Millions In California Taxpayer Money Earmarked For Charities Goes Unspent

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Millions of dollars that California taxpayers earmarked for good causes have been left sitting on the sidelines by government bureaucrats for years.

The bureaucratic boondoggle ended up robbing charities of millions of dollars.

If you filled out a California income tax form and checked a box to donate to specific charities, don't be so sure your money went to a good cause.

According to an Associated Press investigation, of the $35 million the state collected for charities through income tax returns over 10 years, it only dispersed $25 million.

"As this story gets out, it's going to be a disincentive for people to actually give to these charities, because in the back of their mind they're going to think 'I wonder how long it's going to take for this money to get there?'" said Jon Coupal with the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.

For example, after thousands who chose to donate to the California Colorectal Cancer Prevention Fund, not a single donation reached its cause.

Between 2005 and 2006, $237,000 was donated to a fund created under the Department of Health Services. But when the department split into separate agencies, the money became lost in the shuffle, and there are no records of appropriations made.