Blog Update!
For those of you not following me on Facebook, as of the Summer of 2019 I've moved to Central WA, to a tiny mountain town of less than 1,000 people.

I will be covering my exploits here in the Cascades, as I try to further reduce my impact on the environment. With the same attitude, just at a higher altitude!

Monday, June 2, 2008

Network for Donations update

ScrewedFor those of you who donated to my Shave To Save! campaign via the Network for Donations site...

Congratulations! You've just been fucked up the ass. Oh, I'm sorry, did I just say that out loud? I apologize in advance to those out there who are sensitive to such profanities, but I have to say that, in this case (and there are few out there that garner this reaction), it is entirely warranted.

For those of you who don't know, I was trying to raise money for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. I was hoping to raise $10,000 in one month. If I achieved that number, then I was going to shave my head. I set up an account through Network for Donations to handle the monetary collections and forward the funds to MMRF. After about one week of the site being up and down (and after collecting about $1120 from donors), it went completely down.

The owners of the site were not in any way accessible either via email or phone. After attempting to resolve the problem through PayPal, I was informed that the resolution of funds was in my favor, yet they could not collect seeing as though there was no money in their account.

So, the shitheads at Network for Donations made off with approximately $1120 worth of donations that were collected to fight Multiple Myeloma, and not line their pockets.

Since I knew fairly early on something was amiss, I started collecting donations on my blog as an alternative and collected another $1930 or so. I stopped promoting the fundraiser as I was so defeated by being fleeced out of so much money and, ultimately, feeling responsible that you guys were fleeced out of so much money. Not to mention the added stress at a time when I really didn't need it.

And, there you have it. If you are an enterprising individual and would like to follow up on this yourself and/or you donated and want to see if you can get your money back here is the information that I do know about the organization:

Network for Donations Inc., Deer Park, NY. They are listed as a GuideStar non-profit organization and have 501c3 status with the IRS. The contact person's name is Tanya. I am not a very vindictive person, but I do hope she fries in hell for this.

25 comments:

Crunchy Chicken said...

Phew! I have to say it feels great to finally get that off my chest. It was one of the reasons I went temporarily AWOL.

Anonymous said...

It isn't your fault and you at least took some action to prevent further loss. Unfortunately the world is filled with those who do things like this. Sometimes it is a genuine stuff up but there are those who use anyone to get money.

Anonymous said...

Grrrrr, that is incredibly frustrating, especially because there are so many good people/organisations out there (like your crunchiness) that can be hurt by even one greedy bugger.

If we donated money to through the button on your blog sidebar, did it go to the right place? (I think that's what you said in your post, but it's been a long day and I'm not sure that my brain made it all the way to the end with me.)

kt

Crunchy Chicken said...

For those of you who donated via my blog (the button on my sidebar), it is safely in an account waiting distribution to MMRF.

Anonymous said...

wow, that's fucking ridiculous.
sorry, i had to curse too...

Rev. Peter Doodes said...

So sorry to read your post CC. As if you hadn't got enough on your plate without being unlucky enough to have become involved with an organisation and people that have no morals.

There are some nasty people out there, but many, many more good ones. Speaking for myself, PLEASE don't loose any sleep over it, OK?

Blessings

DC said...

Don't feel bad, Crunchy. These things happen.

I checked the records of NYS Department of State and the Internal Revenue Service, and Network for Donations is indeed listed as a not-for-profit corporation with tax exempt status. This means that if they abscond with the money, they have broken a number of state and federal laws and are in a shitload of trouble if they can be found. You can file a complaint against them with the New York Attorney General's Office by completing and submitting this form. You can find out how to file a complaint against them with the IRS here.

Robj98168 said...

They could have at least used some ky or some vaseline. Getting humped in the butt dry hurts like a sommabitch.

ruchi said...

Holy shit!

I wonder if I should call my credit card company and see if the charges can be reversed. Probably not since I already paid the bill, huh....

Crunchy Chicken said...

Arduous - you may have better luck with your credit card company than with PayPal. Just a hunch, there.

kate said...

I want to STRESS what dc said above about contacting the NY Attorney General, and do it ASAP. The AG is one of the agencies that regulates charities here in NY and they take it seriously.

Just file a complaint, get it over with, and see what happens.

Doing that will save others from having a similar problem.

Kate in NY

Greenpa said...

hey, if you run into them, I'm building this sodding dungeon, with shackles... bring em over...

:-)

ok, a little more seriously; shit.

I don't give a rat's patoot about them- it's you. I know (as most of us do) that this kind of thing can get down in your belly and burn- and wind up depressing you, on top of everything else.

Glad you got it out. Hope you can let it go- they're scum- that's clear.

I just had this conversation yesterday, with a close friend. I long for the good old days.

No, the really good, really old days. When you were traveling through the primeval forest, and came upon a nasty person doing very bad things to someone innocent.

In the good old days, what happened next was, you killed the nasty person. Right there. Then went home, went to the elders, told them what you'd done, and they all said, "Thank you, very much! Good job!"

Life would be so much simpler.

:-) hey, at least you could fantasize about it.

Crunchy Chicken said...

Yikes, Greenpa. I think I need to make a wide berth of your chicken cellar. Why on earth are there shackles involved?

I'm not sure I cotton to the individual taking matters into their own hands. What's to stop someone from fabricating "bad things" in order to eliminate someone they don't like or a competitor? It's not a perfect system, but innocent until proven guilty has its merits.

Michelle said...

This is awful. Shame on them! It appears that their unspeakable behavior has warranted numerous bars of soap for some mouths...just kidding!

Anonymous said...

(((HUGS))) that's awful; I'm sending you lots of love right now. Ok, it doesn't bring back the money, but I hope it helps you to feel a little better.

let's hope this can be resolved.

Mrs G x

maryann said...

Crunch, I have a copy of both the paypal reciept and the network for donations reciept (both emails) do you know if there is a way to track through the reciept transactions if it went to the right place

Erika said...

I can't even express how ***bleep*** angry that makes me - HOW, I ask, can someone who knowingly lies, cheats, and steals SLEEP AT NIGHT?! It's one thing if they sell a bad service or product, but when taking donations on behalf of others (illness, natural disaster, etc.), it just absolutely ***bleep*** infuriates me. I would never wish any illness on anyone, but I'm close to wishing that people like that get what they deserve..........
On a sane note, did you try emailing the channel 5 news guy - Jesse - he does the investigative stuff and gets rightful "things" back for people...

Greenpa said...

hiya Crunch -"What's to stop someone from fabricating "bad things" in order to eliminate someone they don't like or a competitor? It's not a perfect system, but innocent until proven guilty has its merits."

Well, sure. I wasn't really serious in these days; but in fact, that system USED to work, quite well. What stopped people from making things up was- that was one of the things they killed you for- instantly. Lying to your tribe members was seen as utterly unforgivable, and a danger to tribal survival. Which- it IS; but we've gotten more and more tolerant. Which has some problems, too.

Both in ancient Europe and N. Am. Some Lakota will tell you that before horses, everyone knew that lying was death- either directly, or by banishment, which was mostly the same thing. Zero tolerance.

No, not serious... but... it makes a good fantasy.

And you can't tell ME you don't know what shackles in a dungeon are good for... :-P

Greenpa said...

oh, yeah; this was so obvious I forgot- you can lie in a community where they don't know you much- but in a small/medium tribe- you can't lie and get away with it. Everybody has known you, and your tendencies, since you were born. That was part of what made that work- a kind of primal honesty- and primal justice.

Anonymous said...

maryann, I have the receipts as well but they mean nothing. In my sister's blog, the PayPal dispute she spoke of was mine... after a month of email communications with PayPal, they told me:

"We have decided in your favor, however, we were unable to recover any funds from the seller's account. As stated in the PayPal User Agreement, recovery of funds associated with a Buyer Complaint cannot be guaranteed.

Please know that we will make our best effort to recover the funds in question if they become available in the seller's account in the future and will take appropriate action against the seller. Such action may include issuing a warning, a temporary restriction, or terminating the account. Keep in mind that PayPal uses a number of factors to determine when to take action, including member complaints. Due to privacy laws, we cannot discuss the details of any action taken. We hope you understand our policy and that it assures you that you are safe using PayPal."

Seller's Name: Network for Donations Inc
Seller's Email: tanya@networkfordonations.org
Transaction Date: Apr 10, 2008
Transaction Amount: -$100.00 USD

I could not contact them via email or by phone... they just vanished. It's a serious crime... and if they are registered as an official NPO then hopefully they can be traced and prosecuted!

I wanted this money to go toward helping my brother-in-law and those who suffer from multiple myeloma... not some criminal.

maryann said...

I'm going to try sending a copy of the reciepts and a complaint to the NY Attorney General , what the hell, it's worth a shot, my grandmother passed away from the same cancer 2 years ago and I'll be damned to give up the donation without a fight. If something positive comes of it all the better.

Theresa said...

Holy friggin' crap! I don't care about the money so much as all the stress you went through because of it and that the MM society is losing on potential donations!! We got word in Canada here today that another charitable donation company (Banyan Tree) is a complete sham as well - AAAARRRRGGGG! I have to go out into the garden for a while and breathe.

Anonymous said...

You hope Tanya fries in Hell? Why, isn't frying rather passe these days and the sub global warming there in the lower realms, as Tanya not only fries and sautees on the coal fired stove top, but simultaneously sizzles her own feet and legs on the hellcavern floor, is rather un-eco, don't you think? What's needed is something more wholesome like plunging the lower half of Tanya down into a nice spongy Argentinian Fire ant nest. As retribution goes, nowadays, it's all the rage! I've participated and the effect is impressive. As scams go $1120 ripped off is small potatoes. Just ask our privatized Iraq military subcontractors! Until it gets to the billions, it's all laughable.

ANewDay said...

After some Googling fun I found out who their accountants are.

http://www.mayercpa.com/default.asp

Their April 2007 newsletter welcomed Network for Donations, Inc. as a new client.

I don't know, I just like to find out little stuff like that. What is ironic is the newsletter welcoming this has a nice article about the evils of embezzlement.

Anonymous said...

Dear Crunchy, you are not alone. I met the same fate. My 14yr old son didn't want gifts on christmas; instead he wanted to raise some funds for other unfortunate kids and so we did set up his fund raising page with the networkfordonations.org and the rest you know what happened. But I am glad i found your blog and now I am also going to file a complaint with the NY authorities and the IRS. I haven't had the courage to tell my son about this fiasco. he is a sensitive child and I don't want to bring him any sadness. Hopefully, these scum bags will get caught and put to justice eventually.