I had a couple questions and decided to PM Webby instead of posting a public thread in fear it would be taken wrong. With his blessing, i am going to copy the original PM and his response.
ORIGINAL PM
I didnt want to post this in a thread or start a new thread because i didnt want to get jumped on by all of the supporters. You know how forums work and a legit question or concern often gets pushed aside if someone reads into it wrong and it doesnt take long for the bandwagon folk to pick sides and the questions go unanswered.
Just a couple quick questions.
How much of the donation actually gets used for its intended purpose and how much gets eating up by "operating costs"? I know it takes money to run things and i know that certain bills and costs can not be avoided, but i have seen certain organizations spend or claim to spend way too much on overinflated operating costs.
How many employees or paid people are there in the organization? (if any)
If paid employees, how much (roughly dont have to be exact) do they make? are they making minimun wage? are they donating time for free?
The reason i ask is not to be combative or rude. I have, over the years, raised money and supported what i thought were worthwhile causes only to learn that a certain select few were making a fat check while the cause suffered. I AM NOT ACCUSING YOU OR CASSA OF DOING THIS. I am just trying to do a little research before donating to a cause which i basically know nothing about.
Thanks for any and all help and info you might have.
William Bennett a.k.a. The Mutt
THE RESPONSE
William,
I’ve held my tongue for years over the exact same questions, IMHO – local politicos and overly sensitive asses tend to get MORE than their 15 minutes of fame. Asking any Organization to “show me the money” should be a simple matter of hitting a button on their web site.
Bottom line? Since there are ZERO admin costs, 100% (minus CC processing fees and any ObamaCare taxes) goes to postage, printing, etc. fees. CASAA is a completely volunteer org - no one makes a paycheck here.
CASAA has been solely supported by the efforts and contributions of individual users. There are over 3,500 members of CASAA, although the organization’s Board of Directors is made up of less than 20% suppliers or manufacturers. In short, CASAA is a consumer group. CASAA has the strength of having thousands of consumers, all supported by the shared experience of hundreds of e-cigarette suppliers and manufacturers, although no one gets to advertise or collect wages for helping the cause.
To answer your question, if you call the CASAA phone line, you will get a person on the phone. I can assure you, they aren’t being paid by CASAA, but they are an e-cig or harm reduction advocate. They are either a user of harm reduction methods, OR a hardcore advocate.
CASAA is new. We just went online a year ago, but I have made NO efforts to hide who we are or my personal identity. We support anything OTHER than sucking smoke and chemicals into your lungs. If someone donates ten bucks to our cause and feels wronged, I’m not a hard man to find. Do a quick Google on me – I’m the one that isn’t Kirk Douglas’ son…
This is a great question and one that I am sure isn't exclusive here. I urge you to PLEASE POST this question on ECF – I want to answer it publicly.
Best Regards,
Michal
__________________
Michal "Webby" Douglas - Proud User|Supplier|Advocate
Support CASAA| The E-Cigarette Users & Suppliers Group
The Consumer Advocates for Smoke-Free Alternatives Association
just thought others might have had the same concerns.... and i WILL become an active meber of CASAA.
ORIGINAL PM
I didnt want to post this in a thread or start a new thread because i didnt want to get jumped on by all of the supporters. You know how forums work and a legit question or concern often gets pushed aside if someone reads into it wrong and it doesnt take long for the bandwagon folk to pick sides and the questions go unanswered.
Just a couple quick questions.
How much of the donation actually gets used for its intended purpose and how much gets eating up by "operating costs"? I know it takes money to run things and i know that certain bills and costs can not be avoided, but i have seen certain organizations spend or claim to spend way too much on overinflated operating costs.
How many employees or paid people are there in the organization? (if any)
If paid employees, how much (roughly dont have to be exact) do they make? are they making minimun wage? are they donating time for free?
The reason i ask is not to be combative or rude. I have, over the years, raised money and supported what i thought were worthwhile causes only to learn that a certain select few were making a fat check while the cause suffered. I AM NOT ACCUSING YOU OR CASSA OF DOING THIS. I am just trying to do a little research before donating to a cause which i basically know nothing about.
Thanks for any and all help and info you might have.
William Bennett a.k.a. The Mutt
THE RESPONSE
William,
I’ve held my tongue for years over the exact same questions, IMHO – local politicos and overly sensitive asses tend to get MORE than their 15 minutes of fame. Asking any Organization to “show me the money” should be a simple matter of hitting a button on their web site.
Bottom line? Since there are ZERO admin costs, 100% (minus CC processing fees and any ObamaCare taxes) goes to postage, printing, etc. fees. CASAA is a completely volunteer org - no one makes a paycheck here.
CASAA has been solely supported by the efforts and contributions of individual users. There are over 3,500 members of CASAA, although the organization’s Board of Directors is made up of less than 20% suppliers or manufacturers. In short, CASAA is a consumer group. CASAA has the strength of having thousands of consumers, all supported by the shared experience of hundreds of e-cigarette suppliers and manufacturers, although no one gets to advertise or collect wages for helping the cause.
To answer your question, if you call the CASAA phone line, you will get a person on the phone. I can assure you, they aren’t being paid by CASAA, but they are an e-cig or harm reduction advocate. They are either a user of harm reduction methods, OR a hardcore advocate.
CASAA is new. We just went online a year ago, but I have made NO efforts to hide who we are or my personal identity. We support anything OTHER than sucking smoke and chemicals into your lungs. If someone donates ten bucks to our cause and feels wronged, I’m not a hard man to find. Do a quick Google on me – I’m the one that isn’t Kirk Douglas’ son…
This is a great question and one that I am sure isn't exclusive here. I urge you to PLEASE POST this question on ECF – I want to answer it publicly.
Best Regards,
Michal
__________________
Michal "Webby" Douglas - Proud User|Supplier|Advocate
Support CASAA| The E-Cigarette Users & Suppliers Group
The Consumer Advocates for Smoke-Free Alternatives Association
just thought others might have had the same concerns.... and i WILL become an active meber of CASAA.
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