American Indian Relief Council
reviews and complaints

I am writing again in behalf of National Relief Charities to clear up several areas of confusion. AIRC is one of eight programs of National Relief Charities. NRC provides over 26 different services to over 75 reservations. Our fundraising calls are based on the need, which is constantly changing. On a given day, we may call about a blizzard or tornado, kids starting school without school supplies, contaminated drinking water in a community, food bank shortages, or other needs related to health, housing, or safety... those basic human needs that go unmet unless someone calls attention to them. Our response to each need falls under a different program, such as AIRC, SWIRC, and so forth. So yes, we call for different programs.

Regarding increasing donations, a donor is always in charge of what they give. NRC never increases someone's donations without their permission. Over 70% of NRC's revenue goes toward programs. This is based on independently audited financials and well documented in our Annual Report and Effectiveness Report in our press room at www.nrcprograms.org. We are aware of misinformation that exists on the Internet about misuse of funds. The settlement agreement for that issue (now 17 years old) clearly states "no finding of wrongdoing on the part of AIRC or NRC, " and no penalty paid by us because there was no wrongdoing.

If a donor asks to be removed from the AIRC call list and mailing list, they are removed. If they ask to be removed from other NRC program lists, they are removed. A donor may specify how many times a year they wish to be called for any given program. Please call [protected] for AIRC requests and [protected] for other program requests. It is up to the donor to take these actions.

One last clarification is regarding the references to dishwashers, veterans, tribes, and animal registration. We consistently share with the media and public that Native Americans have the highest rate of military service of any ethnic group in the U.S. You may have read in some our success stories about participants that they were veterans or dishwashers or teachers or judges or many other professions. These stories relate to specific individuals and reflect their stories that they shared with us. Regarding animals, we do have a sage page on our ROAR program site that allows animals lovers and supporters to post a photo of their own companion animals and to vote on their favorite photos. Regarding tribes, NRC does not offer donors the opportunity to become an honorary "member" of a tribe. We understand there may be some nonprofits who do this, but it has never been a practice of NRC or any of our programs. We hope this clears up any confusion on these issues.

AIRC is a program of National Relief Charities. The need on the reservation is always there, and this drives the need for ongoing fundraising. However, our fundraising team certainly does not want to inundate people with calls. When we do call donors, we never know whether they are home or able to donate. And sometimes our calls become a chance for them to ask a question or get an update on the reservations… even if they do not donate during the call.

We are sorry you are upset. If a donor so requests, we are more than happy to remove a phone number from our program calling list. We also offer donors the opportunity to specify how many times they wish to be called during the year. Please contact AIRC donor relations at [protected] to determine which approach is best for you.

I am having the same issue with them! They have called my home number 3 days in a row and have asked for someone that doesn't even live at this residence. I have told them all 3 days to remove my number from their calling list as the person they are asking for is not associated with this phone # and every time, they tell me they will remove my number from their call list. This is getting rediculous!

the America Indian Relief Council is nothing but a scam. I could not possibly say enough negative things to capture how much I hate this group...the harassing, ignoring requests to get off their lists, and (if you do the research) their terrible record of actually providing the services they claim to provide.

I just received another phonecall once again from the American Indian Relief Council, asking to speak as usual with my 9 year old daughter! We have over and over again requested that our name and phone number be removed from their calling list, and informed them that the name they are asking for belongs to a minor child! Each time they assure us that they will "take care of that right now", yet they continue to call us ! I would like to REPORT this group as they clearly do not honor our request and continue to harrass us with their phonecalls. Does anyone have any idea who to report them to?

I also recieve calls from the AIRC and in someone else's name. They call continually and the caller ID says "unavailable" so I can't call the do not call regsistry. They kept asking for my wife, but my wife is not Native American, I am... I really don't know what they want...

I am also receiving calls from the American Indian Relief Council. They are calling for me (although they butcher the pronunciation of my name). However, I’m getting calls two to three times a week. I continually ask that they not call anymore, but to no avail. The calls come at ridiculous times (9PM on weeknights and 8AM on weekends). Caller ID comes up as unknown, so I can’t actually log with Do Not Call. Is there anything else we can do?
Regards,
Chris Poll
cwpoll@yahoo.com