My Nonprofit Reviews

Julie is right! Jan Sako, from Slovakia, is NOT the clothes manager for CCTG. Note: Campus California dropped the "TG"-- initials for Teachers Group-- part of its name but kept "campus". This is amusingly ironic in that Campus California is very much a Tvind/TG-controlled organization but it has no campus! The property was sold by the Tvind/TG company, AS Properties, to which Campus California TG paid its rent for many years. Jan Sako IS the PR/Expansion manager for CCTG, as a number of sources, including his own LinkedIn and Facebook profiles, point out. What is omitted in his self-profile is his stint as a student at a Tvind/TG school in Denmark, followed by his volunteer work with Humana People to People--the Tvind/TG's charity brand name-- projects in Mozambique, followed by his Tvind/TG membership--perhaps even a life-time? (Anthony N. who submitted his glowing two cents here is also a TG member.) The high marks for "generosity" of CCTG given by reviewers writing on behalf of IICD should be taken with a big grain of salt. CCTG and IICD are "affiliated" organizations. In fact, all the Tvind/TG groups are affiliated to each other by virtue of TG leadership, shared personnel, flow of funds and primary trade within a defined TG circle, interlocking boards, and so forth. Julie's comment about Garson and Shaw and Goodwill is just plain silly. Is the chairman of Goodwill "significantly" associated with the chairman of Garson and Shaw and chairman of CCTG and chairman of Planet Aid (who also serves as CCTG's chair!) through joint membership in the Tvind/TG, a hierarchically built cult (which the Tvind/TG is deemed in several countries and by cult scholars)? No, he isn't. And he probably doesn't count Amdi Petersen, who is wanted to stand trial AGAIN for fraud and serious economic crimes, as a TG comrade, as the others surely do. Garson and Shaw's bread is made primarily off of its business with other Tvind/TG companies, including the nominal non-profits. Below is what one person has to say from experience with Jan Sako, Humana People to People and the clothes operations of the Tvind/TG. In the USA, these clothes ops are Planet Aid, U'SAgain, Gaia, CCTG, IICD MI and IICD MA; broker is Garson and Shaw. You can find this post at: http://www.sfweekly.com/2011-06-08/news/mogens-andi-peterson-campus-california-donated-clothes-cult-matt-smith/ Take time to read the entire article by journalist, Matt Smith. It is excellent! Read this account, too: The Help Africa Fraud by Matrice Jackson. It can be found here: http://www.tvindalert.com/stories/page/2/ And consider my own words: having lived in Mozambique and observed a number of Humana's poorly-run, amateurish and under-resourced programs (about which I filed formal complaints), your clothes donations to CCTG and any of the other Tvind/TG groups do NOT add up to "helping the poor" to any of the extent they claim. Humana's self-promotion is its most astonishing achievement. Its actual performance is notable for inflated, unsubstantiated claims, distorted statistics, omissions, and outright untruths. SF Weekly post: DirtyMoney
"I know Jan Sako well. I know that his time in Mozambique consisted of playing video games in the computer lab. I have also at one time worked for the clothing collection company which is in Albany NY. Huge amounts of money would appear and disappear from the bank account on a regular basis....and as a manager I know none of it was business expenses. We also used 'Garson and Shaw' for negotiating sales. I often brought up that it was rediculous that we were sending them thousands of dollars a month when they really did NOTHING for the company. The clothing company in Albany was pulling in hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in profit from clothes sales, yet, from visiting the school in Williamstown, MA I know that very little if any of it ever made it to the school.

I also know that the volunteer schools employ foreigners without work permits by collecting cash receipts from grocery stores or anywhere else they can find them and adding them to their expense reports. This is a common practice within the schools of acquiring pocket money that is non-taxable and hard to trace. They also make many promises of paymen,t only to on pay day, claim they never made such a promise.

As a part of TG you are required to give a huge part of your income (usually 50%) back to the TG. This is another way that they clear money. I personally always refused to join the TG, and they hated that. I was amazed though at how many people never stopped to realize that they were paying taxes on money that was never reaching their pocket but being moved into the TG coffers. They also pull these tricks on African TG members. They are told that if they ever need anything...a loan, pay a doctor bill ect that the money will come from this TG fund. Yet, time and time again, I have seen people in need of money for such things denied.

Anytime student or workers bring up the TG net, Amdi or money fraud the elder TG members become furious about how they are tired of answering these questions and if people want to think it is a fraud then they should just go.

They recently in Mozambique tried to pull one of their old tricks as well calling for all african TG members to cut ties with their families. They were told that the TG was their family and could provide for anything they needed. Unfortunately for them though very few if any active african TG members accepted this.

Do not be fooled by this business. Because really that is what it is, a business. There are many volunteers who give many hours trying to make a change at projects around the world. I can not lie, there are some projects that have provided huge amounts of assistance to local populations. I am sure though if the goal of Tvind as a whole was to actually help people though and not make money off every aspect the amount of help provided would be 10 fold AT LEAST.

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