Kars4Kids Banned from California Over "Misleading Ads"

A California judge has ordered Kars4Kids to stop airing its well-known advertising jingle in the state unless the charity clearly discloses that its funds support Orthodox Jewish outreach programs in New York, New Jersey and Israel.

The ruling by California Superior Court Judge Gassia Apkarian found that Kars4Kids violated the state’s false advertising and unfair competition laws by failing to tell donors where their money was going and who the beneficiaries were.

The case was brought by California donor Bruce Puterbaugh, who donated a nonworking 2001 Volvo valued at $250. He said he believed Kars4Kids supported underprivileged children across the United States and would not have donated had he known the money was directed to a Jewish organization based in New York.

Kars4Kids is based in Lakewood, New Jersey, and serves as the main fundraising arm for Oorah, an Orthodox Jewish outreach nonprofit. Esti Landau, Kars4Kids’ chief operating officer, testified that Oorah runs programs including a summer camp in upstate New York, matchmaking for young adults, family support programs and gap-year trips to Israel for 17- and 18-year-olds. She also said the organization does not operate functional programs in California.

The judge ruled that this omission was material because donors giving to a “kids” charity could reasonably care that their donation was being used for adult matchmaking, family subsidies and programs tied to a specific religious affiliation.

“The failure to disclose that funds benefit adults and families, and that this support is contingent upon a specific religious affiliation, is a material omission,” Apkarian wrote.

Kars4Kids has 30 days to stop airing ads in California that do not disclose its religious affiliation, the geographic location of its beneficiaries and their ages. Future ads also may not use images of prepubescent children if the programs being funded include young adults. The group was ordered to pay Puterbaugh $250 in restitution.

The ruling means the group’s familiar “1-877-Kars4Kids” jingle, which has been irritating drivers into either charity or madness for nearly two decades, cannot continue in its current form in California.

Kars4Kids rejected the decision and said it plans to appeal. Wendy Kirman, the organization’s communications director, said the ruling “ignores the facts” and “misapplies the law,” arguing that the group’s website makes clear that it is a Jewish organization.

The California case is not the first time Kars4Kids has faced scrutiny. Pennsylvania and Oregon fined the charity in 2009 over deceptive advertising, and Minnesota officials raised concerns in 2017 after finding that only 1% of its funding went to children in the state. A separate federal class action over alleged deceptive fundraising remains pending in Northern California.