BONO’S CHARITY REP DEFENDS WAGE BILL
A representative for BONO’s Aids charity has spoken out after the organis ation came under fire for spending more money on wages than on good cause s.
The U2 rocker has thrown himself into humanitarian work over the last f ew years and set up the ONE campaign to help fight the Aids epidemic and combat global poverty.
But the organisation hit the headlines for the wrong reasons this week (beg20Sep10) after it was revealed the non-profit group took nearly $15 m illion (=C2=A39.6 million) in public donations in 2008, but only $184,732 (=C2=A3123,155) was distributed between three charities, according to do cuments obtained by the New York Post.
The group’s wage bill amounted to more than $8 million (=C2=A35 million ) and the organisation was also criticised for sending out expensive gift boxes to media organisations.
ONE spokesman Oliver Buston has now defended the way the organisation i s run, insisting the money is used for promoting its campaign and raising awareness rather than being handed straight to those who need help.
He says, "We don’t provide programs on the ground. We’re an advocacy an d campaigning organisation."
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