Consumer Group Questions Cellphone Fund-Raising

The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights is complaining about programs that allow people to donate money to charities via SMS — the example given in the NYT article is that of the American Red Cross and the fundraising effort for the after-effects of Hurricane Katrina. It “contends the program is a business development strategy masquerading as charity” because people have to pay for the messages they send to donate the money. It’s true that the carriers get a profit from the messages sent, and it would be nice if that was free. The carriers liken the fee to the cost of a stamp to post a donation check, and point out that many people are on plans with messages included. A spokesperson also claims there are antitrust issues preventing the carriers from waiving the fee. I’m not so sure about that, but a charge of 15c for a $5 donation is cheaper than most methods of donating money.

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