We will, we will save you!

"The large charities -- the Arthritis Foundation, the American Red Cross, Easter Seals -- they have huge budgets," Greenberg continues. "They spend millions and millions of dollars on promotion and marketing. And they know that having a celebrity or celebrities is an appropriate addition to their normal package of promotion. And we support those organizations because they know how to treat celebrities. It's not like I'm dictating the way that these celebrities need to be treated. It's just common sense -- they are coming in to add something to these organizations."

Bob Oettinger of the Celebrity Outreach Foundation (another celebrity-philanthropy matchmaking service) has had a few negative experiences with unreasonable celebrity demands and intimidated nonprofits. One time his company sent a celebrity to make an appearance for a group, "and I think he lost sight of the fact he was dealing with a charity," Oettinger says. "The limousine wasn't big enough and the room wasn't good enough and he made all these demands and was a jerk. When we found out about it, we just crossed his name off the list. We don't work with him anymore. There are people who are so taken with themselves, they expect red carpet treatment from a group that needs money and doesn't want to spend it on them."

"A lot of people in Hollywood don't live in the real world," Oettinger continues. "They're put up on pedestals; they can pay anyone they want to tell them how wonderful they are. They don't have to deal with situations because they have someone to handle it for them."

"It's very difficult," agrees Noreen Jennie of the Celebrity Endorsement Network, a company that primarily represents advertisers who want to secure celebrities for product endorsements, but sometimes gets calls from nonprofits, "because you're dealing with people who very rarely pay for their own transportation. When they go places, they're going to do a movie or a TV show or a commercial where somebody's picking up the tab. And they're used to deep pockets."

"You'll never get them to fly coach," Jennie says. "You just won't. You might get them in a room instead of a suite. And you might get them to drive themselves. You won't get them to take a taxi. A Town Car instead of a stretch? Yeah. But then you've got some celebrities that are more difficult than others. You've got those who demand the Perrier and Dom Perignon and caviar in the room. Then there are others who say, 'I don't care, give me a bowl of fruit.'"

Jennie recalls just one time in the 20 years she's been matchmaking when an entertainer -- actress Connie Selleca -- returned her fee and asked Jennie to donate it to the organization she had helped promote.

"Every once in a while you run into somebody who makes you go 'Wow!'" Jennie says. "But for the most part, they do expect that they will be flown first class, that they'll be put up nicely and that a limousine will pick them up. It's their lifestyle; it's what they're used to. Unfortunately, we've allowed them to be spoiled like that."

"I've heard of many, many organizations," says Celebrity Source's Tateel, "who bring in a celebrity and maybe they can't pay the celebrity to come in and do an appearance, but they offer to cover all the expenses of the celebrity's first-class travel, which is great, and that's what you should do. But you need to put a limit on those expenses. And when the organizations don't put a limit on those expenses, charities could be taken advantage of."

Not everyone agrees that ponying up for first-class travel and accommodations is something nonprofits should do, however. Richard Walden, founder of Operation U.S.A., an international relief organization that relies mainly on private donations from the entertainment sector, says his organization never pays for celebrity participation. On the contrary, entertainers who want to help out are expected to pay their own way and make a contribution to the cause. When he took a group of famous young actors on a "learning trip" to Nicaragua in the '80s, he told them they'd be asked to contribute an ambulance to a local hospital while there. Naturally, the actors were expected to pay for their own airfares and accommodations.

Despite some negative experiences, the World Literacy Crusade's Haines still feels it's important to continue to involve celebrities in fundraising events because people who may not come to an event simply because they support its particular cause will come out for a particular celebrity. And, in Haines' experience, not all celebrity involvement is self-promotional. "Our international spokesperson, Isaac Hayes, goes above and beyond the call of duty," Haines says. "He speaks at events for us at no extra cost. He handles his own accommodations and everything. He also facilitates fundraising events for us and gets other celebrities involved."

Still, Haines is wary of calls from managers and publicists looking to get their clients involved. When asked why some stars become involved in causes they may not care much about, Haines says he believes in some cases the celebrities' management has advised them that it's something they need to do for tax reasons. "Let's say, for instance, they usually receive $10,000 for an appearance, but they agree to appear for free," Haines says. "Then that's a $10,000 donation. It could also be because they are doing someone a favor or because they need to do something in that particular market anyway, so it's a free trip for them to come without paying airfare."

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