AMMO Kid said:
They actually give much less than that. Out of 8.8 million in expenses last year 30% went to charity, but they actually made 13 million last year so that number is closer to 20%. Also, they took most of the money between 13 mil and 8.8 mil and stuffed it in their pockets.
That's not quite fair what you have said. This 30% figure is popping up on a lot of sites but it seems to be distorted. If you look at the expenses breakdown (either the audit or their own report) you have to bear in mind that many of the entries are purchases, that is goods intended for resale (for instance DVDs, wrist bands, posters; the sort of shit you get in the action packs they're selling). These shouldn't be included if you're assessing the management costs of the organisation, which is what the accusation boils down to (i.e. 30% expenditure on charity means 70% spent on cigars and champagne), since purchases ultimately become income.
The fact that they made $13.8 million last year and only spent $8.9 million isn't suspect since they had a dramatic increase in revenue for that year, which they likely had no idea they were going to receive (the expenditure is similar to the previous year). Charities don't round up money day by day and redestribute it there and then. They have financial obligations that can last for years at a time (their main work appears to be in school projects), and until they are certain of meeting these obligations they cannot throw excess funds at brand new projects. So it is not out of the ordinary to keep some money back for a year while finances are assessed.
However, there is a shadier side to their work. Their programs are split into two types. The first being actual charitable work within the Central African region, for instance the school projects Schools 4 Schools and Legacy Funds. This is money going to real life Ugandan, South Sudanese and Congolese people. The second, which they call Awareness Programs, is centred on raising awareness in the west of issues in Central Africa, for example the recent video. Money spent here does not go to Africans, in fact it is predominantly spent in the United States.
Now lets look at income. According to their own published reports, they received $5.7 million last year through restricted revenue. These are revenues given for a direct purpose. For instance their Schools 4 Schools program consists of money raised in US schools, then spent on Ugandan schools through ICs management. They received just over $3 million last year from government grants. Let me put this into the proper perspective: these restricted revenues are funds raised by governments and other charitable bodies who then pay IC to destribute them. Furthermore, understand that these revenues account for ICs entire expenditure on Central Africa Programs, even taking management into consideration (total CA expenditure was $3.3 million, which is dwarfed by the $5.7 million).
What this means is, all the money that is raised by IC themselves, e.g. money that has been donated by people having watched this latest video, does not go to Central African Programs, and it does not go to the people of Central Africa. It goes to Awareness Programs, in other words more videos (with a cut for the management team of course; can't do it without those cigars). So while that 30% figure is on the one hand deflated, if you look at the actual funds IC raise on their own, the charitable expenditure (the stuff that goes to Africans) is more accurately a whopping 0%.
