Watchdog Watch

Following are summaries of recent reports by the BBB Wise Giving Alliance. This private group reports on whether charities meet standards for fund raising, governance, financial management, and public information. The alliance does not approve or disapprove of charities, and urges potential donors to evaluate the importance of variations from the standards. It also notes that charities’ practices may change at any time. For organizations that do not meet the standards, information is given only on those standards that are not met. Those organizations meet all the other standards.

In March 2003, the BBB Wise Giving Alliance revised its standards (The Chronicle, March 20). Some of the reports summarized below were produced under the new standards, while others were based on the old standards.

Copies of the full reports are available from the Council of Better Business Bureaus, Wise Giving Alliance, 4200 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Va. 22203; http://www.give.org.

Adventist Development and Relief Agency, 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, Md. 20904; http://www.adra.org. Meets all standards.

Alzheimer’s Association, also known as Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Association, 225 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 1700, Chicago, Ill. 60601-7633; http://www.alz.org. Meets all standards.

American Breast Cancer Foundation, 1055 Taylor Avenue, Baltimore, Md. 21286; http://www.abcf.org. As of September 2003, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the American Breast Cancer Foundation meets the standards.

American Diabetes Association, 1701 North Beauregard Street, Alexandria, Va. 22311; http://www.diabetes.org. Meets all standards.

American Heart Association, also known as American Stroke Association, 7272 Greenville Avenue, Dallas, Tex. 75231; http://www.americanheart.org. Meets all standards.

Association for Firefighters and Paramedics, 911 Central Avenue, Private Mail Box 105, Albany, N.Y. 12206-1392. As of November 2003, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the Association for Firefighters and Paramedics meets the standards. The alliance also noted that as of October 2003, the organization had not received tax-exempt status from the IRS.

Childhelp USA, 15757 North 78th Street, Scottsdale, Ariz. 85260; http://www.childhelpusa.org. Meets all standards.

Children International, 2000 East Red Bridge Road, Kansas City, Mo. 64131; http://www.children.org. Meets all standards.

Committee for Missing Children, 242 Stone Mountain Street, Lawrence-ville, Ga. 30045; http://www.findthekids.org. Does not meet the standards calling for a charitable organization to: (1) apply a reasonable percentage (at least 50 percent) of total income from all sources to programs and activities directly related to the purposes for which the organization exists; (2) apply a reasonable percentage (at least 50 percent) of public contributions to the programs and activities described in solicitations, in accordance with donor expectations; (3) have reasonable fund-raising costs, not exceeding 35 percent of related contributions; and (4) have reasonable total fund-raising and administrative costs, not exceeding 50 percent of total income.

Don Stewart Association, also known as Feed My People and Southwest Indian Children’s Fund, 11052 North 24th Avenue, Phoenix, Ariz. 85029. As of October 2003, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the Don Stewart Association meets the standards.

Federation for American Immigration Reform, 1666 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 400, Washington, D.C. 20009; http://www.fairus.org. Meets all standards.

Feed the Children, 333 North Meridian Avenue, Oklahoma City, Okla. 73107; http://www.feedthechildren.org. Meets all standards.

Food for the Poor, 550 Southwest 12th Avenue, Deerfield Beach, Fla. 33442; http://www.foodforthepoor.org. Meets all standards.

Freedom from Hunger, 1644 Da-Vinci Court, Davis, Calif. 95616; http://www.freefromhunger.org. Meets all standards.

Greenpeace Fund, 702 H Street, N.W., Suite 300, Washington, D.C. 20001; http://www.greenpeaceusa.org. As of October 2003, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if Greenpeace Fund meets the standards.

Help Hospitalized Veterans, 36585 Penfield Lane, Winchester, Calif. 92596; http://www.hhv.org. As of November 2003, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if Help Hospitalized Veterans meets the standards.

Heritage for the Blind, 2071 Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11234. As of September 2003, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if Heritage for the Blind meets the standards.

Heritage Foundation, 214 Massachusetts Avenue, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20002; http://www.heritage.org. Does not meet the standards calling for a charitable organization to: (1) have a board of directors that provides adequate oversight of the charity’s operations and staff; (2) have a board-approved annual budget for its current fiscal year that outlines expenses for major program activities, fund raising, and administration; and (3) have an accessible annual report that includes financial information such as net assets, income, and expenses.

Jewish National Fund, 42 East 69th Street, New York, N.Y. 10021; http://www.jnf.org. Does not meet the standards calling for a charitable organization to have a board of directors that provides adequate oversight of the charity’s operations and staff; and to clearly disclose how the charity benefits from the sale of products or services that state or imply that a charity will benefit from a consumer’s purchase or business transaction. As of August 2003, the organization had not provided complete information about its finances and fund-raising and informational materials. Therefore, the alliance is unable to determine if the Jewish National Fund meets seven additional standards.

Kids Wish Network, 160 Scarlet Boulevard, Oldsmar, Fla. 34677; http://www.kidswishnetwork.org. As of October 2003, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the Kids Wish Network meets the standards.

Last Chance for Animals, 8033 Sunset Boulevard, No. 835, Los Angeles, Calif. 90046; http://www.lcanimal.org. As of July 2003, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if Last Chance for Animals meets the standards.

Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, formerly known as Leukemia Society of America, 1311 Mamaroneck Avenue, White Plains, N.Y. 10605; http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org. Meets all standards.

Lymphoma Research Foundation, formerly known as Cure for Lymphoma Foundation and Lymphoma Research Foundation of America, 111 Broadway, 19th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10006; http://www.lymphoma.org. Meets all standards.

Make-A-Wish Foundation of America, 3550 North Central Avenue, Suite 300, Phoenix, Ariz. 85012-2107; http://www.wish.org. Meets all standards.

Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, also known as Kathy Giusti Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, 3 Forest Street, New Canaan, Conn. 06840; http://www.multiplemyeloma.org. Meets all standards.

National Breast Cancer Foundation, One Hanover Park, 16633 North Dallas Parkway, Suite 600, Addison, Tex. 75001; http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org. As of August 2003, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the National Breast Cancer Foundation meets the standards.

National Missing Children’s Locate Center, P.O. Box 20007, Portland, Ore. 97294. As of October 2003, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the National Missing Children’s Locate Center meets the standards.

Ocean Conservancy, formerly known as Center for Marine Conservation, 1725 DeSales Street, N.W., Suite 600, Washington, D.C. 20036; http://www.ocean conservancy.org. Does not meet the standard calling for a charitable organization to spend no more than 35 percent of contributions on fund raising.

Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation of the United States, 302 Ridgefield Court, Asheville, N.C. 28806; http://www.pbtfus.org. As of October 2003, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation of the United States meets the standards.

Population Institute, 107 Second Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20002-7303; http://www.populationinstitute.org. Meets all standards.

Prader-Willi Syndrome Association, 5700 Midnight Pass Road, Suite 600, Sarasota, Fla. 34242; http://www.pwsausa.org. Meets all standards.

Prevent Child Abuse America, 200 South Michigan Avenue, 17th Floor, Chicago, Ill. 60604-2404; http://www.preventchildabuse.org. As of August 2003, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if Prevent Child Abuse America meets the standards.

St. Bonaventure Indian Mission and School, 25 Navarre Boulevard West, P.O. Box 610, Thoreau, N.M. 87323-0610; http://www.sbms.k12.nm.us. As of August 2003, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if St. Bonaventure Indian Mission and School meets the standards.

Simon Wiesenthal Center, 1399 South Roxbury Drive, Los Angeles, Calif. 90035; http://www.wiesenthal.com. As of November 2003, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the Simon Wiesenthal Center meets the standards.

WildAid, 450 Pacific Avenue, Suite 201, San Francisco, Calif. 94133; http://www.wildaid.org. Does not meet the standards calling for a charitable organization to: (1) have no more than one compensated person, or 10 percent of the board, whichever is greater, serving as a voting member of the board, and for compensated members not to serve as the board’s chair or treasurer; (2) include in its financial statement a breakdown of expenses (such as salaries, travel, and postage) that shows what portion of those expenses is dedicated to program, fund-raising, and administrative activities; (3) accurately report expenses in financial statements; and (4) have an accessible annual report that includes a mission statement; program accomplishments; a roster of officers and members of the board of directors; and financial information such as net assets, income, and expenses. As of August 2003, the organization had not provided complete information about its finances. Therefore, the alliance is unable to determine if WildAid meets two additional standards.

Women’s Sports Foundation, Eisenhower Park, East Meadow, N.Y. 11554; http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org. Does not meet the standard calling for a charitable organization to clearly disclose how the charity benefits from the sale of products or services that state or imply that a charity will benefit from a consumer’s purchase or business transaction.

World Neighbors, 4127 Northwest 122nd Street, Oklahoma City, Okla. 73120-8869; http://www.wn.org. Meets all standards.