Be careful where you donate your money everyone. You want it to actually help people. The Smoking Gun has raised some questions about Wyclef Jean's charity, Yele. It appears that his foundation has been irresponsible at the least. Maybe there's a good explanation and I'm sure that he intends to do the right thing with the money since he's been helping out in Haiti. But in the meantime, I'd stick with the Red Cross, or visit the White House help Haiti blog to find out how to help.
More doubts:
"It's questionable. There's no way to get around that," said Art Taylor, president and chief executive of the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance, based in Arlington, Va.Update Jan. 16: Looking at Guidestar.org, which records various nonprofits' financials, the Wyclef Jean Foundation Inc. doesn't manage its money well. In 2007, it took in $79,000 in donations, yet reported $411,000 in expenses.
Taylor reviewed Internal Revenue Service tax returns for the organization also known as Yele Haiti Foundation from 2005 through 2007. He said the first red flag of poor accounting practices was that three years of returns were filed on the same day - Aug. 10 of last year.
In 2007, the foundation's spending exceeded its revenues by $411,000. It brought in just $79,000 that year.
"Here's the bottom line: for an earthquake of catastrophic proportions, do people really believe that this organization is in a position to do anything right now?" he said. Miami Herald
Wyclef Jean's response so far. I don't think Wyclef intends to profit from the money, but it looks as though his foundation isn't well run. I'd still stick with a more established charity.
