Gaga’s BTW foundation spends $1.5 million on publicity.
Quote:
Don’t get me wrong: I like Lady Gaga and her parents. But celebrities probably shouldn’t start charitable foundations. Now the latest federal tax report is in for Lady Gaga’s Born this Way Foundation, and it’s not good news. Despite spending $348,000 in 2012 on their outreach bus tour, the Born this Way Foundation otherwise managed to fritter away around $1.5 million on legal fees, publicity, and a website.
If Gaga really wanted to she could pay the expenses out of pocket. It's a foundation trying to be a foundation and getting known and having lawyers are part of the equation. This has absolutely nothing to do with the legitimacy of the organization. Nice try though.
Over here not-for-profits need to have annual reports publicly available that detail how they spend donations on services. I went on the BTW Foundation's website and it was not transparent at all what they actually do with the money they beg for. Vague statements about "empowering" is all I read.
There are a lot of credible not-for-profits that need money for programs and services that really make a difference. It's a shame if the sector gets a bad reputation from this scandal.
