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The American Indian Relief Council are scammers, swindlers, and flim-flam men. (posted 27 January 2006)
I recently received a letter in the mail from the American Indian Relief Council, signed by Brian J. Brown.
Maybe you have too. Mine was printed on bright yellow paper, and goes like this, except that it is printed in ALL CAPS:
Dear Mr. Johnson,
A true emergency may soon confront the Indian people here on the Sioux reservations of South Dakota.
As you know, Americans in the cold-weather regions of our nation have seen heating fuel costs spiral out of control.
Here in
Indian countryon the northern plains — with winters that can be as bitter as most anywhere in the world — this can be a matter of life and death.The cost of propane fuel — which is used by most of the people on our reservations who have any heat at all in their homes — has climbed every year.
And experts are already predicting even higher prices this year — which were already too expensive for thousands of Sioux families.
… undsowie. I’m used to getting lots of junk mail from non-profits, and I’m used to high-pressure sales tactics; if I think the cause is worthy I usually pass over it in silence and put myself down for a small contribution. But a couple of things raised an eyebrow: the sheer intensity of the high-pressure pitch (escalated by the sensationalistic use of the phrase freeze to death
, emphasized just like that, three times in the course of the letter), my unfamiliarity with the organization, the fact that they were a subsidiary council
of a suspiciously vague-sounding charitable organization rather than an independent organization exclusively concerned with a specific group of Indians, and a number of small signs (starting with President Brian J. Brown) that this might not be an organization directed by the Lakota Indians themselves. So I checked up on them through Google. It’s a good thing I did: the American Indian Relief Council is using high-pressure sales tactics because they are swindlers. They sound like they aren’t run by Lakota Indians because they aren’t run by Lakota Indians. If you like throwing your money away on white people’s comfortable offices, then by all means give it to them. Otherwise, don’t.
Here’s the breakdown on AIRC, courtesy of In These Times (April 2001). Emphasis is added:
Charitable organizations are latching on to Native American causes because they are an easy sell. Americans feel guilty about their nation’s treatment of Native peoples, and they give money with the intention of correcting history’s wrongdoings, says Daniel Borochoff, president of the American Institute of Philanthropy.
These charities exploit the tremendous reservoir of goodwill that exists worldwide for Indian people,agrees Vernon Bellecourt, an American Indian Movement leader.… One rogue charity, the Rapid City, South Dakota-based American Indian Relief Council (AIRC), gained notoriety in the early ’90s when it was accused of dumping useless textbooks and outdated gardening seeds on the Sioux reservation as part of its relief program. One of the AIRC’s largest services was its employment-training program, which consisted of hiring Native Americans to make fundraising calls. Employees blew the whistle on the organization’s dubious fundraising pitches, which they said were manipulative exaggerations and lies. They complained that the money the AIRC raised for Native Americans wasn’t making it to the reservations.
Eventually the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office sued the AIRC in 1993 for lying to donors about certain reservations, claiming they were hit by catastrophic natural disasters and needed funds to prevent famine and death. The lawsuit also charged that the AIRC overvalued the prices of goods it donated to tribes—like the expired seeds—listing them at market value. In 1999, AIRC President Brian Brown settled the lawsuit and agreed to pay the state $350,000.
But instead of shutting down the AIRC, Brown—who had previously been sued by the attorneys general of Connecticut and Pennsylvania in 1991 for inflating commodity values and deceiving donors—discreetly downsized the group’s South Dakota operations and shifted its focus to the American Southwest. The AIRC has been born anew under a different parent organization, National Relief Charities (NRC), which operates two new subsidiaries—the Council of Indian Nations and Southwest Indian Relief—in Apache Junction, Arizona. Brown keeps a low profile in his current office, tucked away in a nondescript industrial park outside of Portland, Oregon.
However, the charity’s makeover is entirely superficial. The NRC is still distributing a pitiful portion of its revenues to the constituency it purports to serve. According to the NRC’s 1999 federal tax filings, it earned more than $8.3 million in donations last year, but only 30 percent was spent on programs. In contrast, Brown’s salary has hovered at about $120,000 for the past two years. The National Charities Information Bureau, an Arlington, Virginia-based watchdog group, suggests charities should spend a minimum of 60 percent of total expenditures on programs and services, with the available balance going to fundraising and administration.
In case you were wondering, their 2004 Form 990 reports that they raised $17,494,328 in revenue in 2004, and their spending on programs and services had climbed … to 50.6%. President Brian Brown raked in $168,669.
Where you can give
The bad news is that although AIRC are a pack of flim-flam men profiting off the penury of others, Plains Indians are facing a real crisis from the spike in propane heating costs. We’ve had the good fortune of an unusually mild winter this year, but that good fortune only goes so far.
The good news is that it’s not all bad news. There are lots of scamsters out there looking for a quick buck from you, and an increasing number are using sympathy for American Indians to get it. But there are also lots of good folks, many of them living on or by the reservation, providing real mutual aid who could benefit from whatever help you can offer. The best place to start is by finding groups directly associated with the actual reservations, and directed by the Indians that they claim to benefit. That is to say, by finding efforts that have more to do with mutual aid and less to do with the pretense of charity for others
. As an example,
here’s what I found, with the help of Friends of Pine Ridge Reservation, for groups on the Pine Ridge Reservation (home of the Oglala Sioux Tribe) that are helping folks out with heating costs this winter:
Update 2006-10-06: Last year I listed a number of groups, including Cangleska, Inc., OST Healthy Start, PTI Propane, and Bob’s Gas Service, which offered help with heating costs in Winter 2005. I recently got a note from Friends of Pine Ridge Reservation pointing out that this information is out-dated for Winter 2006. Since the information and the groups offering help change so often, the best thing for you to do is check out the latest information from the Friends of Pine Ridge Reservation Lend a Hand with Utilities
page.
I’m sending $20 by PayPal to the Cangleska shelter tonight. (In case you’re interested, I found Cangleska’s Form 990 for 2004; it reports $2,815,490 in expenditures with $2,730,924 on services, meaning that 97% of expenditures go directly to services.) Please do give what you can. It’s important. And, as I was reminded tonight, it’s also important to keep an eye out for those who exploit our sympathy for the poor and suffering in order to make a fast buck. There is real need out there; unfortunately need all too often draws scamsters like circling vultures. You can help out; just make sure that you check up to find out who it is that you’re helping.
Lisa replied:
I am contacting you today concerning your recent post about AIRC. I too am connected to this charity and find your opinion uneducated and can tell you obviously know nothing about this charity or charities in general. You claim this charity is “not run by the Lacota” and therefor must be a scam. This statement is not true. If you knew anything about the charity you would know that all program ideas (wants and needs) come directly from the people they help as well as when they need the help. And when the money is collected it is the “Lacota” ( as well as other tribes) volunteers joined with program partners who distribute the goods to thier people. Now, as far as the charities 990 is concerned you would be hard pressed to find another charity that helps so many reservations all over the United States. AIRC is by one branch of 7 that NRC runs. And as any charity grows to help more and more people the expense grows as well. Did you tell in your note that AIRC purchased more trucks to be able to transport more good to more people? No! You didn’t! Nor did you bother to ask someone from donor relations department any of your questions before you assumed the answers. It is people like you that hurt honest charities that are trying to help people by not finding out the facts before you blow your top. So please let people know THE TRUTH and maybe you should suggest they seek the FACTS for themselves. Thank you, Lisa L. Hall
T. Good replied:
Perhaps you should evaluate a charity on what they do today and not what was in the press years ago (an obviously opinion based article)or a lawsuit that was initiated 13 years ago! I’ve seen what this charity does for the Lakota people first hand and I give them kudos. I suggest you make a trip and visit their office in SD to see for yourself before you slander a perfectly good, honest charity. That’s what I did and am glad to be a contributor.
chris replied:
i too received this letter just today. i checked it out on google and found the same aritcles referenced by the OP. this mr brown is full of it. don’t send anything! do your research before you donate anything to anyone! peace-
Richard replied:
Received a solicitation from Mr Brown today and thought I’d ccheck the organization(AIRC) out before opening my check book. The American Institute of Philanthropy lists the following; “American Indian Education Foundation / American Indian Relief Council / Council of Indian Nations / National Relief Charities / South Dakota Indian Services / Southwest Indian Services” all as organizations unwilling to provide “basic” documents to AIP confirming the use of contributions/income. Sort of a red flag isn’t it - personally I always check out organizations that list only a PO box number as their address.
Wanda replied:
I too recieved a letter asking for a donation to buy Thanksgiving turkeys for Native Americans.I give to alot of charities but,I always check them out first.I must say I was very disappionted with my findings about AIRC.It was saddening to find that an organization with the means to help only takes advantage of tragety for self gain.In my opinion the ones who do this sort of thing are no better than the ones who took advantage of the Native Indian in the country years ago!
Wild Bill replied:
I received my “Thanksgiving Letter” today from the AIR Council. After checking the Internet, I found the old legal cases. Based on my own personal observation and research, the legal troubles Brian Brown experienced only taught him how to give up to the Native Americans just enought to evade the regulators and pocket the rest. It is quite interesting that the first two responses listed were from supporters sounding like sock puppets of Mr. Brown. NO, I won’t be sending any money to this organization, but have contributed many hours of time and cash to the local Native American tribes near my home. Those without the benefit of a Casino (since their reservations are located far off the beaten track) tend to suffer the most. Congress and the BIA need to either pony up the promised benefits under the various treaties entered into in good faith nation to nation or continue to hang their head in shame as shining examples of the white man’s forked tongue.
james golff replied:
well i wish i had researched before i donated. sure enough, i sent $30.00 last year and $60.00 this year for Thanksgiving. I always felt suspicious that it seemed AIRC spent the equivalent of my donation and more trying to get more money from me. I feel like a chump.
Ned Delaney replied:
Seems a response from the AIRC would be in order. I don’t know Mr. Brown, but I do know several families on Pine Ridge who have had experience with the various organizations in question. In that light, it should be easy to contact someone on Pine Ridge for an assessment. If you’re not sure where to start, I would suggest Oglala Lakota College at Kyle.
Onikaze replied:
I just received the Thanksgiving letter from the AIRC and there were things in there that made me immediatly go online to check it out. First off, there is an illustration that prominently displays a very a very cheerful male pilgrim, a female pilgrim wiht a plate of food, and a young indian male looking rather forlorn. The message this seems to convey is, “Look, we good Christians are bestowing this boon on these poor heathens because that’s how magnanimous we are.”
Second, to the Native Americans really put much emphasis on Thanksgiving? I can understand that, as a tradition of American culture, it might be somewhat observed.. but I would think from the Native American perspective it would be rather morose - like celebrating the beginning of the end. It would almost be like the Jewish having a feast to mark the opening of Auschwitz.
I also thought it was interesting that the state how little meat there is in the Native Americans’ diet. Now, I know there is a shortage of food in general, but that’s pretty much a white, fat, American mindset - that meat is everything. So, in showing that mindset, the AIRC is further showing they are looking at this from a fat, white American bias.. not a multicultural perspective you would think people trying to help Native Americans would have.
This cultural bias is further betrayed by the emphasis on how some families asked to have the meals frozen so they could eat at Christmas. While many Native Americans are probably passively Christian by default of their ancestors being converted at gunpoint, the mention of Christmas and the closing of “God Bless You and Your Family” reeks too much of fat, white, American, Christian bias. Again, “We’re helping these poor heathens because we’re such great guys.” There’s no cultural sensitivity in there that demonstrates a respect for the Native Americans’ individual cultural heritage.
The upshot of getting this letter is, while I definitely will not be sending one cent to the AIRC, I will contact my local Cherokee nation to see if they have their own local organization that I might contribute to, either by money or manpower.
mari gilbert replied:
I am very glad that I checked out this charity before giving too. This “freezing to death” stuff that I received today made me very suspicious. Thanks for the warning. This letter is going in the trash.
Darren replied:
Check out their rating in Charity Navigator. 50% of their revenue goes to fundraising, compare that to the Red Cross where 3.5% of their revenue goes to fundraising!
JOHN W. WAGNER replied:
I received a phone call today 02/20/07, from a woman who did not give a name, but said she was calling for the INDIAN RELIEF COUNCIL. The call was directed toward my mother who is currently on the NDNCR, (National Do Not Call Regestry). She is a senior citizen and does not need to be bothered by high-pressured IDIOTS(Telemarketers). Be assured that this is to be reported as a breach. Further more, she sounded more ASIAN than AMERICAN!!! Feel free to contact me via E-MAIL.
Alita replied:
I received the “freezing to death” “high-propane” phone call today, 3/13/07, but what I found interesting was that they asked permission to send me a letter, then told me they would include a $100 pledge card.
While I was talking to the man who identified himself as “Carlos”, I went to the web and googled AIRC, and came up with their website and this one. When I asked him about it on the phone, he was adamant that they were not a scam, and even said that 100% of my donation would go to help the Indians. Knowing I had to research this more, I told him he had permission to send a letter, but he had to put $0 pledge card in.
I’m glad I found this site and read more, but will inquire at my local university also. The first couple of replies on this site make me even more suspicious.
Alp replied:
I received a phone call from Geraldine Querubin last week asking me to make a donation to this charity, American Indian Relief Council. She was very polite, but pleaded with me to promise to donate something before committing to send me something in the mail. I told her that I would research this charity.
I’m not sure what to make of the In These Times’ article, but what does concern me is that I didn’t find American Indian Relief Council in IRS Publication 78.
The thing that caught my attention, that distinguished this from most other solicitations, is that there was no mention of the “tax deductible” nature of your donation. Charities usually remind you that you get to write it off.
I did find “National Relief Charities” in Pub 78; I’m assuming it may be some sort of umbrella organization. So while there are a number of red flags, the fact that the “parent” organization is a registered nonprofit suggests they may be audited by the IRS, and it’s less likely they are a complete scam.
But why give to an organization that has a 50% efficiency when there are so many others?
“Publication 78, Cumulative List of Organizations described in Section 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, is a list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions.”
Thomas Svensen replied:
I too got a letter from The American Indian Relief Council in January and was suspecious as always. I did some research on the net and was not impressed. I took the time to call their toll free number that was on the back of the letter and to my amazement someone actually answered the phone. The young lady who answered the phone answered question after question for me. She offered me the phone and address of their offices in Rapid City, SD and told me if I was ever in the area to stop by. I didn’t donate but when I was on my way from Chicago to Yellowstone, I thought “What the hell” and called their offices. I was given directions and stopped. I’ve just returned and have to tell you, they are legit…..they gave me a tour of their warehouse and invited me to go out to help with one of their programs the next day. I turned them down but was impressed that someone actually offered. The majority of their employees there, including the manager of that office, are Indian. You have to make your own decisions on who to give to and I am a big skeptic, but sometimes taking the time talk to someone and seeing with your own eyes makes a difference.
Richard replied:
I’ve previously given to this charity, and now regret having done so.
This charity refused to provide materials to the American Institute of Philanthropy, or to the Better Business Bureau. Also, this charity received only a 1 star rating (out of a possible 4) from Charity Navigator. Does anything else need to be said?
Walking Bull replied:
Hello, I am appauld at the ignorance of people posting these negative messages about American Indian Relief Council. I am a Lokota Souix Indian and have lived on the Pinridge reservation all my life. I can tell you that AIRC has changed the lives of many of my people everyday. They feed hundreds of people everyday that without them would go hungry. They have a great reputation on the reservation as really the only charity that really helps us. Past lawsuits, bad ratings, high adminastration costs, who cares, they are making a huge difference in people lives for the better. If you ever knew how tough life is on the reservation and have seen what AIRC has done for my people you would donate. They are the only charity that we see on the reservation. Everyone loves them and how they help us, so to all the people who obivously don’t know what they are talking about shame on you.
RB replied:
Here are a couple of links that should further raise the level of skepticism about NRC:
http://www.colorlines.com/printerfriendly.php?ID=221
http://www.callcenterdirectory.net/call-center-jobs/Outbound-Call-Agents-579.html
This last one is on a telemarketing industry website, soliciting telemarketers in the Phillipines. Here’s their pitch:
Description: National Relief Charities-Manila Center is looking for individuals who are qualified for the position of Outbound Call Agents. Successfuly applicants for Outbound Call Agents will have a great career in National Relief Charities-Manila Center.
Outbound Call Agents
Candidates should have Assertive Sales Skills Excellent English Communication Skills Strong customer service orientation at least 1 year of outbound calling experience honest, reliable, dedicated and hardworking college graduate male/female; at least 24 years old
Bring your updated resume and drop by our officce at anytime.
A salary of PHP 12,750 for a 3-day workweek, 30 hours a week, bonuses and performance incentives
Richard replied:
Here is a notice looking for people in the Phillippines to work as telemarketers for this charity:
Description: National Relief Charities-Manila Center is looking for individuals who are qualified for the position of Outbound Call Agents. Successfuly applicants for Outbound Call Agents will have a great career in National Relief Charities-Manila Center.
Outbound Call Agents
Candidates should have Assertive Sales Skills Excellent English Communication Skills Strong customer service orientation at least 1 year of outbound calling experience honest, reliable, dedicated and hardworking college graduate male/female; at least 24 years old
Bring your updated resume and drop by our officce at anytime.
A salary of PHP 12,750 for a 3-day workweek, 30 hours a week, bonuses and performance incentives
http://www.callcenterdirectory.net/call-center-jobs/Outbound-Call-Agents-579.html
James Ainsworth replied:
Thank you for putting this information on the web… My mother receives these mailings regularly, and she always tries to give $10 or $20 to a wide range of poverty relief, hunger and international charities because of her Christian values. But I had my suspicions about these Indian charities, but I never really took the time to follow up on my hunches until today, when I came across your expose. Now I’m going to make sure my mother doesn’t give a penny to these folks or waste time with them in any way. Thank you for doing the leg work on this…
Eva replied:
I received a phone call too, from a young woman who spoke perfect english, asking for a donation to the Council of Indian Nations. I informed her I had already donated to other charities. She asked if she could send me a letter. I agreed. When I received the letter it contained heartbreaking information about how the indian’s were suffering. I did feel badly, but I needed to find out if this organization was legitimate. I’m glad I “googled” their name and found your website. The letter I received said “Levena Jones” was the President of this organization. I wrote her a letter stating I would not be able to contribute to their charity at this time and mailed it using the pre-sorted stamped envelope they sent with their letter. I was careful not to sign my entire name, using only my first name, so they couldn’t forge it.
Roy T. replied:
I received a call recently from someone purporting to represent Native Americans, but was suspicious that they did not mention any specific tribes that they were representing. Furthermore, the caller had a distinctive accent greatly resembling those of people who had been repeatedly calling me from call centers in India. I thought this odd, but told them to go ahead and send their letter. It was from the Concil of Indian Nations, a front organization for the National Relief Council, which apparently spends more of its money on staffers than it does on the people they are supposed to be helping. Listed as one of the primaries is the same guy who lost the Pennsylvania court case as head of the AIRC. He should be turned over to those who he is exploiting and let them be creative about his punishment.
Amanda Mitchell replied:
After a phone call from this agency and a follow-up later requesting $100, I looked them up and found this website. I copied these pages and stuffed them in an envelope along with the donation request with a personal note stating that I had read this and if this information was INcorrect, then please call me. We’ll see if they do.
Jane Doe replied:
Please, please listen to these people…I am a former employee of the NRC. They make us sign a disclosure about never speaking of the practices of NRC. But they are by far the biggest scam artists you could ever imagine. The only good thing about NRC right now is that Brian Brown, former President, and Chief Bottle Washer or Scam Artist left his wife and children in Portland and ran off with one of the telemarketers from the Phillipines. She took him to the cleaners in court and he lost his control of NRC. I volunteered at a non-profit organization in my community and thought it would be wonderful to do something for the American Indians. Once you start working there, you can see their main concern is earning money for NRC and very little goes to the American Indians. Donations are sent to PO Boxes in the South Dakota, Arizona, and New Mexico. The donations are then shipped to other locations to be processed. Marketing is their biggest department…looking for additional mailing lists, and phone lists to find more donations. Please…deep six these mailing to your trash can.