Yes, There Is a Challenge With the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

These "bad articles" typically have the pie chart showing how ALSA spends its money or the salaries for the top executives at the organization. These are the ones I'm most disappointed in. One of the headlines that really upset me was "ALS Association Does Not Deserve Your Donation." The primary message point for this particular article was that 73 percent of the money raised by ALSA was not spent on research. Well, guess what — that's right. But the article attempts to imply that if it is not spent on research then the organization is a fraud and not a good charity.

Yes, 27 percent of money raised is spent on research. But another 19 percent is spent on patient and community services. And another 32 percent is spent on public and professional education. Anyone who understands how a disease affects the community knows that research for new treatments and a "cure" is very important — but so is helping those who are already diagnosed and trying to improve their quality of life as they suffer through what could be the toughest days of their lives. Raising awareness across the general public and the medical community is also of great importance to help educate on the ability to diagnose as early as possible. I personally know someone who was misdiagnosed for over a year by her medical team — so yes, raising awareness about ALS is very important.

Yes, I believe all donors should do their due diligence and educate themselves on the organizations they support and how donations are used. But it would be a shame if a bunch of donors to charity didn't actually understand the truth about how the money is being used. This is a battle that has been fought for a long time by our industry, and we can't stop now — especially with this kind of press. And, if people in our industry are actually attempting to create distrust, SHAME ON THEM.