Via Lawrence Taylor, comes a report that MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) was rated poorly by several charity watchdog groups about it’s spending practices. According to the sources Charity Watch and Charity Navigator, MADD spends 2/3s of it’s budget on staff, salaries, and overhead, leaving only one third for “charitable work and victims services”.
Charity Navigator rates them a 1 out of 4 stars, and Charity Watch gives them a grade of “D”. Charity rating organizations expect good organizations to direct at least 60-70% of their fund to their charitable purpose.
Is MADD a Charity?
At this site, we blog about civil liberties and criminal justice issues. And we are critical of MADD’s goals of ignition interlock devices for any first offense drunk driving charge, and future mandatory alcohol sensing devices in all vehicles.
But just this once, I am going to defend MADD for being a badly run “charity”, because I don’t think they are a charity.
They are a lobbying and issue advocacy group.
I may not agree with their issues and goals, but that doesn’t mean that they have not been effective.
And it doesn’t seem quite right to judge them by the same measures as the Red Cross, or Doctors without Borders. MADD’s goal is not to distribute goods and services to those in need. It is to push for legislation and social change.
Whether or not their CEO is worth $234,ooo/year, half a percent of the organization’s overall expenses, is not for me to decide. But it is the work that the staff produces, and how effective they are at influencing legislatures that matters to those who would donate money to this organization.
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