Sting's Tree Saving Charity Keeps Most of the Donations

Photo of Noel Sheppard.
By Noel Sheppard | May 5, 2008 - 13:18 ET

In last week's installment of "Sting's Eco-hypocrisy," we learned that the frontman for the rock band the Police, though supposedly an environmentalist, has a bigger carbon footprint than most third world nations.

In Sunday's episode, we found out that Sting's charity, the Rainforest Foundation, gives only 41 percent of the money raised to the programs it supports, and, as a result, "is rated one of New York City's worst charities, according to Charity Navigator."

Honestly, you can't make this stuff up!

As reported by the New York Post Sunday (emphasis added throughout):

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Rock star Sting's celebrity-studded Carnegie Hall charity concert in 2006 to save the world's rainforests raked in millions, but less than half the riches actually funded tree-saving programs, according to charity watchdogs and a Post review of tax records.

It's one of the prime reasons the local arm of Sting's Rainforest Foundation is rated one of New York City's worst charities, according to Charity Navigator.

Just how bad is it? I'm glad you asked:

The 2006 concert - which drew Lenny Kravitz, Sheryl Crow and Will Ferrell to the landmark stage - raised $2,156,989, according to the latest available IRS tax filing.

Yet only $887,374 of the money raised, 41 percent, was divided among the charity's eight programs that support native-land claims and forest preservation in Latin America and Africa - a paltry percentage, according to agencies that monitor nonprofits.

A well-run charity, they said, typically spends 75 percent of revenues on programs

"This one would fall to the bottom of the bucket," said Sandra Miniutti, a spokeswoman for Charity Navigator.

The watchdog - which rates 5,000 charities nationally based on management and fund-raising-to-giving ratios - has slapped Rainforest Foundation Inc. with a zero rating for each of the last four years.

Nice. Yet, there's more:

Another problem is the charity's apparent hoarding of donations. In 2006, it reported $10 million in net assets - including nearly $5 million in cash - to the IRS.

Efficient charities, the watchdogs said, rarely bank more than what is needed to pay a year's expenses.

"What are they doing with the money?" said Bennett Weiner, the director of the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance, after examining the fund's tax forms. "They have more than five times what they would normally spend in a year in reserves."

Amazing, wouldn't you agree?

Of course, with this year's concert just days away, and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg declaring "the month of May 'Rainforest Awareness Month'" as well as having instructed that "the Empire State Building will glow green in tribute on the evening of the benefit," it seems a metaphysical certitude this will get all kinds of attention from sycophantic green media.

Alas, it also seems highly-doubtful any of the charity's financial issues will be part of such reports.

Party on, Sting!

—Noel Sheppard is the Associate Editor of NewsBusters.

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Hilarious!

 How much extra electricity is it going to take to shine green lights at the Empire State Building! Maybe Sting is footing the bill for that with his exorbitant surplus.

 

"It takes 43 muscles to frown and 17 to smile, but it doesn't take any to just sit there with a dumb look on your face."

Next song?

Every step you take every move you make I'll be watching you .  - - I.R.S.

Oh The Humanity!

First Mr. Sumner is caught with a wife who is blatantly hypocritical and happy to say so to the press. Now his charity is shown for the shallow exercise in fleecing that it is. What's next? Do we learn that The Police lip-synched their way through their recent world tour?


"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

- Edmund Burke (1729 - 1797)

www.conservativeboot...

I wonder where

They're keeping the money? (Please, God, let it be Bear Stearns!)
JMR

The tax & spend drug war looks racist in the real world.

Well, now...

Sting's song "Fields of Gold" seems to have a whole 'nother level to it now. How "double entandre" of him.

I wonder if he got the idea from Al Gore or vice versa.

 

The day that "politician" became a career choice is the day we started losing the Republic. Let's get it back! Alan Keyes '08.

He's not only an

He's not only an eco-hypocrite but also a human rights hypocrite.  As a spokesman for Amnesty International Sting railed against Pinchet's Chile and Apartheid South Africa but when he wants to take a holiday he goes down to Cuba.  

The Police were in talks with the regime to have a Christmas concert in 2007.  A group of Cuban-Americans launched a publicity campaign exposing the hypocrisy and asking Sting to make a stand for Human Rights in Cuba.

Needless to say he never made a statement but the Cuba concert was never played. 

Two peas in a pod

Sting and Al Gore are more similar than I thought. Both are preaching green, pocketing green, but their footprints are black.

Guys, just relax. Fraud

Guys, just relax.

Fraud and Hypocrisy is okay when you are a liberal. Jeez, I thought you all knew that.

We've misunderstood - their

We've misunderstood - their mission is actually a Tree-BRANCH Saving Foundation, not the whole tree.

That should explain it.