AMC Drops Worst Charity From SaveWalterWhite.com The Hollywood Reporter
AMC has stopped referring visitors to SaveWalterWhite.com to the National Cancer Coalition, after a Center for Investigative Reporting story called the charity was “one of America’s worst.”
AMC created the website in 2009 to mirror the one Walt Jr. (R.J. Mitte) made in a 2009 episode of Breaking Bad to help pay for Walter White’s (Bryan Cranston) cancer treatments.
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The real-life website directed users to donate to the National Cancer Coalition, and as of October 2012, Breaking Bad fans had given $125,000. But the charity has come under fire after being listed No. 21 on the Tampa Bay Times and The Center for Investigative Reporting’s list of the worst charities in America.
The rankings were determined by what percentage of a charity’s money goes to outside fundraisers. Non-profit experts say no more than 35 percent of a charity’s funds should be paid to professional fundraisers (such as telemarketers who solicit funds), while The National Cancer Coalition pays nearly 50 percent of their funds to them.
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According to the investigation, the National Cancer Coalition has raised more than $41.5 million over the past decade and spent under $43,000 per year on direct cash aid. In addition, it found that though the charity claimed to be donating drugs to a vaccination program in Ghana, the organization in Ghana had no record of such donations.
A rep for AMC tells The Hollywood Reporter it has permanently removed the link from SaveWalterWhite.com to the National Cancer Coalition donation page. It was unclear how the charity was chosen.
The National Cancer Coalition did not immediately respond to request for comment. According to the organization’s website, its goal is to help underprivileged people afflicted by cancer and other serious diseases.
E-Mail: Aaron.Couch@THR.com
Twitter: @AaronCouch
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