would let Wall Street use your retirement savings to fund left-wing political causes. 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. As an example, he cites former Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County in Arizona. At the end of 2021, robocalls raising money for police groups were thehighest-volume phone messages in most major U.S. markets, according to Nomorobo, a robocall-blocking company that works with AARP on fraud prevention. There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. The recording says it is "Kenneth Allen from the National Police Support Fund" and they are asking for donations. The filings dont show how much the groups officials are directly benefiting from the political committee it created, and it is unclear why the group deemed it necessary to create so many different aliases to use for soliciting donations. If you want to donate money for your police or fire department, send your contribution to the local sheriff or chiefs directly. . He instead provided me with their national number. On each call, my questions about how donations got spent mostly went unanswered. The website soliciting funds for Arpaio says, Liberals have targeted Sheriff Joe Arpaio with a multi-million dollar lawsuit (that could even result in jail time) because he was upholding the law of the land.. That way, you avoid all of . The National Association of Police Athletic/Activities League was founded in 1940 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. Among the other warnings: The Miami Township Police in Ohio issued a scam alert in June referencing calls circulating from a Police Officers Support Association asking for credit card donations. The Reading Police Department in Massachusetts described the Police Officers Support Association as a scam charity last year. (Santa Rosa, Calf.) The result: a rise in super PACs that use sympathetic-sounding causes primarily to line their own pockets (the FEC has called this subset scam PACs). 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. On its donate page, the NPA boasts of its work to preserve the American way of life and fight back against cop-haters. Operators who are so susprised it's scam. 25% off sitewide and 30% off select items. 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. For example, in 2019, nearly 90% of the organizations income was spent on its programming. These Are the 9 Best Charities for Law Enforcement in 2023. With this in mind, the midterm election saw a new partnership between us, the National Police Support Fund, and the. After further investigation, they are not approved by the better business bureau and they have nothing but horrible reviews . When I googled the fund, a BBB caution was the first result. Leaving politics aside for a minute, how do you know if those calls are legitimate? The union has previously come under fire for hiring allegedly deceptive telemarketers and costly fundraising efforts that benefited its own organization and a police charity it operates. It was raising money using four different police-oriented names (one "association," two "coalitions" and one "support fund"). 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. 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. 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. The source of the funding information was OpenSecrets, a database that tracks spending in U.S. politics run by the Center for Responsive Politics. Email Blake Ellis and Melanie Hicken. I received a call today from someone from The National Police Support Fund, who claimed to be collecting money for a drive. What they do: The National Association of Police Athletic/Activities League aims to minimize juvenile crime through outreach programs that pair officers with youth. That means of a $35 donation, no more than $3.50 goes to their stated cause. When I asked which state this drive was for, the caller could not answer and instead said it is for a national charity. While there are no requirements dictating the percentage of money that must go toward political activities, campaign finance expert Rob Pyers has dubbed the group a Scam PAC because of its high operating expenses and negligible political spending. 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. In telemarketing calls, DPSF fundraisers told people that donations would be used for grants to disabled officers and to the families of officers slain in the line of duty. 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. Multiple voices could be heard in the background. JW August is a San Diego-based broadcast and digital journalist. I started rifling through my mail as he gave me the same exact spiel this time saying he represented United Police support fund. In the case of National Police Support Fund, we accept contributions and make expenditures in order to influence the selection, nomination, election, or appointment of candidates to federal, state, and local offices. The Better Business Bureau conducted an investigation and found . With tales of woe and heartbreaking images of children or helpless animals, they beg for assistance. The application also included the name Police Officers Defense Coalition, as well as the Police Officers Defense Alliance. Did you encounter any technical issues? It was raising money using four different police-oriented names (one association, two coalitions and one support fund). Political organizations including both the Democratic and Republican parties are nonprofits. In a nationwide, federal-state crackdown on fraudulent telemarketers claiming to help police, firefighters, and veterans, the Federal Trade Commission, together with 61 Attorneys General, Secretaries of State, and other law enforcers of 49 states and the District of Columbia, today announced Operation False Charity. 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. 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). Now those same anarchists that rioted and assaulted law enforcement officers are using the Taliban playbook by destroying public statues and monuments while advocating for defunding law enforcement agencies, a narrator states in a video from July, as protests continued across the country. This person spoke broken english and told me to donate using credit card. He said that although it is more expensive for super PACs to solicit small donations which is what this one is doing spending so much on operations and so little on political activities is unusual. They do disclose, however, that of the nearly $10 million raised, the super PAC gave more money back to the union roughly $350,000 for office, operational and overhead expenses than the $173,500 it spent on political activities between January 2019 and June 2020. Continuously redirected to the toll free number provided which cut out each time it was listed. For anyone interested in supporting law enforcement, experts say, think local. Woman suspicious after calls to help police. One Daughters Fight Against Charity Fraud, Exclusive Walgreens Cash rewards for members, AARP Travel Center Powered by Expedia: Vacation Packages, Members save when booking a flight vacation package, AARP Identity Theft Protection powered by Norton, Up to 53% off comprehensive protection plans, AARP Online Fitness powered by LIFT session, Customized workouts designed around your goals and schedule, SAVE MONEY WITH THESE LIMITED-TIME OFFERS. Even if you like the idea, how do you know the call is legitimate? I told him I did not have any money to donate at the moment. To raise awareness of Law Enforcement Officers who have died in the line of duty. 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. But almost no one was helped. 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. The cause sounds worthy: Please support your local firefighters (or police officers), the caller implores. According to the complaint, DPSF conned people into donating more than $9.9 million. The I.U.P.A. . Sara Kemerer of the . It appears there are a number of nonprofits up and running under the apparent control of Fotis. But these telemarketers bombarding our phone lines? After I rejected he offered some booster donations of 15,25, 35 dollars to Goodwill or other organizations. . We won't use your email for any other purpose, and you can opt out at any time via an unsubscribe link. As we stated earlier, these 50 charities account for almost $1 Billion in donations. National Police Support Fund is dedicated to providing a united voice for true Americans who support our nation's law enforcement officers. Read Also: What Are The Best Police Boots, Read Also: How Do I Become A K9 Police Officer. A: A 527 political organization is a party committee, association, fund, or other organization organized and operated primarily for the purpose of directly or indirectly accepting contributions or making expenditures for an exempt function. 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. Gotten calls like this? "But I'm sure there are a lot that are not on the level, so you kind of have to be cautious," she said. 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 .

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