Anyone know this group

[BjornBee]

I was called today by another beekeeper concerning this organization posted below. He asked me if I knew who ran it, where if any money has been sent, and other questions. I have not heard of them before. The website makes it sound if there is some sort of members, but lists nothing. It mentions they are set up to do things, but does not list any contribution. It mentions a 501(c) (3) but if you read the fine print, they are not licensed as such.

Anyone know anything about this site? Is it legit? Is it a scam to take advantage of the public awareness from the recent bee media blitz?

Anybody?

http://www.thehoneybeeconservancy.org/The_Hive.html

Thank you.

[Umbriel971]

I looked over this site and it seems to be more of an educational site more than anything else.  It is not really soliciting funds in an overt way, so I would say it is not a scam per se.  When you go to donate it takes you to Paypal, so there is another layer of protection as well as you are not giving your info to an unknown third party.  However as to whether they are a legit nonprofit org, I dont know, but a call to New York state folks would at least tell you if they are applying for NP status or not.
     If you are passionate about what they advocate <and since you are a member here chances are good you are>, try some of their listed activities and organize things in your area, planting flowers and cleaning up as well as other "good stewardship" activities dont hand them cash directly but aid the cause.
     

Just my two cents

[Delmer]

If you look at the fine print on the bottom of the giving page.  They are applying for the 501c3 status, which would make your contributions tax deductable.  Its under review, so I'm assuming they have filed an application and are waiting on the IRS to make a determination.  I'd tell your friend to call them and find out what they are trying to accomplish- where's the money going and what they are trying to accomplish.

my .02

[jimmy]

I have never heard of the group.

However I have heard pros and cons to their opening statement from Albert Enstien , concerning the disapearing of honey bees and mankind ceasing to exist.

Can anyone verify Enstien made that statement? Inquiring minds want know, Thanks

Snopes says: http://www.snopes.com/quotes/einstein/bees.asp

[BjornBee]

If you look at the fine print on the bottom of the giving page.  They are applying for the 501c3 status, which would make your contributions tax deductable.  Its under review, so I'm assuming they have filed an application and are waiting on the IRS to make a determination.  I'd tell your friend to call them and find out what they are trying to accomplish- where's the money going and what they are trying to accomplish.

my .02

Ok....got a phone number?

Some of the discussion with the person trying to find out about this group, was conversations with other well know people in the industry. And NOBODY has a clue to who runs this outfit. The bee industry is a small one. I could mention first names like Dewey, Kim, Jim, Ross, Kirk, Dennis, Nancy, Dave, and a host of beekeepers, researchers, etc. Everyone knows everyone. But nobody knows of the honey bee conservancy.

I'm just trying to find something out about them. I do not want to judge them. But as of yet, nobody has a clue. Are they beekeepers? Or just slick marketers taking advantage of the bee crisis? The website mentions not one project that has been donated too, or a plan of one in the future as far as I read. It is a site that lists no members, no names, no board, no address other than a Post Office box, and not one picture. Just multiple ways to donate money, then advice on how you can help....plant a flower.

A little odd at this point.

[indypartridge]

Are they beekeepers? Or just slick marketers taking advantage of the bee crisis? The website mentions not one project that has been donated too, or a plan of one in the future as far as I read. It is a site that lists no members, no names, no board, no address other than a Post Office box, and not one picture. Just multiple ways to donate money, then advice on how you can help....plant a flower.

a little odd at this point.

VERY odd. I had the same reaction when I looked at the site - no real info on who they were or what they were all about, just a warm fuzzy "help the bees" site with different ways to donate $.
Color me "suspicious".

[eri]

Here ya go:

The Honeybee Conservancy
Guillermo Fernandez
646 2866279
info@thehoneybeeconservancy.org
www.thehoneybeeconservancy.org

Found this on a press release on http://www.pr.com/press-release/137982

Let us know what you find out.

[BjornBee]

Here ya go:

The Honeybee Conservancy
Guillermo Fernandez
646 2866279
info@thehoneybeeconservancy.org
www.thehoneybeeconservancy.org

Found this on a press release on http://www.pr.com/press-release/137982

Let us know what you find out.

I sure will eri. Thank you. I'll pass this on.

At least the news release answers one question....the person in charge, and the only name attached to the conservancy thus far, is not a beekeeper. No wonder others have no clue about this organization. They kept asking high profile beekeepers and people in the bee community, and left many scratching their heads.

I need to look into putting out my own "stuff" on a site such as pr dot com   ;)

[MustbeeNuts]

Looks to me like someone thunk a thought and the website was born. Might have good ententions but my daddy always said , good ententions are not worth a plug nickel.

[Michael Bush]

If someone want's to donate $100 a month to help the bees, contact me, you can put it in my account... ;)

[tlynn]

Here's the site's WHOIS listing.  There's no substantive information on this site and no entity in NY state with the name "honeybee conservancy" or anything close.  Anybody can set up a Paypal account, cheap website and a Facebook group.  There is nothing here that leads me to believe my donation will go anywhere except somebody's hip pocket.     

Domain ID:D154551901-LROR
Domain Name:THEHONEYBEECONSERVANCY.ORG
Created On:27-Oct-2008 01:08:19 UTC
Last Updated On:26-Dec-2008 03:53:06 UTC
Expiration Date:27-Oct-2009 01:08:19 UTC
Sponsoring Registrar:GoDaddy.com, Inc. (R91-LROR)
Status:CLIENT DELETE PROHIBITED
Status:CLIENT RENEW PROHIBITED
Status:CLIENT TRANSFER PROHIBITED
Status:CLIENT UPDATE PROHIBITED
Registrant ID:GODA-054945257
Registrant Name:Guillermo Fernandez
Registrant Organization:The Honeybee Conservancy
Registrant Street1:315 7th Avenue, apt 18-D
Registrant Street2:
Registrant Street3:
Registrant City:New York
Registrant State/Province:New York
Registrant Postal Code:10001
Registrant Country:US
Registrant Phone:+1.6462866279
Registrant Phone Ext.:
Registrant FAX:+1.6462866279
Registrant FAX Ext.:
Registrant Email:mrglf333@mac.com
Admin ID:GODA-254945257
Admin Name:Guillermo Fernandez
Admin Organization:The Honeybee Conservancy
Admin Street1:315 7th Avenue, apt 18-D
Admin Street2:
Admin Street3:
Admin City:New York
Admin State/Province:New York
Admin Postal Code:10001
Admin Country:US
Admin Phone:+1.6462866279
Admin Phone Ext.:
Admin FAX:+1.6462866279
Admin FAX Ext.:
Admin Email:mrglf333@mac.com
Tech ID:GODA-154945257
Tech Name:Guillermo Fernandez
Tech Organization:The Honeybee Conservancy
Tech Street1:315 7th Avenue, apt 18-D
Tech Street2:
Tech Street3:
Tech City:New York
Tech State/Province:New York
Tech Postal Code:10001
Tech Country:US
Tech Phone:+1.6462866279
Tech Phone Ext.:
Tech FAX:+1.6462866279
Tech FAX Ext.:
Tech Email:mrglf333@mac.com
Name Server:NS05.DOMAINCONTROL.COM
Name Server:NS06.DOMAINCONTROL.COM

[eri]

Before we get snarky, let's get the facts. Same guy has 7 registered domains (looked at the whois record a couple days ago). He has the same name as a honey bee researcher in South America. Much of the press in which he is quoted seems to be linked to the NYC initiative to allow beekeeping. Guessing it is political but I don't know a thing. Been watching too many West Wing episodes here  :-\

[tlynn]

Before we get snarky, let's get the facts. Same guy has 7 registered domains (looked at the whois record a couple days ago). He has the same name as a honey bee researcher in South America. Much of the press in which he is quoted seems to be linked to the NYC initiative to allow beekeeping. Guessing it is political but I don't know a thing. Been watching too many West Wing episodes here  :-\

I don't watch TV but I have seen a few internet scams out there.  This is a site and facebook group with nothing but copied content asking you to donate money.  Anybody can make a press release (www.prweb.com) and anybody can claim they are under review as a 501c3.  It doesn't look like he has an entity in NY and you can't become a 501c3 as a sole proprietor. 

Charity scams have increased significantly in the last year. This is a good tool to review charities if you are looking to give.   http://www.charitynavigator.org/