The Nation - News from April 13, 1987

A major cancer charity spent 97% of its $5.1-million budget on fund raising and only $15,000 to fight the disease in 1985, according to a report from a watchdog group. The National Charities Information Bureau found the United Cancer Council Inc. of Carmel, Ind., changed in one year from a small, unknown charity with an annual budget of $50,000 to a multimillion-dollar entity when it signed up with a for-profit direct mail fund-raising firm in 1984 and began soliciting donations through the mail. Bureau director Kenneth Albrecht said the charity had not violated federal laws, which require it only to file an accurate financial statement.