CAUTION URGED WHEN GIVING TO POLICE-RELATED CHARITY GROUPS

When the phone rang at Dianne Hansen's home in Woodland in August, she
could tell there was a roomful of telemarketers on the other end.

"It was very noisy," said Hansen, a computer specialist with The Columbian.
"You could hear other people talking."

A polite-sounding man told Hansen he was calling for the Washington State
Law Enforcement Association, Inc. He asked Hansen to make a donation to
help delinquent juveniles with their problems.

In the weeks that followed, a bill came to her home from the association,
and then a second.

But Hansen hesitated to donate, not knowing what the association does.

The association, with addresses in Olympia and Seattle, is registered as a
charity with the Washington secretary of state.

On their registration papers, association officials say their charitable
purpose is to work for community and youth development with such things as
drug awareness programs, scholarships and middle-school essay contests on
the topic, "Why I would say no to drugs and alcohol."

They also monitor the Legislature for activities of concern to law
enforcement and public safety, the papers say.

For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2002, the association reported that 3
percent of its total expenses went to the charitable purpose, called
"program services." The other 97 percent went for expenses including paid
telephone solicitors, said Jeannine Allen, a customer services
representative for the secretary of state's charities division.

Out of $1,056,424 paid out in expenses for that year, the association said
$31,966 went to the charitable purpose. The association reported total
revenue of $1,139,956.

In the association's form 990 for the Internal Revenue Service, they say
the lion's share of their expenditures, $900,512, went for professional
fund-raising fees.

The form says the group's total expenditure for compensation of officers
and directors, $62,500, went to Mike Matson of Olympia, listed as working
40 hours a week as executive vice president. No other officers or directors
received compensation, nor were any other salaries and wages paid out, the
form says.

The group lists no travel expenses, but says it spent $6,796 on
conventions, conferences and meetings.

Matson said the group has been in business since 1968. It has about 1,000
members, many of them active, retired or reserve police officers. It works
with a group called Community Safety in Minneapolis to arrange for hiring
of telemarketers.

As to the 3 percent figure, he said, "That's all we gave last year because
our overhead costs were so high."

The association is a non-profit organization exempt from federal income
tax, but contributions to it are not tax-deductible, according to an
association form.

A Clark County sheriff's sergeant with 19 years of experience here said she
was not well-acquainted with the association. "The name sounds familiar,
but there's so many, this law-enforcement group, that law-enforcement
group," said Sgt. Melanie Kenoyer.

Clark County Sheriff Garry Lucas said he is not specifically familiar with
the association.

Legally, there is no limit to how little a charity can allot to its
charitable purpose, Allen said.

"They could give zero," Allen said. "We have over 10,000 charities. Some of
them are very low. They're all over the scale. We just report what they
submit."

The secretary of state's office does not investigate the financial data
that charities submit. If fraudulent activities were suspected, the state
attorney general's office could investigate.

The initial cost to register as a charitable organization is $20. After
that it costs $10 per year, Allen said.

Around Thanksgiving and Christmas, when people may be in a giving mood,
some charities may step up their solicitations, Allen said.

TO VERIFY ANY CHARITY

. Note the exact name and look it up at www. secstate. wa.gov/ charities.

. Or call the secretary of state's charities division at 800-332-4483.

. Ask if it's registered and what percentage goes to the charitable purpose.