Is Bono on the take

Winty

According to the New York Post Bono's nonprofit Charity took in $14,993,873 in public donations in 2008, the latest year for which tax records are available. Of that, $184,732 was distributed to three charities, More than $8 million was spent on executive and employee salaries.


http://www.irishcentral.com/news/New-York-Post-takes-aim-at-Bonos-One-campaign-103426814.html

loike

he also sent some important people expensive gift baskets from that money. But he said the charity doesn't receive public donations it only takes money from investors

Minstrel27

How can Saint Bono defend this?

kfallon

Ireland's greatest person alright :rolleyes:

thebigbiffo

i hope this is true. then i have a rational reason for despising him

Riamfada

Almost all charities pay their running costs out of donations so only a percentage of the final take goes to the charity. Bono's costs, whatever they were, probably came to almost the same as putting the event on. But probably the executive wages are highly inflated as is the case with most of this people so .....

AnonoBoy

loike wrote: »

he also sent some important people expensive gift baskets from that money. But he said the charity doesn't receive public donations it only takes money from investors

They listed those gifts on the radio this morning. A 15 dollar notebook and a 20 dollar bottle of water.

Hardly worth getting worked up about. If they get the charity some coverage in a paper or on the news then they're worth it.

But yeah, Bono, rabble, rabble, rabble......


....awaits Degsy's arrival.

loike

Contrary to the suggestion in the New York Post yesterday, ONE does not fundraise from the general public and we are not a grant-making organization. We are funded almost entirely by a handful of philanthropists on our board of directors to raise awareness and pressure political leaders to fight extreme poverty through smart and effective policies and programs, like the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, which is saving 4,000 lives a day.

ONE has nearly 120 staff in the US, UK, Germany, Brussels, France, Nigeria and South Africa whose job it is to fight for funding for effective programs like the Fund and the US global AIDS program PEPFAR. As a result of those programs, today more than 4 million Africans have access to life-saving AIDS medication, up from only 50,000 people in 2002. Malaria deaths have been cut in half in countries across Africa in less than 2 years.

As other examples of our work, ONE helped successfully press for debt relief for Haiti after the devastating earthquake there and we recently played an important role in the passage of a law in the US requiring oil companies to report any payments to government officials – an effort to end backhanded deals between energy companies and corrupt politicians that hurt people in poor countries.

ONE has been a relentless advocate for these programs and policies and we have used the media spotlight to ensure world leaders keep their commitments. The media kits that were mentioned in the New York Post article, which were produced for far less than was cited and delivered by staff and volunteers, not a messenger service, were an effort to focus reporters on the Millennium Development Goals, a set of promises world leaders made to cut poverty, hunger and disease by 2015.

In hindsight, the kits were not the best way to gain attention for the issues and we regret that sending them distracted from the work we are trying to do and the issues we care about.

statement from ONE

IvySlayer

This thread is going to go well..

Trashbat

thebigbiffo wrote: »

i hope this is true. then i have a rational reason for despising him

Whats not rational about despising a level of perceived self importance that elevates an average pop star to political powerhouse?

Or the bands movement of business interests off shore to avoid tax?

There's rational reasons a plenty.

orourkeda

I make that less than 1.25% of donations were distributed

Dempsey

So basically his 'charity' is just a multi million dollar ego trip.

Didnt think my opinion of him could get much lower, but it has

biko

Winty wrote: »

According to the New York Post Bono's nonprofit Charity took in $14,993,873 in public donations in 2008, the latest year for which tax records are available. Of that, $184,732 was distributed to three charities, More than $8 million was spent on executive and employee salaries.

Those charities also have people to pay so probably about $53.50 made its way to Africa, to be snatched up by corrupted officials or drug lords.

Trashbat

-Seriour Response Warning-

Actually, if the organisation (be it charity or NPO) is a campaign/advocacy organisation then Wages and perceived Admin costs ARE the direct charities work. Provided they represent themselves properly as such, and don't go around claiming the money goes in directly to projects at grass roots level.

Think of Amnesty International. The money they have is essentially used for publicity, wages and administrative support for a large network of volunteers. So while they are an NPO dealing with human rights issues, none of the money is going into what the general public perceive as "The Grassroots"

From the article and subsequent statement, it appears that the organisation do the majority of its advocacy work directly, but in some cases, will distribute money to other Charities or NPOs who are better placed to more efficiently carry out the work. Most charities use partner organisations in this manner, for example Concern using MVF in Andra Pranesh for ground level work. Its cheaper, and generally more effective (provided the organisations concerned are properly vetted in advance.


I still dislike Bono though.

Wompa1

It means they are paying around 125,000 for each person. I'm sure not all wages but for their expenses, office space etc. Wonder what wage they are receiving?

Cookie_Monster

I remember hearing that for one of the largest charities in Ireland only 1c in every €1 actually ends up being spent on charity as such. the rest goes on admin, wages and advertising.

Wompa1

A bit fitting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DgIRjecItw

Trashbat

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

I remember hearing that for one of the largest charities only 1c in every €1 actually ends up being spent on charity as such. the rest goes on admin, wages and advertising.

Thats just silly. The charity sector is blighted by "man-in-a-pub" rumours and out of context statement.

Charities produce annual reports, and most are easily available online. Too many people are quick to criticise the running of charities without understanding them in the slightest.

starbelgrade

And he's peelin' off those dollar bills... Slappin' 'em down

One hundred, two hundred.

pickarooney

To run a charity effectively you need to hire highly skilled people to do full-time jobs. This does not come cheap.

stovelid

Dwarfs are a deserving charity category as well. Do you think platinum stack-heels grow on trees?

Celly Smunt

pickarooney wrote: »

To run a charity effectively you need to hire highly skilled people to do full-time jobs. This does not come cheap.

and you must build/buy a big office block in a prime location of a busy city

Dardania

Wompa1 wrote: »

It means they are paying around 125,000 for each person. I'm sure not all wages but for their expenses, office space etc. Wonder what wage they are receiving?

I'd imagine there's not insignificant travel & accomodation costs, plus insurance...

ejmaztec

pickarooney wrote: »

To run a charity effectively you need to hire highly skilled people to do full-time jobs. This does not come cheap.

These people aren't being very charitable.

starbelgrade

pickarooney wrote: »

To run a charity effectively you need to hire highly skilled people to do full-time jobs. This does not come cheap.

To run any business effectively, you need highly skilled people to do full-time jobs. The problem with most charities however, is that they are run ineffectively and are essentially not answerable to anybody.. especially in Ireland where they are effectively unregulated.

Degsy

Trashbat wrote: »

Thats just silly. The charity sector is blighted by "man-in-a-pub" rumours and out of context statement.

Charities produce annual reports, and most are easily available online. Too many people are quick to criticise the running of charities without understanding them in the slightest.

Not true..i used to work for a certain Centre in Dun Laoighre that provided "care for victims of alcohol abuse".
We used to sell a "line" for a pound each..
My cut was 40%
My supervisors cut was 20%
His supervisors cut was 20%
10% went towards printing the cards etc

And no more than 10% went to the "charity" itself who also have fully-paid staff working on the premises..very expensive premises at that.

Added to this that the people who seek "refuge" in teh centre have top pay for thier time there and you've got a very lucrative money-spinner indeed..all by tapping public sympathy.

As for Bono..a man destined for the Gallows in this life and Hell in the next.

mikom

Are any of ye surprised really?

Charity begins at home.

Mr Benevolent

Only 5% of money raised by a charity is required to go to the cause itself.

Dardania

Confab wrote: »

Only 5% of money raised by a charity is required to go to the cause itself.

Isn't it money that wouldn't have gone to them at all?

Degsy

mikom wrote: »

Charity begins at home.

Bono certainly subscribes to that thesis..why in order to Save an irish cancer Hospice he weighed in with..not one million euro..not 500,000 euro..not 10,000 euro but with a pair of used sunglasses.

The horrible,money-grabbing,tax-dodging dwarf will die screaming.

Fratton Fred

Has anyone here ever actually contributed to ONE and therefore feel they have been riped off or conned? the statement states that the charity raises money from a handful of people, can anyone here say how much Bono put in himself?

Of the money that the band (Not Bono, he is an Irish resident, so would have to pay tax on his income here) saved on tax by moving to the Netherlands, how much of it goes to charity?

As people think he is on the make, out of the $8m paid to executives, how much was paid to him, or his family?

but yeah, it mentions Bono in the article, he is famous and works hard for charity, so he must be a ****:rolleyes: