This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

Sitting here with the 2009 MS Society of Canada's Charity Return info in my hands from the CRA website.

They issued tax receipts for almost $17 million dollars last year amongst other revenues. This is your money and my money, mom's money, dad's money...you get the picture. This is on a national level.

They have bills like the rest of us, but what bothers me is the $4 million for office expenses....how do they justify that..or the other $4 million for advertising. They spent more on advertising, promotions and office supplies than research grants! Does that offend you?

Anyway, I'm not doing fund raising for them this year. I want to send money for CCSVI research, but I'm torn between current studies...Buffalo or BC...or waiting all together? Maybe I'll give funds to the clinic that's willing to provide tests and later give money to the facility who provides the procedure. I'm undecided.

Is anyone going to start a CCSVI Research Foundation in Canada for donation purposes? I think the whole board of directors should consist of ms'ers. It is time for change! I don't know how complicated it would be to create a foundation but I'm also wondering if people would be interested in supporting one? If CCSVI takes flight, we may not need a foundation but we still need a Society of some sort who will work for us, not just take our money and spend it by advertising for more!

Hey Missy,

Excellent info!

You might want to throw these stats into an e-mail and send it off to Greg Thomson, Director of Research, gthomson@charityintelligence.ca Charity Intelligence http://www.charityintelligence.ca/

Pretty sure they'll be able to let you know quickly if this amount of overhead is acceptable for a non-profit society.

Notice the criteria to be met to be on their list of suggested charities. The MS Society is not on it.

Also, have a look at http://charityintelligence.ca/pdfs/Ci_C ... laimer.pdf

No, I do not work for or with this group.

pCakes

Hi...

I don't know where you are Ms Feisty, but in Ontario Canada here is a resource for the info you're looking for:

http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.c ... charities/

Cheers,
Hope

_________________
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Dx March 2003
Avonex

In the US, can you direct your MS walk money to CCSVI? Or does the MS society do as they please? I have heard in Canada you can direct the money.
thanks

Hi Miss Feisty,

I'm not sure that your info is totally accurate.

In 2008, the MS Society gave over $12.6 million to research (about 1/3 of all $$ raised) and they spent another $10 million on client services.
Those client services are important to pwMS and those of us who love them.

I don't mind the $$ they spend in advertising because advertising helps keep MS in the public eye and helps with fundraising.

Please do not be too harsh on the MS Society--they are wearing a lot of hats in the MS world and they need our support.

Thank you everyone for the informative links, I will pursue them. I haven't heard about the ccsvi allocation for the mswalk, I will check their site!

Msrelly: I hope I am right or the MS Society will be in trouble, these are the charity returns or T3010 forms registered with the government!
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/chrts/dnrs/menu-eng.html

Total expenditures for research grants and scholarships as part of charitable programs in 2009 $7,739,998

Total expenditures for research grants in 2008 was about $12 milllion. So why the drop?

I'm not here to analyze their return they have paid over $3 million in consulting fees in 2009 to have that done. I was just bringing an awareness to how some money was spent, we have the right to see numbers, not only pretty percentages. Well except for that confidential part, for their eyes only. Oh in 2008 they only had reported $1.8 million in advertising.

So 2009 research almost 8million, 4million office supplies etc
In 2008 research almost 12 million, 7million office supplies etc

I'm not out to bring them down or discredit the work of many volunteers who don't get paid. There is some good, but when they can't throw a measly $1 million towards something that has potential to add quality to our lives, I ask about the money.

$1 million to possibly help 40,000 people or $4 million in advertising...hmmmmmm. So I suggest they stop sending me stuff in the mail, save the postage and use that towards ccsvi. Don't give out t-shirts at the walk, make people wear their own...for one year, how much would they save? I don't need to be gifted a fancy track suit for my pledges, I want symptom relief...put a bow on that and then I will proceed as usual and stop complaining about the Society's spending.

This isn't directed at you msrelly, just stating my case as an ms'er who is confused by the reluctance of the people who can make change happen

We all know the words "cut backs" so why would I look at the society any differently. I've worked hard to raise money in the past years, so why don't they work hard to "cut back" and put it towards something that might actually work for us!!!

The society needs our support? What about us needing their support?
If they wanted to, they could fund Buffalo and UBC and still have money left over. I don't loathe them, I just don't understand the reluctance. I know there are good people who help people in the organization. I wish you all the luck with your walks, maybe we'll see 100,000 of that in the summer granting spree, or maybe not.

I would love to know how much money has been spent on so called "CCSVI information sessions".
SHAME!

Exactly Brightspot....exactly right. I wonder if they would be brave enough to expose a dollar amount or maybe that is private.

I don't even remember who I was posting to, but since I can't find it I'll repeat it here: 250 /100,000 of US population of ~300M = 750,000. at $10,000 each that's $7.5 B. twice as much per year for injectables.

Canada, at pop. of 34M, same prevalence (probably a bit higher) = 85,000 people. At $10,000 each that's $850M, versus twice as much per year, for injectables.

Hi,

Money is the main issue to accelerate the pace of CCSVI/MS research.
We've seen the huge interest among the MS society concerning this research. We should work together in different countries, to raise money world wild.
Yes we should !

Check out what this Canadian doctor has to say about the MS Society and CCSVI
Click on the link, enjoy the read and make a comment!!

http://healthblog.ctv.ca/post/Funding-t ... etter.aspx

Hi,

I feel bitter to see that the most part of money raised for ms doesn't serve our interests. It's really a waste of time. I wonder how we could put pressure on ms societies so that they really put our money in funding research, instead of funding no effective activities.
Think we have to express our disappointement about the way our money is being spent.

It's all about money, so don’t give them any cent and let them die, easy as!
Best
Arne
http://csvi-ms.net/en
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Venose-Mu ... 7471578700

Hey Brightspot...notice the date on that article you posted a link to? A day after my post!!! Can't say there is any connection, but you never know who's watching this site. Or maybe it was an odd coincidence.

Regardless it was a good article and he left out other data that kind of raises an eyebrow but I think the point is made for the everyday person.

Same theme...Put out the money MS Society...we know you have it!!!!

We have ms, we aren't stupid

Arne: I don't want the society to die, I would prefer they work more efficiently towards CCSVI research and try to be more generous. They do fund other studies and clinics but the money is there to donate a million to ccsvi studies without abandoning other interests.

I believe in advocacy and self advocacy. We are witnesses to real self advocacy in the online world where we can connect quickly. We are also witnessing a movement of enormous volume for the first time in history with regards to self advocacy and ms.

The society, I thought was suppose to work to find a cure. Maybe ccsvi treatment is not a cure, but with the dozens of symptom relief cases being reported, I would settle for symptom relief and studies to assist it.

Shake your pockets ms societies....shake shake shake......