By Joseph Marshall
A California judge has ruled that Kars4Kids misled donors through advertising that presented the organization as a general children’s charity without clearly disclosing that the money largely supported Oorah, a Lakewood-based Orthodox Jewish outreach organization.
The ruling focused on the way Kars4Kids advertised to the public. The ads asked people to donate their cars to help “kids,” but according to the court, they did not clearly explain that Kars4Kids was tied to Oorah or that the donated vehicles were mainly funding Orthodox Jewish outreach programs. The judge found that the advertising created a broader impression than the actual work being funded.
Oorah is a major kiruv organization. It runs Jewish camps, Torah learning programs, Shabbos and Yom Tov programming, yeshiva tuition assistance, mentoring, post-high-school programs, Israel-related programs, and outreach for Jewish families. These are legitimate programs, and Kars4Kids has defended its work by saying it helps children and families and that information about its mission is available to donors.
The court’s issue was not with Oorah’s mission. It was with the advertising. The ruling said donors were not clearly told, at the point of solicitation, that the charity they were supporting was connected to a specific Orthodox Jewish outreach network. The ads did not have to attack Oorah’s work for the court to find them misleading. They only had to leave donors with the wrong impression.
The jingle itself adds a strange twist. The Kars4Kids tune has been traced back to Country Yossi’s “Little Kinderlach,” a frum children’s song about Jewish children helping bring Moshiach. Uncle Moishy also has a “Kinderlach” version with the same familiar tune, which is likely why many Orthodox listeners recognized the sound long before the courts got involved.
That makes the advertising issue sharper. The tune came from the frum world. The money went to the frum world. The programs were run through the frum outreach world. The public campaign, according to the court, did not clearly say that.
Under the judge’s ruling, Kars4Kids cannot simply run the same style of ad in California without making key disclosures. The ad would have to tell listeners that the organization is religiously affiliated, that the primary beneficiaries are not necessarily local California children, and that the programs include older youth and adults, not only small children.
Which would make the jingle sound something like this:
1-877-Kars for Kids
K-A-R-S, Kars for Kids
1-877-Kars for Kids
Donate your car today
It funds Oorah outreach
And many Jewish programs too
Not always in your state
The money helps the Jews
Kids and teens and families
Not just for children small
Lakewood, New York, Jersey
Israel doesn’t get it all
1-877-Kars for Kids
K-A-R-S, Kars for Kids
1-877-Kars for Kids
Disclose it all today
Well, admittedly, that does not have quite the same bounce.
Kars4Kids says it has been transparent and plans to appeal. The organization argues that its website explains its mission and connection to Oorah, and says it has helped children and families, including in California. The court was not persuaded that website information was enough to fix the impression created by the ads themselves.
The ruling leaves Kars4Kids with a basic problem. If the campaign is raising money for Jewish outreach, it has to say that clearly. If the money is going to Oorah, it has to say that clearly. If the programs being funded are camps, yeshiva tuition, Torah learning, Shabbos programming, kiruv, and Israel-related programs, donors should know that before they hand over the keys.
A Jewish charity can raise money for Jewish causes. There is nothing wrong with that. The trouble starts when the pitch is broader than the mission.
In the end, the jingle may have been the most honest part of the campaign.
