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Sean Hannity’s Freedom CONcert Scam
Debbie Schlussel ^ | March 18 2010 | Debbie Schlussel

Posted on 08/29/2010 9:43:59 PM PDT by Byron Norris

For the last several years, Sean Hannity and the Freedom Alliance “charity” have conducted “Freedom Concerts” across America. They’ve told you that they are raising money to pay for the college tuition of the children of fallen soldiers and to pay severely wounded war vets. And on Friday Night, Hannity will be honored with an award for this “Outstanding Community Service by a Radio Talk Show Host” at Talkers Magazine’s convention.

But it’s all a huge scam.

In fact, less than 20%–and in two recent years, less than 7% and 4%, respectively–of the money raised by Freedom Alliance went to these causes, while millions of dollars went to expenses, including consultants and apparently to ferry the Hannity posse of family and friends in high style. And, despite Hannity’s statements to the contrary on his nationally syndicated radio show, few of the children of fallen soldiers got more than $1,000-$2,000, with apparently none getting more than $6,000, while Freedom Alliance appears to have spent tens of thousands of dollars for private planes. Moreover, despite written assurances to donors that all money raised would go directly to scholarships for kids of the fallen heroes and not to expenses, has begun charging expenses of nearly $500,000 to give out just over $800,000 in scholarships.

(Excerpt) Read more at debbieschlussel.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: byronnorris; debbieschlussel; foxnews; freedomalliance; freedomconcert; hannity; seanhannity; talkradio
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To: Minn
We all know Hannity is a simpleton,

No Ace or Ace-ette, there are millions of us who think of Sean as pretty sharp and a patriot.
Maybe you shouldn't be so free with the words "We all".

21 posted on 08/29/2010 10:00:36 PM PDT by The Cajun (Mind numbed robot , ditto-head, Hannitized, Levinite)
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To: All; Prokopton; Byron Norris

Thank you, Prokopton, and from your link:

“2. Sean Hannity has contributed $100,000 to the Wounded Warriors Foundation, over $200,000 to the Freedom Alliance, and over tens of thousands of dollars to other military charities and individuals. We only make this information public because of the outrageous slander against him.”

http://radioequalizer.blogspot.com/2010/03/hannity-backed-foundation-fires-back.html

Hannity works so hard on these concerts because he so appreciates our military.


22 posted on 08/29/2010 10:00:41 PM PDT by Sun (Pray that God sends us good leaders. Please say a prayer now.)
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To: Byron Norris

Another one.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2474060/posts


23 posted on 08/29/2010 10:01:05 PM PDT by Larry Lucido
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To: Byron Norris

Thank you for your service.


24 posted on 08/29/2010 10:01:05 PM PDT by Mmogamer (I refudiate the lamestream media, leftists and their prevaricutions.)
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To: Byron Norris

Another one.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2474060/posts


25 posted on 08/29/2010 10:01:10 PM PDT by Larry Lucido
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To: Byron Norris
I've noticed that in the last year or so Hannity has been much more careful about saying "net proceeds" rather than merely "proceeds" like he did before. There are going to be expenses and either someone has to be picking them up through generousity or they will come out of the ticket prices. I don't think Sean was trying to cheat anyone, but he was sloppy in he wording in the first few years.

And, despite Hannity’s statements to the contrary on his nationally syndicated radio show, few of the children of fallen soldiers got more than $1,000-$2,000, with apparently none getting more than $6,000,

Take the total available funds for scholarships and divide it by the anticipated numbers of recepients and you get a reasonable range of scholarships. If you want to give more on the same total budget, you have to find some way to limit who gets the scholarships.

26 posted on 08/29/2010 10:01:43 PM PDT by KarlInOhio (Gun control was originally to protect Klansmen from their victims. The basic reason hasn't changed.)
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To: Sun

Sounds good.


27 posted on 08/29/2010 10:01:53 PM PDT by Byron Norris (The Republicans need to clean up their own by kickin RINOs out.)
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To: Byron Norris

I don’t know about it either by my rule on charitable giving is to give directly myself to the person that needs the help. They get 100% of my donation.

The only exception is the Salvation Army that I regularly support. They take very little for overhead and do great work.


28 posted on 08/29/2010 10:02:02 PM PDT by gunsequalfreedom (Conservative is not a label of convenience.)
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To: Byron Norris

Wow, another one. Guess it was done to death AT THE TIME THE ARTICLE CAME OUT.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2475309/posts


29 posted on 08/29/2010 10:02:10 PM PDT by Larry Lucido
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Schlussel is barking up the wrong tree. Schlussel was gaining momentum, but had very few venues to convey her commentary, and her website was horrific. At least now it loads faster than molasses.

But why bother Sean Hannity? Sean is straight-up. Schlussel doesn't seem to have her facts straight. She's just being a pain in the pattuti. Right on, Sean.

30 posted on 08/29/2010 10:03:07 PM PDT by NoRedTape
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To: Byron Norris

Looky here. Another one. What do you know...

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2474855/posts


31 posted on 08/29/2010 10:03:54 PM PDT by Larry Lucido
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To: cracker45
Her claims are bogus and you should have known that, unless you are a leftwing troll? Well, are you??

Knock off the "left wing troll" crap. You are being very rude. Go over to the DUmmies site and you can treat people that way all you want.

32 posted on 08/29/2010 10:04:31 PM PDT by gunsequalfreedom (Conservative is not a label of convenience.)
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To: Byron Norris

Debbie Schlussel is nut & a liar. That is my opinion.


33 posted on 08/29/2010 10:05:09 PM PDT by kcvl
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To: LibFreeOrDie

Ya I can see that too. I know they have the moderate republicans or RINOs as I call them and the true conservatives who are on the verge of being a libertarian or flat-out being one. I guess GOP is the umberalla term for all those who vote for the Republicans.

Still I’d like to see someone articulate conservative values without going overboard and being uncredible.


34 posted on 08/29/2010 10:05:29 PM PDT by Byron Norris (The Republicans need to clean up their own by kickin RINOs out.)
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To: cracker45
Her claims are bogus and you should have known that, unless you are a leftwing troll? Well, are you??

Are you a troll purposely being rude to people on here so good conservatives will not want to participate in FR? Well, are you??

Knock off the "left wing troll" crap. You are being very rude. Go over to the DUmmies site and you can treat people that way all you want.

35 posted on 08/29/2010 10:06:06 PM PDT by gunsequalfreedom (Conservative is not a label of convenience.)
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To: Byron Norris
Why would you ask how we "feel" about this before actually seeing if the allegations were true?

Freedom Alliance has never provided planes, hotels, cars, limos, or anything else to Sean. Sean gets nothing from Freedom Alliance except our gratitude for his personal generosity and for all he has done to help the troops and our organization. We have never had to ask Sean for anything, he always generously offers his help before we have a chance to ask him. But to be clear Sean pays for all his own transportation, hotels, and all related expenses for himself and his family and friends and staff, which over the years has added up to tens of thousands of dollars. He does not use any Freedom Alliance Funds or Concert funds in any way, period.

36 posted on 08/29/2010 10:06:23 PM PDT by Republican Wildcat
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To: Byron Norris

Thank you for being open minded.


37 posted on 08/29/2010 10:08:11 PM PDT by Sun (Pray that God sends us good leaders. Please say a prayer now.)
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To: Mmogamer
No problem. Thank you.
38 posted on 08/29/2010 10:08:11 PM PDT by Byron Norris (The Republicans need to clean up their own by kickin RINOs out.)
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To: The Cajun
there are millions of us who think of Sean as pretty sharp

Frightening.

39 posted on 08/29/2010 10:08:49 PM PDT by Minn
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To: wac3rd

March 18, 2010

Dear Friends of Freedom Alliance:

This week, false and malicious allegations about Freedom Alliance were posted on the Internet and we want to address them with you. We don’t know the motivation for these vicious smears, but we will not allow them to go unanswered.

First, we want to thank you for your support and assure you that Freedom Alliance’s record of financial stewardship and programmatic achievements not only meets, but exceeds standards of program efficiency set by most charity evaluators. We are extraordinarily proud of our work at Freedom Alliance and stand by our efforts 100 percent.

False Accusations

1. The blog posting accuses our friend Sean Hannity of personally benefiting from Freedom Alliance. This is FALSE. Freedom Alliance has never provided planes, hotels, cars, limos, or anything else to Sean. Sean gets nothing from Freedom Alliance except our gratitude for his personal generosity and for all he has done to help the troops and our organization. We have never had to ask Sean for anything, he always generously offers his help before we have a chance to ask him. But to be clear Sean pays for all his own transportation, hotels, and all related expenses for himself and his family and friends and staff, which over the years has added up to tens of thousands of dollars. He does not use any Freedom Alliance Funds or Concert funds in any way, period.

2. Sean Hannity has contributed $100,000 to the Wounded Warriors Foundation, over $200,000 to the Freedom Alliance, and over tens of thousands of dollars to other military charities and individuals. We only make this information public because of the outrageous slander against him. Sean has no management or operational involvement in, or control over, Freedom Alliance. He has been a selfless patriot in his efforts to raise funds for the education of children of armed services personnel.

3. The blog posting accuses Freedom Alliance of spending less than 20% of money raised on program activities. This is FALSE. Listed below are the amounts that Freedom Alliance spent for each of the past three years and the categories on which they were spent. The figures are taken from our Federal Form 990 which is filed with the Internal Revenue Service and posted on our web site and audited by an independent auditor using Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. This financial record not only meets, but exceeds standards of program efficiency set by most charity evaluators.

4. In 2008, Freedom Alliance spent a total of $6,745,717. Of that:

• • •

79 percent ($5,317,970) was spent on Program Activities 14 percent ($945,950) was spent on Fundraising 7 percent ($481,797) was spent on ManagementIn 2007, Freedom Alliance spent a total of $7,461,350. Of that:

• 81.5 percent ($6,084,474) was spent on Program Activities • 13.5 percent ($1,011,501) was spent on Fundraising • 5 percent ($365,375) was spent on Management

In 2006, Freedom Alliance spent a total of $7,064,839. Of that:

• 77 percent ($5,434,538) was spent on Program Activities • 18.5 percent ($1,308,414) was spent on Fundraising • 4.5 percent ($321,887) was spent on Management

5. The blog posting accuses Freedom Alliance of spending money intended for student scholarships on other expenses. This is FALSE. Freedom Alliance has distributed $3.4 million in Scholarships and created a Scholarship Trust Fund with the additional money that we have raised for that program. That fund now contains $15 million, over $10 million of which has been raised by Hannity and the concerts. Our scholarship program is managed with the understanding that it will be needed for at least the next 20 years as there are children who will ultimately receive a scholarship who are now only a few years old. As indicated on our Federal Form 990, these funds are restricted and used only for future scholarships.

6. Our Scholarship Fund is one of four programs operated by Freedom Alliance. Supporters may donate to a specific program or for general operating purposes. In 2008, Freedom Alliance received $2.1 million in scholarship donations. The same year, we awarded $802,250 in scholarships and applied $1.3 million to our Scholarship Trust Fund. The funds donated by Sean Hannity directly — or through the proceeds of the Freedom Concerts — and the support of thousands of Americans are used for these purposes:

• Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund: Providing scholarships to those whose parents have been killed or severely injured in their service to our Country. There is now over $15 million in the scholarship fund for the students as they come of age.

• Support our Troops: Many events each year are planned and executed by our staff to show appreciate and provide special opportunities for those actively serving in the military.

• Leadership Academy: A program for high school students in which they are encouraged and trained to serve their country.

These programs would not be possible without the support of Mr. Hannity and many others.

We are proud of our work and numerous accomplishments. We are grateful to our supporters whose voluntary contributions make it possible and we thank you.

While it is discouraging to have our record misrepresented in such a malicious way, our work is important and, with your support, it will continue.

Respectfully,

Thomas P. Kilgannon

Oliver L. North - President Founder & Honorary Chairman
Freedom Alliance

22570 Markey Court, Suite 240 Dulles, Virginia 20166 (703) 444-7940


40 posted on 08/29/2010 10:09:10 PM PDT by Republican Wildcat
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