Planet Aid is a
non-profit organization
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
headquartered in
Elkridge,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
. Its primary activity is the collection of clothing and other household items for
resale
A reseller is a company or individual (merchant) that purchases goods or services with the intention of selling them rather than consuming or using them. This is usually done for profit (but can be done at a loss). One example can be found in the ...
and
recycling
Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the p ...
. Founded in 1997 in
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
,
the organization has expanded down the
East Coast of the United States and operates in 23 states,
where it collects items through donation bins placed on sidewalks, parking lots, and other public areas.
Some of the proceeds, along with U.S. government grants, are used for charitable aid in
Malawi
Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeas ...
,
Mozambique
Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
,
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...
, and other African nations.
The American Institute of Philanthropy's
CharityWatch
CharityWatch, formerly known as the American Institute of Philanthropy (AIP), is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in Chicago, created in the United States by Daniel Borochoff in 1992, to provide information about charities' financial efficiency ...
has given the organization an "F" rating, disputing Planet Aid's assessment of its charitable spending. Investigations by media and government agencies have also found discrepancies in the stated amount of Planet Aid's charitable expenses, as well as alleged links between Planet Aid and the controversial Danish organization
Tvind
Tvind is the informal name of a confederation of private schools, humanitarian organizations, and businesses, founded as an alternative education school in Denmark circa 1970. The organization is controversial in Denmark, where it runs a numb ...
, whose leader, Mogens Amdi Petersen, is wanted on charges of fraud and tax evasion.
Planet Aid has denied these allegations.
Planet Aid is a member of the international charity group
Humana People to People, an offshoot of Tvind.
History
Planet Aid is part of an international charitable organization called
Humana People to People, founded in Denmark in 1977. Humana began as a door-to-door clothing collection drive aimed at helping people living under the rule of
apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
. Planet Aid first began operating in the United States in 1997 by opening a collection center in
Lawrence, Massachusetts.
The organization later moved to
Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, in the United States. Alongside Cambridge, It is one of two traditional seats of Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in 2020, it was the fifth most populous city in Massachusetts as of ...
in May 1998, and also opened retail locations in
Malden,
Waltham, and
Somerville.
In 2000, Planet Aid’s operations spread to the
Washington metropolitan area
The Washington metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the National Capital Region, is the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C. The metropolitan area includes all of Washington, D.C. and parts of the states of Maryland, Virgi ...
by placing its yellow bins in several cities in the area. By 2002, Planet Aid operated in about seven states in the US, reaching as far south as
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in ...
. By 2004, the organization began expanding into the mid-west by establishing operations in
Pittsburg, Kansas.
As of 2007, the organization operated in a total of 19 states which included several cities in
Upstate New York
Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upstate New York excludes New York City and Long Is ...
.
Several of the communities into which the organization had expanded and news reports on the charity’s expansion became critical of the nonprofit’s finances.
The organization has been impacted by local ordinances that impose restrictions on the placement of collection bins. Some municipalities have proposed outright bans on all donation bins, which have sometimes impacted Planet Aid. In 2014, Planet Aid filed a lawsuit against
Ypsilanti Township, Michigan
Ypsilanti Charter Township is a charter township of Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 53,362 at the 2010 census. The city of Ypsilanti is mostly surrounded by the township, but the two are administered autonomo ...
, one of a number of cities that had passed a local ordinance banning charity collection boxes over concerns about litter and vandalism. In April 2015, a federal appeals court upheld an earlier federal court ruling that Planet Aid's collections bins constitute a protected form of free speech and struck down a local zoning restriction in
St. Johns, Michigan that had outlawed all such collection boxes, as a violation of the
First Amendment
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...
protections.
Since winning its federal ruling, Planet Aid has sued several other cities with similar ordinances, and used the decision to induce local leaders to craft regulations that allow placement of such boxes.
Planet Aid's CEO Ester Neltrup told the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'' that Planet Aid supports some regulation on clothing recycling, but opposes bans on donation boxes.
On October 1, 2015, Planet Aid opened its first thrift store in
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
as part of a pilot project. The store employed 30 people and offered "tens of thousands of new items every week," in addition to serving as a donation center, according to ''
The Baltimore Sun
''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries.
Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by T ...
''. Proceeds from purchases in the store go towards Planet Aid's sustainable development projects.
Operations
Planet Aid collects used clothing through a wide network of donation bins placed on public and private property, donation centers, and curbside pickups.
The group has collaborated with local businesses and other organizations to place bins on their property, with an aim to make donations more convenient and thus increase recycling rates. The group states that recycling used clothing and shoes contributes to reduced emissions of
greenhouse gases and helps in reducing the amount of waste that municipalities must haul from residences. It was estimated as of 2008 that the organization collects and resells over 70 million pounds of clothing per year.
As of February 2016, the organization has collection bins in 23 states in the United States.
Charities like Planet Aid that collect used clothing sell them both domestically and on the international market. According to Planet Aid, the proceeds from resold donated clothes and
recycled textiles are used to fund international development projects via organizations in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. However, the program does on occasion donate bedding and winter clothing from its collections to local US resident in needs. , 94% of its grant funding is directed to programs operated as part of the Humana People to People (HPP) Federation.
In November 2015, the
US State Department
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...
sponsored an educational visit of Planet Aid's Elkridge, Maryland headquarters for a delegation of Russian recycling experts to learn how Planet Aid sorts and handles 100 million pounds of donated textiles every year and how they can develop similar practices and infrastructure in that country.
Africa
Planet Aid participates in a number of programs in Africa. Planet Aid has been operating as a charity in partnership with Development Aid from People to People in Malawi (DAPP Malawi) since 1995. In 2001, Planet Aid partnered with
Johnson & Johnson in aiding the fight against the spread of AIDS in
Southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number o ...
.
In 2004, the organization was given a grant from the
U.S. Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of comme ...
to establish the Food for Progress in
Mozambique
Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
. In 2012, they collaborated with the
U.S. Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of comme ...
for the Farmers Club project, which provides school meals and teacher training in Mozambique and
Malawi
Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeas ...
.
These programs are run through DAPP Malawi and Ajuda de Desenvolvimento de Povo para Povo (ADPP),
who, along with Planet Aid, are members of the Humana People to People Federation.
The DAPP In-Service Teacher Training Program in Malawi, supported by Planet Aid, was awarded the UNESCO-Hamdan bin Rashid Al-Maktoum Prize in 2016.
Planet Aid has also collaborated with the World Initiative for Soy in Human Health program, run by the
American Soybean Association
The American Soybean Association (ASA) is an association of 21,000 American soybean producers. John Heisdorffer is the 2018 President of the Association. Stephen Censky worked for ASA for 23 years, 21 of those as CEO, and then left to become Uni ...
, to provide nutrition education in Mozambique.
The
U.S. Agency for International Development
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 ...
has also awarded Planet Aid of prepackaged food in 2011 and in 2012 for distribution in
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...
.
Charity accountability
CharityWatch
CharityWatch, formerly known as the American Institute of Philanthropy (AIP), is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in Chicago, created in the United States by Daniel Borochoff in 1992, to provide information about charities' financial efficiency ...
disputes Planet Aid's accounting of costs associated with collecting and processing donated clothing, giving them an "F" rating.
Planet Aid earned $33 million from selling used clothes in 2018. Accordingly, CharityWatch says the costs of collecting used clothes are fundraising expenses, rather than charitable program expenses as claimed by Planet Aid; hence Planet Aid spent only 25% of its budget on charitable programs in 2018, rather than the claimed 85%.
Planet Aid's federal tax filing from 2011 shows 28% of its budget being used for international aid programs, with the remainder mostly being spent on collecting and processing used clothes.
The
BBB Wise Giving Alliance (WGA) lists Planet Aid as an accredited charity, stating that Planet Aid fulfills its 20 standards for charity accountability.
Charity Navigator gave the organization a three out of four star rating with a total score of 81.62 percent in 2019.
Alleged Teachers Group connections
Media and government investigations have linked Planet Aid, through its board members and financial dealings, to a controversial organization from
Denmark
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, song_type = National and royal anthem
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called the Teachers Group or
Tvind
Tvind is the informal name of a confederation of private schools, humanitarian organizations, and businesses, founded as an alternative education school in Denmark circa 1970. The organization is controversial in Denmark, where it runs a numb ...
, led by international fugitive Mogens Amdi Petersen.
Tvind has been characterized by former members as a secular/political cult, and Tvind leaders have been prosecuted in Denmark for financial crimes
Financial crime is crime committed against property, involving the unlawful conversion of the ownership of property (belonging to one person) to one's own personal use and benefit. Financial crimes may involve fraud (cheque fraud, credit card f ...
, with two convictions in trials in 2006 and 2009, respectively.
Planet Aid has denied any such links, although they are a member of the Humana People to People Federation, an offshoot of Tvind, and several leaders of Planet Aid had been identified as having ties to Tvind and Petersen. Planet Aid co-founder and board chair Mikael Norling is a Tvind official, and he was present at the preliminary hearings for the Danish Tvind trials in September 2002. Planet Aid CEO Ester Neltrup was the Executive Director for the Tvind-run Institute for International Cooperation and Development, and has stated that she and others on Planet Aid's board of directors were Teachers Group members. Marie Lichtenberg, the director of international partnerships at Humana People to People and Planet Aid, was identified by Danish law enforcement as a manager of Tvind's global financial operations. Josefin Jonsson, a founding director of Planet Aid, was also a founding director of IFAS, a foundation identified by Danish prosecutors as a front organization used by Petersen for embezzlement and tax fraud.
In March 2016, an investigation co-produced by The Center for Investigative Reporting
The Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) is a nonprofit news organization based in Emeryville, California. It was founded in 1977 as the nation’s first nonprofit investigative journalism organization, and has since grown into a multi-plat ...
(CIR) and the Public Radio Exchange
The Public Radio Exchange (PRX) is a non-profit web-based platform for digital distribution, review, and licensing of radio programs. The organization is the largest on-demand catalogue of public radio programs available for broadcast and internet ...
reported that, according to interviews with "several (unnamed) insiders" of Planet Aid and associated Humana People to People member organizations, including "at least a dozen people inside" DAPP Malawi, "50% to 70% of the US government grant money was being siphoned away" to Tvind.
The USDA issued a statement saying that "none of their formal compliance reviews, their ad hoc reviews, their site evaluations, or their audits of the Planet Aid projects have yielded any significant findings or concerns", although documents obtained by the CIR stated that a USDA program analyst who had visited the project in Malawi
Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeas ...
was concerned that the use of funds was ineffective and lacked transparency.
A follow-up report by CIR cited a 2001 report by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...
that identified Planet Aid, Humana People to People, and DAPP as part of a network of organizations that diverted charitable funds for personal use by Teachers Group members. In response, the United Nations Children’s Fund
UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to ...
halted funding to these organizations. An August 2016 report by the British Broadcasting Corporation #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
, in partnership with the Center for Investigative Reporting, led the United Kingdom Department for International Development to suspend payments as well.
Center for Investigative Reporting lawsuit
In 2017 Planet Aid sued The Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) for libel, alleging a conspiracy to interfere with Planet Aid's business over CIR's reporting on Planet Aid’s business practices and relations with Tvind. CIR compared the case to Bollea v. Gawker
''Bollea v. Gawker'' was a lawsuit filed in 2013 in the Circuit Court of the Sixth Judicial Circuit in and for Pinellas County, Florida, delivering a verdict on March 18, 2016. In the suit, Terry Gene Bollea, known professionally as Hulk Hoga ...
, saying it was an attempt by deep pocketed individuals to use the courts to silence a media outlet.
In March 2021, the case was dismissed with prejudice
Prejudice is a legal term with different meanings, which depend on whether it is used in criminal, civil, or common law. In legal context, "prejudice" differs from the more common use of the word and so the term has specific technical meanings. ...
. The court ruled that although Reveal's publications had included 46 false allegations regarding Planet Aid and other plaintiffs, who were able to provide evidence that all funds were accounted for and used for intended projects, the plaintiffs were public figures and therefore subject to a higher standard for libel. "In sum, as to the allegedly defamatory statements for which plaintiffs have sufficiently shown falsity, plaintiffs have failed to show defendants made those statements with actual malice
Actual malice in United States law is a legal requirement imposed upon public officials or public figures when they file suit for libel (defamatory printed communications). Compared to other individuals who are less well known to the general pub ...
, and, consequently, their defamation claim is subject to dismissal."
See also
* Other clothes collection organizations alleged to be controlled by Tvind/The Teachers Group:
** Gaia Movement USA
** USAgain
References
External links
* {{Official website, http://www.planetaid.org/
501(c)(3) organizations
1997 establishments in Massachusetts
Non-profit organizations based in Maryland
Charities based in Maryland
Organizations established in 1997
Tvind