I received a call on July 21, 2007 from California Police Activities League. First, you are probably being solicited because they buy mass phone book directory leads. I know this as I have been solicited twice this week and change my "phone directory" name every year (you can list your name under any non-business name for residntial customers in my area of Southern California).  If you would like to address this, please contact the Mr. Greg Wilson, Executive Director, California Police Activities League at 510-544-400 or by fax at 510-544-4350.  Mr. Wilson may be e-mailed directly at gwilson@calpal.org (All of this is public record and noted contact available through the website of the CA Attorney General). Finally, why do they not have volunteers call instead of their newest paid service??

Well, they run beneficial programs.  But I agree, this "our kids are the future how can you deny them" pitch is the same one the schools use.  Every year more and more money and less and less results.  It may seem that this argument has lost its savor.  
In any case, look up California PAL at charitynavigator.com.   Not enough goes to support the programs and too much goes to overhead and administration.  On top of that, remember these orgs do everything they can to try to shift "overhead" to what they call "program expenses" and skew the game even more.

Find a charity yourself and give you are so inclined.
Never give to anybody who calls you over the phone.  They will never stop calling you, and your name gets put on a "Suckers List" that goes to every yahoo in their circle.

nice guy called me from calpal 805-210-3187  trying to collect donations for troubled youths in Gangs ..  I hanged up on him , scam or not  I ain't  donating  my  money on b*****d youths ,  not all youths are our future .

I rather donate money to the national guard to send them  to  concentration camps .

I live in MD, got a call from this number. I said hello, and there was a bunch of cursing in the background, nobody ever answered me, just this guy swearing at someone.
Sounds like typical idiot police nonsense, but if this was legitimate, there would be at least one single hit on Google though. This is the ONLY hit - to THIS site - tells me it's a bunch of hooey.

This is what I get for donating one year....  Free cold calls every F*cking single day!!!  I've asked nicely before to have my # removed from their list.  That stopped the calling for a couple months.  Now it's come back with a vengeance!  Every freaking day.   Sometimes 2 or 3 times a day.  This has been going on probably 3 years now.

Teaches me to ever donate to one of these organizations again.  NEVER EVER AGAIN!

I've gotten calls from them with the following numbers recently...

213-232-2381
805-210-3187
310-862-9093

I have received at least 20 calls from this number with the identifier "CalPal" and no one is one the line.  If this is supposedly fundraising they have guaranteed I would never give them or any organization they are representing any money under any circumstanced.

We receive a call from this number several times a day and there is never anyone on the line.

I got calls from four different numbers, all indicating "CALPAL" on mthe CallerID. The ones that I answered have all been silent, followed by a hang-up some 15-20 seconds later.

I called the 510-area office and asked to be removed; the person answering the phone said that she wold to that. But the calls continued to come in, sometimes twice in one day.

408 538 5173
310 862 9093
805 210 3187
559 272 6467

I filed a complaint with the FCC, emailed to the East Bay congressional office, and emailed everyone except the webmaster on the CALPAL site.

A fellow named Charles McNeil apologized for the calls and said that he would "get to the bottom of this." I'm surprised that something has not been done about these people -- the other messages here indicate that the problem with them is systemic.

Well I've donated before and they've all seemed very friendly to me and i'm happy to support the children they are our future.... And even some of the times i didnt have money but i still found money to spare and donate.... I know u said you would get hang ups or answering machines first but keep in mind its not that they are just hanging up on you but some systems are automatic dialers and it takes a sec for them to say hello.... I worked at another place that had this system and we just had to say hello when we heard a beep.... so its not like they are trying to harrass u but its the system

I've donated to this group several times in the past but not anymore. Since I asked them to remove me from there phone list they continue to call me and hang up when I pick-up the phone. That is just plain harassment. You'd think they would have something better to do with their time.

All of these positive messages are from their staff trying to put a positive spin on this. How do all these people know the websites and statistics that they state. Nice propaganda CALPAL!

My caller I.D. said some kind of "police department" on my first call.  The following describes my first call:

The first thing I heard when I said "hello" was a loud, serious, recorded voice tell me that for security reasons or something like that, the call was being recorded.  There was no "hello" or live person.  It sounded like this might be a serious call from the police about some trouble in the neighborhood or something.  The next thing I heard was a live man's very loud, booming, unfriendly voice.  I'm not sure if he gave me a name or not, but I believe he identified himself as an "Officer" somebody.  Once he identified himself, he began his request for donations.  He asked if he could count on me for a donation and could he send me the donation form.

Ironically, I had just read about a scam going around Sacramento where a phony police organization was calling people and asking them for money.  I believe that the newspaper quoted our law enforcement agencies as saying that they never call asking for donations.

Consequently, my response to this person was that I had just read about a scam that was going around Sacramento and that I believed that he probably was a phony.  I went on to say that he could send me his information, but that I was going to check him out with the local police.  He responded by saying that that was fine with him and that I could call the Attorney General's Office and check them out.  I said that I sure would and that he could go ahead and send me the information.  He said that he would, but I never got it.  He never even asked for my address, but I assumed that if he was from law enforcement that he already had it.  So, I never got the info.

Tonight I believe that I received a second call from them, but my caller i.d. said the call was from Cal Pal.  I had just completed a cell phone call with ATT to report that my telephone line was dead.  I was surprised when the phone rang and only answered it because I thought that Cal Pal might be connected with ATT's repair service.  However, when I answered the phone, they hung up.  Because of the trouble with my phone, I'm not sure whether they could hear me or not, so that could be the reason they hung up.  However, to be honest, I'm a little bit scared because of my phone being dead, them calling, what I said to them during the first call, and them hanging up on me.  It's probably nothing, but I'll never forget how angry that "officer" sounded when I said that I was going to check them out.  They obviously depend upon the police connection aspect to intimidate people.  Again, I always screen my calls and it really irritated me that the first call on my caller I.D. used the term "police department."  I won't make that mistake again.

Last years total 64.8%

They keep calling here and never leave a message on our answer machine, just keep calling our number.

Well obviously you are a weak parent(and a poor writer)if you need these jerkoffs to keep your own child out of trouble.And the do not call list,yes legally they have to abide by it.And I do help my community. I started by teaching my kids not to be scum bag gang bangers and dope dealers all by myself.If  you cannot do this ,then you people need to stop breeding these dirt bags.

Well obviously you are a weak parent(and a poor writer)if you need these jerkoffs to keep your own child out of trouble.And the do not call list,yes legally they have to abide by it.And I do help my community. I started by teaching my kids not to be scum bag gang bangers and dope dealers all by myself.If  you cannot do this ,then you people need to stop breeding these dit bags.

559-272-6406

They call - I say hello-- they hang up on me.
I want to be taken off their CALL list & their HANG up LIST.

Bizarre.

Get a call from the number 1-559-272-6406 everyday bu most of the time there is nobody on the phone and the other times they just ask for money! Even though, I've told this organization x-times not to call, they decided to disrespect my request and call anyway! Rude, they are!

After getting an excessive number of phone calls from 559-272-6404 with no one on the other end, I googled the phone number and found this site.  I contacted Greg Wilson as described above at 510-544-4300.  Real good guy, understanding of the issue, and he said he'd remove my phone number immediately.  Hopefully that will be the end for me.

Hey...go to their website and see who their "partners" are.  There are a couple big names.  I would recommend contacting them too to tell them what kind of organization they are partnered with.  I just did.  I am also maintaining a log of their calls to sue them in small claims court, as one site suggested.

repeated calls from this number have been recieved.  many times, there is no voice.  Other times they want money.  It is an everyday occurance.

Please contact Greg Wilson, our beloved director at 510-544-4300 if you have any feedback. Greg may also be e-mailed at gwilson@calpal.org

Greg Wilson is a hero!

didn't answer

Actually guys, most Charities/Telemarketing splits result in the Telemarketing people keeping 85% and the charity getting 15% So if what your saying is true and 35% is going that means they did 3 times better then your average cause? Something to think about? These numbers are taken out of context.

Thanks for posting the number. I called them and asked thme to stop calling me.  They were very polite and agreed immeiately. No big deal. No need for all this drama. Just call them and ask them politely not to call.  :)

Gregg Wilson, executive director of PAL, got $103,416 in 2005.  His salary alone accounted for 1.47% of the organization's expenses.  That is $103,416 that should have been going for charitable purposes, NOT for administrative expenses.  He should have been paid less than half as much.  66.7% of PAL's revenues go for fundraising.  That's too much.  This organization is bloated and inefficient.

hand your money to your local PAL orginization, any local cop can tell you how.  California Police Activites League ARE BUMS! see http://www.charitynavigator.org to learn they spend over 65% of their donations on further fund rasing, and less than 30% on program activites.

California Police Activites League, while local PAL orginizations may be worthwhile, DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY WITH THESE BUMS! see http://www.charitynavigator.org to learn they spend over 65% of their donations on further funds rasing, and less than 30% on program activites.

Look, your rage is your own.  Keep it to yourself.

Everyone has a right to peace and quiet in their own home, free from ringing phones.  For someone who is physically handicapped, as I am, unplugging the phone or turning off the ringer is not a simple option.

Not everyone wants to contribute to this organization (I know you don't understand why, but that's not your business), and they have a right be be left in peace.

Please direct your anger in a more productive manner and stop calling people silly names.  Thanks very much.

If you work a night shift and don't want to be disturbed, then unplug your phone.  I doubt that the people who work in the fundraising call center who ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT THEIR COMMUNITY are psychic and know what hours you work.  Show some respect and if you ask nicely, you can be taken off the list.  I am so surprised at you people for blowing up over a phone call that helps children!  These kids are our future.  I really think Cal PAL should extend the age limit so some of these outrageous people can join and grow up a little.

For everyone who actually cares about these kid's future, donate.  Even if its $10... its tax deductable, so you get it back anyways, and its really going a long way.