COLUMBIA, S.C. - Nearly all donations to the Pickens County Sheriff's Office Foundation are used just as organizers say they'll be used - to pay for college scholarships for officers and their children.

But one of the worst charities that solicits donations here - an out-of-state group that asks for donations for South Carolina law enforcement officers - gives less than a penny of every dollar collected to officers or their families.

South Carolina Secretary of State Mark Hammond on Wednesday released his office's annual list of the best and worst charities according to how much of the money they collect goes to their cause.

"It is regrettable that some organizations seek to take advantage during this time of the year when people's hearts and minds are turned toward helping those who are less fortunate," Hammond said.

Hammond's 11 "angels" represent a few "shining examples" of the best charities across the state, he said.

"I want to emphasize that there are many, many good charities in South Carolina," Hammond said. "There are plenty of charities that give to the cause they represent in the 85 percentile or above."

A committee representing nonprofits in the state complained last month that the list recognizes a few of state's charities while other good ones go unnoticed.

The Pickens sheriff's foundation gave the largest percentage of its funds to its cause, with 99.7 percent going to fund scholarships. The remaining portion - which amounts to about 3 cents per every $10 donated - pays for small items such as stamps and letterhead used to notify donors of the annual fund-raiser, a golf tournament, sheriff's officials said.

This year, 19 scholarships of $400 each went to officers, said Sheriff C. David Stone. Forty-seven Pickens sheriff's officers now have associate's or bachelor's degrees as a result of the program, helping keep the force up to date in areas such as computer literacy, Stone said.

"It's been a great thing for the sheriff's office," Stone said. "If a person is making a career in law enforcement, they need to get as much education as they can."

St. Luke's Free Medical Clinic in Spartanburg was singled out by Hammond for its large number volunteers. About 400 people - half of them doctors, nurses and pharmacists - help provide free medical care to as many as 80 low-income patients each week, said Executive Director Georgia Mangum.

"That's what it takes to run the clinic, not just medical specialists but people from all over the community coming to give what they can," Mangum said.

Ten charities listed as "scrooges" are all based outside of South Carolina and some use costly telemarketers to solicit donations from residents who live here. Many also spent large amounts of money on fund-raising events.

The worst-performing charity was the South Carolina Police Officers Association Inc., based in Conyers, Ga. The organization gave 0.8 percent, or $5,120, of the $618,000 it collected to programs for officers. Most of the group's money paid a soliciting organization, Community Affairs, Hammond's office said.

At least one of the scrooge charities, A Child's Wish, has made the list of bad charities before, but under a different name: Children's Charity Fund.

More than 6,000 charities are registered with the secretary of state's office and solicit donations in South Carolina. Charities are not required to give any specific portion of money collected to its target programs, Hammond said.

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On the Net: S.C. Secretary of state's office: www.scsos.com