Operation Smile

I made a contribution in 2011. I have received monthly donation requests from Operation Smile since that first and only donation. I have made no donations since 2011 but here it is 2023 and the mail still comes. I requested to be removed from the mailing list, but yet the requests keep coming. They even had a campaign claiming that if you send a one time amount you would never receive another mailing. I did not fall for that one. I wonder how much of your donation goes to sending me a monthly donation request?. Good for the USPS though I suppose.

It is a shame that this organization is making profit from the donations from its stakeholders and donors. They is clearly a problem with the leadership at its core. I've seen the corruption and mishandling of hands first hand, where majority of the donations are not used where it is intended to be but to use by its corrupt management team down to the smallest local and regional division. It is really a shame and disheartening.

wish i could give negative dookie ahh service and uh their ads suck smoking the kids

Like others, I feel they want money, money, money and wonder if perhaps not everything is going for the actual surgeries. Reason being, absolutely bombard you with random emails and snail mail for more money and other charities that I hadn't even heard about as well. They have little to no interest if you express wanting to help them in a *non-monetary* way, such as volunteer services. That division isn't very welcoming, but the money collectors...yes, yes! The CEO is making 6 digits, of course. There are adults and even kids that don't cover for dental coverage all over or don't get adequate dental care. While the concept of this organization seems noble, there are ways to help your neighbors that won't result in you feeling like it's never enough.

Like many others here, I donated to this charity only to then get harassed shortly after by more calls asking for money. I also question their honesty. I got a call from someone saying they were from the Muscular Dystrophy Assn. I said I would donate and then the lady told me I was really donating to Operation Smile. On Charity Navigator, it says they spend 40% of the funds donated spent on fundraising. Also their CEO makes $387,000 a year. I will not donate here again. There are lots of better organizations to give to that serve underprivileged children.

Although the actual work they do is amazing I join those complaining about the massive amount of mail I receive every week from other charities. It seems that my personal information is shared with anyone. I have received even some handwritten letters from small churches. . Unacceptable the way that my information has been shared.

I donated last year for a friend who did not have a bank account and wanted me to give one time only. When I donated I specifically stated, "DO NOT CONTACT ME!!!" They have REFUSED to listen...I have called them several times to get my name taken off their mailing list and I still get letters from them begging for money!!

WARNING: If you do donate to Operation Smile, you will be BOMBARDED with mail requests for more!!!

My experience is different from other donors. I was getting too many solicitations in the mail. (I would never give my phone # to a charity.) I asked to send me no more than 1 newsletter per quarter. They don't send me anything now. So they are still on my donation list. From other donor reviews, It does sound like it is getting big and having the problems associated with that.

I prefer to donate to little local groups and forget about the tax write off.

I like the fact that they have volunteer doctors and nurses providing the services. They are the real heroes . I feel lucky to be a very small part of their program, by donating every month for the past 13 years. They truly are fighting the good fight!

In September 2014, I committed to monthly donation withdrawals from my checking account to Operation Smile for a 12-month period. I just learned Operation Smile has continued to make monthly withdrawals from my checking account without my consent for an additional two months. When I contacted them today to get this corrected, I was told they have "no way of knowing it was for 12-months only!" WRONG ANSWER. The person on the other end said she could "cancel" withdrawals beginning in December. I said this was not acceptable-I want immediate cancellation, and CREDIT to my checking account for the two unapproved withdrawals. Needless to say, I will never support this organization in the future, and will steer friends and family away, also. VERY disappointing.

I donated one time (paid for one surgery) about 2 years ago and since then I have been harassed with phone solicitation on a frequent basis; sometimes daily phone calls from multiple people. I also receive regular mailings. I don't mind getting mailings but I do mind the harassing phone calls I received. I finally had to get ugly with one solicitor and demanded to be taken off the list. Donating is a great thing to do; helping others who don't have the means to help themselves but when you are harassed on a daily basis it becomes clear this charity has lost it's focus and only appears money hungry. I won't donate to them again.

Unless you want to be endlessly harassed by obnoxious outsourced operators that live on commission, never do any business with this operation. I tried to do a good deed. My reward is endless phone calls. When I answer one of these calls and ask to be removed from being harassed, the operator hangs up on me before I even finish my request. This charity has lost sight of its mission.

As of six months ago, their annual reports on their website shows 73.2% of funds went to programs, 20.6% to fundraising, 6.2% for administration. Not sure where the negative press is coming from . . . also, any reason management doesn't change the practice of calling those who donate? If this has changed, there needs to be a statement to this effect on this site so as not to dissuade those interested in contributing.

If you don't mind be barraged by phone calls by solicitors after you donate wanting to bleed every cent from you, give. If you value your privacy and abhor robot calls, don't give. Very bad ratio of money donated and what actually goes to the kids. If you do give don't give them your real phone number. Great idea for a charity, but poorly run.

Wife and I donated last year's tax refund to Operations Smile based on the worked they appeared to be doing and had planned to do so every year in the future but immediately regretted our decision to do so. Whatever the merits of their work in the field we immediately found ourselves in the midst of an avalanche of robo calls from every imaginable charity which are not covered by the Do Not Call list regulations and has left us with no recourse but to terminate our land-line service at the end of this month to put an end to the 10 to 15 calls a day, yes a day, that we've been receiving since our donation. This in addition to the small mountain of wasteful daily mailings we receive from these charities including Operation Smile the totality of which certainly qualifies as a small environmental catastrophe. They clearly sold our information as part of a donors list without any regard as to the impact and the material cost alone of the mailings from Operation Smiles would seem leave us hard pressed to imagine much if any actual care being delivered with even our sizable donation.

Once you donate to Operation Smile you can expect to be bombarded with robocalling pleas for more donations. Their calling is extremely aggressive, starting at 7 am and continuing until 9 pm with as many as five calls in one day, seven days a week for months and months. They will not stop.
Donors soon regret their decision as no amount of pleading will get them to stop harassing you with constant phone calls.

I have been honored to work with Op Smile as part of a disaster relief team in 2010 in Haiti and again this year in Vietnam as part of a burn care team. In addition to cleft palate repair Op Smile offers burn and Wound Care interventions to the poorest popualtions all around the world. Many stories are heart rendering but the opportunity to serve with compassionate health care specialists from around the world and be a part of life changing outcomes makes the work of this group so important and necessary in what is now a world community. I hope everone who knows of Op Smile will give generously to their fine work througout the world.

it's a very good grp to volunteer with!! i grantee a good volunteering :)

Operation Smile has an amazing capacity not only to change the lives of children and their families but to impact whole health systems in third world countries. The training opportunities create sustainable local medical professionals in a variety of fields that extends past cleft care but to pediatric patient care in general

I am a recent supporter to Operation Smile and truly inspired by the work they perform in the poorest countries in the world. Just seeing the photos of the children they help, it is clear how my donation is able to give a child a new life. Keep up the great work!

I helped Operation Smile International back in 1999 in Venezuela, while Dr. William P. Magee Jr., D.D.S., M.D. and his team brought the plane named the flying hope. My uncle Dr. Jorge Carlesso was part of Venezuelan team, and he still being part of that team, I loved the time I spent working with this organization, and in the future I hope I can contribute with this organization, not only by donating money if not to help while the missions you make all around the world.

I have been a member of Operation Smile's Utah Chapter Board for only less than a year, but have been very familiar with the organization for many years. I have been so touched and moved by the unbelievable change and blessing that comes into the life of each child who has been the recipient of an Operation Smile surgery. Where once belittled, embarrassed and estranged because of a cleft lip or palate, these children's lives are forever changed for the better due to the generous donations of friends from around the world. I can, without reservation, wholeheartedly endorse Operation Smile and thank you in advance for your support.

This organization is very well run in my experience. I am happy to be involved in Operations Smile's mission to change lives forever. A child's happy face has a happy place in my heart!

Operation Smile is my favorite non-profit charitible organization and will always have a special place in my heart, simply because of the hope and new-lease-on-life opportunities they provide to suffering children and loving families through their wonderful, life transforming surgeries. God bless Operation Smile.