Jerry's Kids and Biker Dudes
The Muscular Dystrophy Association associates with Harley Davidson to secure a lock on summer fund raising.
Newspapers are full of stories about local fund raisers for various charities, but one from the Modesto Bee about the Sierra Hope Ride caught my eye when it noted that last year's ride raised $419,000 for the Muscular Dystropy Association (EIN 13-1665552 Form 990). Harley Davidson has designated MDA as its major charity, and the article lists other events of a similar size:
- 2006 Eastern Harley dealers' Ride for Life: $843,000
- 2006 Milwaukee Black-n-Blue Ball: $500,000
- 2006 Grand Rapids Black-n-Blue Ball: $200,000
- 2006 Detroit Black-n-Blue Ball: $100,000
MDA is a huge charity and atypical in that over 90% of its $186 million income comes from public contributions, with no government grants and no program service income at all. And 84% of the public contibutions—$145 million—come from fundraising events. Only a quarter of that is from the telethon:
Event
Number
Gross
Event cost
Net
Telethon
1
$54 million
$15 million
$38 million
Sports Programs
1,780
$21 million
$4 million
$17 million
Social events
300
$13 million
$3 million
$10 million
Other events
39,489
$88 million
$8 million
$80 million
Total
$176 million
$30 million
$146 million
The Harley Davidson connection (along with the Labor Day telethon) suggests to me that MDA may have a deliberate marketing strategy to concentrate fundraising efforts in the summer rather than year end as with most charities. The obvious advantage of this strategy is that it greatly reduces competition.
The fundraising schedule shows something else: the flagship telethon raises only 25% of the funds, but accounts for 50% of the event costs. But I doubt that anyone would say that the telethon is "inefficient." It establishes the MDA brand.
The MDA operation looks quite solid from its Form 990. CEO Robert Ross took home $365,000, reported up front in section V rather than in some attachment. The salary isn't reported on line 25 the way it should be, but that only shows that even the big charities can't keep all the IRS rules straight. [Note: Mr. Ross passed away on June 5 at the age of 86 after 44 years as head of the MDA. He came up with the idea for the Telethon and the move to Tucson, and took the organization from a few local chapters to this huge operation. (Arizona Daily Star)]
Total administrative salaries are $5.3 million, which is quite reasonable for an organization with a staff of 1,335. The director of finance makes $150,000 and (quite remarkable for a health-related organizaton) the medical director receives a modest $145,000.
There are several attachments including a narrative of program accomplishments that goes into greater detail than is common in Form 990. The organization gives out grants mostly in the $50,000 to $200,000 range, but there is one million dollar grant to move to the next phase of testing a promising new drug that affects the way cells deal with the genetic errors that cause some forms of Duchenne musclar dystropy.
The organization sponsors 34 clinical research centers, 235 hospital clinics, and 230 field service offices.
Unlike many similar organizations, MDA does not have separately incorporated local chapters. Its local chapters are part of the main organization. That certainly simplifies governance and reduces the chance that a local operation will embarrass the national. Not every organization can achieve this degree of central control, and it is likely that the telethon is a key factor in achieving it.
Yet you have to look very carefully to find the name Jerry Lewis in the report. Mr. Lewis in not on the board (Ed McMahon is).
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