Morganville Charity Named One of America's Worst

A Morganville charity has been named one of the worst in the country according to a report by the Tampa Bay Times and the Center for Investigative Reporting.

The two news sources ranked America’s worst charities based on cash paid to solicitors in the past decade. Out of 50 charities, the National Police Defense Foundation was ranked 31.

The National Police Defense Foundation, located on Kilmer Drive in Morganville, was founded in 1996. It is a law enforcement charity that offers medical and legal support to police officers, free fingerprinting for children and pays cash rewards to people who help solve officer shootings.

Of the $10 million raised over the past decade, $8 million has gone to professional fundraisers, the report says. Approximately $575,116, or 5 percent of the money raised, was spent on legal defense, rewards and other direct cash aid.

Executive Director Joe Occhipinti is a retired Immigration and Naturalization Service agent who infiltrated drug cartels, the report says. He retired in 1990 and became the president of the charity.

Occhipinti and other charity officers are unpaid. But Occhipinti’s wife, the office administrator for the foundation, makes $66,409 a year.

The Morganville office is flooded with copies of donors’ checks, fundraising reports and background checks on charity telemarketers, which Occhipinti reviews to ensure the National Police Defense Foundation is not being deceived, the report says.

Occhipinti, who was honored at the Marlboro Community Excellence Gala in April, told reporters that the foundation relies on professional solicitors that guarantee cash without requiring any risk on the charity's part. 

He also said that he would like to wean the foundation off high-cost fundraising and has successfully pressed telemarketers to reduce their fees, the report says. Such negotiations are a concern because solicitors may prioritize more profitable contracts and make fewer calls on the foundation’s behalf.

The report breaks down the National Police Defense Foundation’s spending history since 2002.

Since 2002, cash raised for the foundation has significantly decreased. In 2002, Menacola Marketing raised $847,613. Of that money, only $143,231 went to the charity and the rest paid the solicitor.

In 2010, USA Marketing raised $38,885. Of those funds, $24,747 went to the solicitor and the foundation earned $15,138.

Solicitors have raised a total of $9,926,397 for the National Police Defense Foundation in the last decade. The solicitors were paid a total of $7,846,965 while the charity received $2,079,432. But of that $2.07 million, $784,969 went to charity salaries and $575,116 went to direct aid.

The Tampa Bay Times and Center for Investigative Reporting found that of the 50 worst charities, $970.6 Million was paid to solicitors, $380.3 million went to charities, and $49.1 million to direct cash aid. Kids Wish Network, a charity that raises money for dying children and their families, was declared the worst charity in America. 

Correction: The National Police Defense Foundation was not subject to any violations or state action in January 2010, as previously reported in the TampaBay.com article cited in this post.