Cost of fundraising
Pallotta Teamworks declared bankruptcy recently amidst growing criticism of its high cost of fundraising. There was no love lost between Pallotta and the charities it produced fundraisers for:
"We were frankly thrilled to see that Pallotta was closing its doors," said Barbara Brenner, executive director of the San Francisco group Breast Cancer Action and a frequent critic of Pallotta. "We're firmly convinced that people with breast cancer and those in danger of the disease will be far better off if Dan Pallotta stays away. He's exploited breast cancer in the same way that he has exploited AIDS issues."
Jim Key, former spokesman for the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Community Center, said officials there had grown concerned about Pallotta's frequent cost overruns and his attempts to promote himself.
"Dan's troubles began early on when he tried to make the ride more about Pallotta TeamWorks and less about the beneficiaries and our work fighting AIDS, " Key said. "We were constantly battling with him to minimize his time on stage and in front of the TV cameras."
Records show that of $159,365 raised in the name of the Kansas Fraternal Order of Police from June 30, 1999, to June 30, 2000, about $31,873, or 20 cents of every dollar, reached the organization.Most of the money, $127,492, went to Civic Development Group LLC of Edison, N.J., one of the largest professional fund-raising companies in the nation. The Federal Trade Commission and other regulators have scrutinized its work in at least seven states, including Kansas.