The California attorney general's office is considering filing a friend-of-the-court brief in the case. Florida and other states are already writing their briefs, which are due in December.
"We are looking carefully at the fact that the court has taken this case," said Tom Dresslar, spokesman for California Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer's office. "Our concern overall is that donors are adequately informed about how their money is going to be spent."
California named 127 fund-raisers in its most recent list of telemarketers that keep at least 85% of the money they raise, including 10 associated with CDG. "Historically, on average, less than one-half of the dollars collected by commercial fund-raisers in California have actually gone to charities," the attorney general reported.
Floyd Perkins, chief of the Illinois charitable trusts bureau, said a court victory could strengthen the negotiating position of nonprofit clients and mean more money for charities.
But Errol Copilevitz, who said he will argue the case for Telemarketing Associates and is Civic Development Group's outside counsel, disagreed: "There will be fewer charities, fewer opportunities for these groups to have their voices heard."
Illinois' position "has huge implications across the board," said Copilevitz, a leading industry lawyer. If the state wins, it will be up to regulators to decide what fund-raising expenses are acceptable, and which would have a "chilling effect" on the nonprofits' free speech and their ability to raise money.
Consumers are often surprised when they discover how much of their donations never make it to a charity or police and fire fraternal organization. A 2001 study by the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance found that 97% of those surveyed thought that charities should receive 50% or more of the money raised in their names.
Wise Giving and the American Institute of Philanthropy say that fund-raising costs for charities should never exceed 35% of the contributions.
"As a nonprofit, you kind of get caught up in it," said Charles McLain, chief executive of the California Veterans Advocacy Corp., which recently switched from a large commercial fund-raiser to an in-house group.
A close look at CDG, one of the country's leading telemarketing firms, shows how fund-raisers targeted by the Supreme Court case work, why regulators have had trouble stopping them and why nonprofits continue to hire them.
