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Kars4Kids – The Art of Raising $200 Million a Year
By: TJVNews.com
For those who have ever watched television and happened to pay attention to the litany of commercials that are aired on a daily basis, there is no doubt that one particular commercial and its now iconic jingle has been firmly planted in our brains. If you haven’t guessed it by now, we are referring to the commercial for the organization known as Kars4Kids. While the name of the organization is fairly innocuous and its mission statement is exceptionally laudable, the commercial has drawn a panoply of responses.
In January 2020, the New York Post reported that the executives at the national nonprofit decided the old commercial was looking outdated and to freshen things up with higher-quality video technology.
Producer Yocheved Zelishovsky told the Post at the time: “We weren’t trying to create something new — we were trying to preserve the original.”
Zelishovsky added, “We were stuck because there’s no way we can use the same kids seven years later. They’re adults themselves.”
A casting call went out in 2019 and a new cast of youngsters were selected to perform the infamous jingle for Kars4Kids. An Upper East Side second grader at the time named Justin, who was 8 years old then snagged the part of the lead singer and guitar player in the new commercial. Speaking to the Post at the time, he said, “The old Kars4Kids commercial was annoying. But I like doing annoying stuff.”
The director of public relations at Kars4Kids stated that the song used in the commercial was written in the late 1990s by a volunteer, with music adapted from Country Yossi’s song “Little Kinderlach,” as was reported by Wikipedia.org. The jingle was first used in radio commercial broadcasts in the New York City area and by 2004 the ads began to play in other markets such as Chicago, and later nationally as part of radio network ad time, the report said.
In 2017, CharityWatch.org reported that Kars4Kids debuted the TV commercial in November 2014 that features a “specially spruced up” version of the “1-877-Kars4Kids” jingle and “some real kuties jamming away in Kars4Kids’ brand color Hot Pink,” according to a Kars4Kids press release. The TV spot has aired on popular networks such as ESPN and Fox News and has been viewed over 880,000 times on YouTube, with each play of its jingle lightheartedly encouraging people to “donate your car today.”
Moreover, Kars4Kids also accepts donations of boats, airplanes and even real estate.
Much has been spoken of as it pertains to Kars4Kids but little is known about its origins.
Founded in 1994 by Rabbi Eliyohu Mintz, Kars4Kids funds educational, developmental, and recreational programs for Jewish youth and their families. Based in Lakewood, New Jersey, Kars4Kids is a nonprofit organization with 501(c)(3) status, operating in the United States and Canada. The charitable organization accepts over 40,000 cars annually. Their sister charity is “Oorah, Inc” and they are funded by Kars4Kids.
In addition to the airing of widespread radio and television advertisements, Kars4Kids can also be seen on major billboards in the New York metropolitan area and beyond.
Kars4Kids offers financial assistance to students to help pay for private school tuition and GED testing as well. The organization also sponsors a youth program known as Chillzone, an after-school program teaching Jewish culture and moral values. Additionally, they sponsor the summer camp known as TheZone, which operates Jewish sleep away camps in the upper Catskills region of New York State.
The organization saw a boom in donated cars following Hurricane Sandy, with owners donating cars totalled by hurricane damage.
According to the Charity Navigator web site, Kars4Kids’ charity score is 76%, earning it a three out of four rating. Charity Navigator claims that donations to this organization can be given with confidence.
This overall score is calculated from multiple beacon scores, weighted as follows: 90% Accountability & Finance, 10% Leadership & Adaptability.
Charity Navigator reported that in fiscal year 2021, Kars4Kids’ revenue was a little over $109 million and their organizational expenses matched that amount. This was reported by the organization’s IRS Form 990 that was accessed by Charity Navigator. The organization’s revenue in 2020 was $95,691,338 after expenses. The organization employed 90 people and paid out $5,297,247 in salary.
The organization’s tax return was filed by Roth & Company, LLP, at 1428 36th Street in Brooklyn, NY.
Click here to more information on Kars4Kids from Charity Navigator
The sister charity of Kars4Kids, known as Oorah serves Jewish children and families through varied and multifaceted programs. With their extensive network, they make connections and facilitate relationships, reaching out to Jewish families everywhere with opportunities to make their Judaic heritage more personal, relevant and meaningful.
Through the sponsorship of summer camps, tuition assistance programs, TorahMates learning sessions and holiday retreats, Oorah helps facilitate a strong connection between Jews and their Torah heritage.
As it pertains to Oorah, they too are based In Lakewood, New Jersey and their score on the Charity Navigator web site is score is 100%, earning it a Four-Star rating. Like Kars4Kids, they are registered as a 501c3 charity and are tax deductible. This overall score is calculated entirely from a single beacon score, weighted as follows: 100% Accountability & Finance.
This beacon provides an assessment of a charity’s financial health (financial efficiency, sustainability, and trustworthiness) and its commitment to governance practices and policies.
This Accountability & Finance score represents IRS Form 990 data up until financial year 2021, which is the most recent Form 990 currently available.
In 2019, the total assets of Oorah were over $111 million. That year they received $32 million in contributions and grants. Their total revenue for that year was close to $33 million. The organization paid out over $8 million for staff salaries and their total expenses for the year was a little over $21 million.
Click here for more information on Oorah from Charity Navigator
In 2017, CharityWatch.org also reported that since 2010, Kars4Kids also has conducted various charity events and giveaways for the benefit of needy children, regardless of their religious affiliation.
The organization hosts regular coat and clothing giveaways for the needy nationwide, including in Harlem, New York, Washington, D.C., and in Newark, New Jersey, where they held a give-away together with then-Newark Mayor (and current U.S. Senator) Cory Booker.
Billing itself as “America’s most independent, assertive charity watchdog” on their web site, CharityWatch.org, however, takes a highly critical view of Kars4Kids and expresses their dissatisfaction over what they perceive to be misleading advertising on the part of the organization.
Click here for more information on Charity Watch
CharityWatch.org writes of Kars4Kids: “When going to the website address shown in the TV commercial, only by scrolling all the way down to the fine print that includes Kars4Kids’ copyright notation at the bottom of the page will donors eventually learn what activities their donated cars support: “Your donation will benefit Kars4Kids, a national organization dedicated to addressing the educational, material, emotional and spiritual needs of Jewish children and their families [emphasis added].”
CharityWatch.org adds that in their view, “ the Kars4Kids ads deceive potential donors by failing to inform them that donated cars will benefit a Jewish organization and kids of Jewish faith. Furthermore, the youth programs Kars4Kids supports promote an Orthodox Jewish lifestyle, which CharityWatch believes compounds the deception perpetrated by the Kars4Kids ads. Oorah, Kars4Kids’ “sister charity,” is the organization that actually runs the “educational, developmental, and recreational programs for Jewish youth and their families” described in Kars4Kids’ mission statement.”
Also in 2017, CharityWatch.org reported that, “especially costly were Kars4Kids’ and Oorah’s real estate investments in an alleged Ponzi scheme in which they were victimized and lost more than a combined $7.6 million in 2009 and 2010. To put the $7.6 million in context, Oorah’s total cash spending on Jewish youth programs was approximately $12.2 million over that same period. The real estate developer behind the alleged investment scheme, which reportedly caused $200 million in total losses, was sentenced to 22 years in prison. Even though Kars4Kids and Oorah were victims, some donors may seriously question the judgment of Eliyohu Mintz, the principal officer of Kars4Kids and Oorah, and their other respective board members in deciding to risk donated charitable funds on real estate speculation.“
Click here for more information on Charity Watch:
A 2017 CBS News report indicated that Daniel Borochoff, the president of CharityWatch said, “My main concern about Kars4Kids is that people don’t know what’s really happening with this charity.”
He added, “That’s fine if people want to raise money for orthodox Jews, but they need to be clear and state that’s what the purpose is.”
The thrust of the CBS News report in 2017 concerned a report from Minnesota’s attorney general who accused Kars4Kids of misleading donors.
At the time, the Minnesota attorney general joined other states with complaints against the charity concerning how much of the money raised by car donations is going to kids and where that money is being spent, as was reported in 2017 by CBS News correspondent Tony Dokoupil.
CBS News reported that according to the Minnesota attorney general, between 2012 and 2014, Kars4Kids raised $3 million in the state through car donations. But less than $12,000, less than one percent of what was raised, went to Minnesota kids.
“I think it’s important when people donate to a charity, that they have information in terms of where their money is going,” said Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson, as was reported in 2017 by CBSNews.com.
Kars4Kids issued a statement addressing the allegations, according to the CBS News report. “Since we are headquartered in the northeast, many of our programs and recipients naturally come from this area,” the statement reads. “We believe Minnesota residents…appreciate that their generous donations to Kars4Kids help children both in and out of state.”
