Beware of Uncontrolled Kiosks
by Jessica Holyoke on 01/04/08 at 8:12 am
Relay For Life in SL committee warns against scams
by Jessica Holyoke
The Relay For Life in SL committee is starting an awareness campaign regarding other kiosks being sold in SL that are not under the control of the RFL in SL committee. These vendors are promising a 5% cut to the purchaser of anything that is donated via the unofficial kiosk. By doing so, the unofficial kiosk is breaking US law regarding charitable donations.
While the American Cancer Society, the organization in charge of Relay for Life, and the Lindens are looking into the situation, the RFL in SL committee would like residents to keep the following in mind:
Anyone who wants to be involved with fundraising for the ACS and RFL in SL, must use the official scripted vendors. These vendors are scripted so that the monies never stay in them for more then 5 minutes, and 100% of the funds go directly to the ACS fund. Anyone wishing to verify deposits into the ACS funds can contact Fayandria Foley, Jade Lily, or RC Mars.
The RFL in SL verification scheme.
1. There are currently 2 kiosk designs available for use.
*The high prim winner was designed by Khaishi Steinbeck and rezzes at 14 prims.
*Our low prim winner is Davina Glitter whose kiosk rezzes only 5 prims.
2. Please go ahead an right click on any kiosk and select touch, you will see a blue screen drop down on the upper right-hand portion of your screen driving you to a webpage the certifies the kiosk is official.
3. Look at who owns the kiosk.
4. While in edit, if you open the content tab, you will see a note card and a script.
*The kiosk configuration script note card was created by Fayandria Foley.
*The script itself was written by Jade Lily.
If a resident has any questions about a kiosk in-world, please contact a member of the planning committee (group name: SLRFL ’08 Planning Committee) and they will be happy to help you.
Linden Labs has provided the American Cancer Society with the sur name, AmericanCancer. RelayForLife AmericanCancer is owned by Randal Moss (AV name, RC Mars), Director of Futuring Innovations for the American Cancer Society in Atlanta, Georgia. When you make a donation, it pays the kiosk owner and that donation is immediately routed to RelayForLife AmericanCancer.
Names to remember:
• Khaishi Steinbeck
• Davina Glitter
• Fayandria Foley
• Jade Lily
• Madison Donnelly (created the vendor to sell items)
• David Jacobs (created the Pledge Card)
-There are only 2 ways to donate to Relay For Life of Second Life, either through a verifiable kiosk or vendor (all proceeds are donated to the American Cancer Society). By law, the American Cancer Society CANNOT split donations without written approval, period.
-If you have any questions about the information contained here, please contact any member of SLRFL ’08’s Planning Committee.
An RSS Reader
Apr 1st, 2008
In my RSS reader this showed up as: “Relay For Life in SL committee warns against scams by Jessica Holyoke”
My first thought was that it was some pretty bold reporting for the Herald to expose the scam of one of their own. Then I remembered that it would be standard procedure for one Herald reporter to dish dirt on another.
Sadly, the truth was far less interesting, far more predictable, and far more pathetic. Seriously people, trying to profit from charitable donations? Not cool.
Artemis Fate
Apr 1st, 2008
“Seriously people, trying to profit from charitable donations? Not cool.”
Haha course that statement could be applied to the people who run ACS and RFL (The CEO of which, pulls in over 500,000 dollars a year salary, which is quite a bit for a non-profit organization) who are notorious for having the highest overhead and the least amount of the charitable money actually going to cancer patients and treatment of cancer.
http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=6495
Never doubt people’s ability to take advantage of a situation for themselves, no matter how shitty it’d be to do so.
Alyx Stoklitsky
Apr 1st, 2008
I wish I’d thought of this.
Prokofy Neva
Apr 1st, 2008
Actually, this idea that this “breaks the law” is very poorly phrased such as to be misleading or even inaccurate.
Read up here among many such sites:
http://www.independentsector.org/programs/gr/Ryanhistory.html
Individual states or cities have laws — or in some cases, merely guidelines strongly suggested by states’ attorney generals — about what percentage a fund-raiser may take out of funds raised for his expenses. These could be defined as 10 or 20 or 25.
So these kiosk deployers could say that they take 5 percent for labour or tier or whatever, and be compliant with a local law. In fact 5 percent isn’t even such a horrible percentage, and commonly taken by many non-profits or fund-raisers to assist others. Guidelines could say in some cases that taking more than 10 percent isn’t ethical or 25, depending on various factors. If you look at different legal cases, they are prompted by concern that fund-raising outfits just burn too much on themselves and even their lavish lifestyles, and not enough on the cause they raise money for. United Way went through this sort of scandal, for example.
Some of the most reputable fund-raisers make a point of saying they do *not* take percentages, but just a flat fee, i.e. they don’t take 5 percent out of $5,000 raised, which then becomes a bigger amount if they raise $10,000, they just take a standard consulting fee.
I’d like to see a reference to the law and cases applying the law to see what’s being referenced here. It could be another matter that misrepresenting oneself as a public charity and stealing the name is at issue.
Razrcut Brooks
Apr 1st, 2008
Thank you Prokofy…Linden? Yes, apparantly Profoky has been hired by LL.
http://secondthoughts.typepad.com/second_thoughts/2008/04/prokofy-linden.html
Pixeleen, is this an April Fools joke on Prok’s part or genuine?
Witness X
Apr 2nd, 2008
You seriously think a company would hire somebody who has made it thier sole mission to tell them to go fuck themselves? No chance.