KANYE WEST FOUNDATION IS A RIPOFF!

Hip-hop superstar Kanye West’s charity spent more than a half-million dollars in 2010 — but none of that money went to actual charitable causes, The Daily has learned.

An analysis of federal tax filings reveals that in 2010, the Kanye West Foundation had expenditures totaling $572,383, with the majority going to salaries and other overhead expenses.

Meanwhile, the charity gave nothing to charity that year. According to its tax return, West’s foundation made precisely $0 in contributions, gifts and grants.

And this isn’t the first time the Kanye West Foundation has given celebrity charities a bad rap.

In 2009, it was slightly more frugal, spending $553,826 — but of that amount, just $583 went toward charitable endeavors. That’s less than one might spend on a pair of the fashionista’s “Kanye West for Louis Vuitton” sneakers, which start at $870.

“A donor would look at some of those numbers, and it should give them some pause,” said David Suarez, an assistant professor at the University of Southern California’s Sol Price School of Public Policy who specializes in nonprofit policy and management.

“I wouldn’t have a problem with high overhead if it improves the overall efficiency of the organization,” he said, but “there comes a point where it’s too much.”

Nonprofit watchdog group Charity Navigator suggests no more than 15 percent of a charity’s cash flow should go toward administration or overhead. The Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance recommends charities spend at least 65 percent of their total expenses on program activities.

The Kanye West Foundation failed to satisfy either of those standards. The majority of the organization’s expenses — $339,829 of it — was spent on salaries, wages and benefits.

Another $111,250 went toward “professional fees,” $56,920 on similarly ambiguous “other expenses,” and $48,385 on “travel, conferences and meetings.”

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