Calendar deal is not what it appears

Published 1:00 pm Saturday, January 8, 2005

We believe it is playwright and former Vanity Fair editor, the late Clare Boothe Luce,

who is credited with the cynic’s maxim: No good deed goes unpunished.

Luce might be pleased to know that her wisdom lives on, as phone solicitors of dubious intent target island merchants with an advertising ploy that straddles the fine line of legality. Several Winslow businesses reported this week receiving solicitations from an out-of-state organization offering advertising space on a “booster calendar” to benefit Bainbridge High School sports.

The only problem: the outfit has no affiliation with the Bainbridge Island School District.

It’s not the first time we’ve had to caution merchants against this routine, which seems to come back every few years like a nasty virus. Here’s how it works: a phone solicitor calls a Bainbridge business with a precisely worded offer to support youth athletics by buying an ad on “a calendar.” When the hapless merchants sends off the money – $199 for a small ad, hundreds more for a larger display – it receives just what was promised: a single calendar. No calendars are distributed in the community, and the school receives little if any benefit.

Because these operations work just inside the law, the

corporate attorneys would probably caution us against using the word “scam.” But the offer is certainly misleading; while you get exactly what you pay for, it happens to be considerably less than you expect.

Besides tr(e)ading on the good name of our high school, the company counts on confusion amongst well-meaning merchants. BHS athletic director Neal White reminds us that the school district has for many years partnered with an outfit called School Calendar Company and sales representative

Leo Bowers. A legitimate firm, that outfit produces two booster calendars that are widely distributed around town so advertisers get something for their contribution. Also, some of the proceeds are kicked back to the school.

Anyone else who claims to be selling calendar ad space for Bainbridge High School is probably up to no good; before sending any money to any calendar company or other promotion, it’s a good idea to call school officials (Neal White 780-1366) to check the solicitor’s credentials.

Bainbridge Police Detective Scott Anderson – who has in the past been called by solicitors who claim to be raising funds for the police department – notes that with the sudden outpouring of tsunami relief, more vultures and opportunists are lurking around to take advantage of the unwary. Would-be donors may want to stick with well-known relief agencies, or groups in their own community. Agencies can be vetted at sites like www.charitynavigator.org.

You can give, and still prove the cynics wrong.