This So-Called "Charity" Is Just A Scam

The state police in the state of Texas are called the Department of Public Safety, and the brave men and women who work the highways and byways of the state to keep the citizens safe are called troopers. But to many Texans these DPS troopers are simply the "Highway Patrol". Unfortunately, for the last few years there is an unscrupulous group of people who have latched on to that name to bilk the citizens of Texas in a fraudulent charity scheme.

This organization calls itself the Texas Highway Patrol Association (THPA), and claim they are raising money to help the families of DPS troopers who have been killed in the line of duty. But the THPA is NOT associated with the Department of Public Safety in any way, and in fact, the Texas Department of Public Safety has disavowed them many times in the past. Even worse, most of the money raised by the group does not go to help trooper's families.

It is generally considered that any group that can legitimately call itself a charity must use at least 60% of the money they raise for the purpose they claim is it being raised (and personally I think that percentage should be even higher). But the THPA doesn't come anywhere near the 60% mark. Here are the figures for the money they raised and the money that went to trooper's families for a six-year period. You decide if this is a charity or a scam.

2009
Money raised by the THPA: $2,230,251
Money donated to families: $0
Percentage: 0%

2008
Money raised by the THPA: $1,843,354
Money donated to families: $10,000
Percentage: 0.54%

2007
Money raised by the THPA: $1,720,235
Money donated to families: $10,000
Percentage: 0.58%

2006
Money raised by the THPA: $1,853,647
Money donated to families: $20,000
Percentage: 1.08%

2005
Money raised by the THPA: $2,396,355
Money donated to families: $0
Percentage: 0%

2004
Money raised by the THPA: $1,929,385
Money donated to families: $10,000
Percentage: 0.52%

I don't know about you, but these figures don't add up to a viable charity to me. It looks far more like a scam to use the families of slain troopers to just make money for the people running this organization (and I'll bet they pay themselves a pretty nice salary). There is not a single year where the payout to trooper's families (which is supposed to be the reason for their existence) came to more than 1.08% of revenues raised, and most years it does not even come up to the 1% mark.

If this group calls you and asks for a donation, do NOT give them a dime. They are not connected to the Department of Public Safety in any way, and they will not use the money for the purpose they claim to be raising it for.

Thanks goes to the great Texas blog Grits for Breakfast for bringing this to our attention.