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.

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

AARP Foundation, 601 E Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20049; http://www.aarp.org/foundation. Meets all standards.

ACCION International, 56 Roland Street, Suite 300, Boston, Mass. 02129; http://www.accion.org. Meets all standards.

Alpha-1 Foundation, also known as Alpha One Foundation, 2937 S.W. 27th Avenue, Suite 302, Miami, Fla. 33133; http://www.alphaone.org. Meets all standards.

American Friends Service Committee, 1501 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 19102-1479; http://www.afsc.org. Meets all standards.

American Rivers, 1025 Vermont Avenue, N.W., Suite 720, Washington, D.C. 20005; http://www.americanrivers.org. Meets all standards.

Association for Firefighters and Paramedics, 1720 East Garry Avenue, Suite 117, Santa Ana, Calif. 92705; http://www.afpcares.org. Does not meet the standards calling for a charitable organization to: (1) have a board of directors with at least five voting members; (2) make available annual financial statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles; (3) 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; (4) include on Web sites that solicit contributions the same information recommended for annual reports, as well as the mailing address of the charity and electronic access to its most recent IRS Form 990; and (5) take action to ensure that privacy concerns of donors are respected in the collection, dissemination, and securing of personal information, and allow donors opportunities to have their names removed from solicitation lists. As of June 2004, the organization had not provided complete information about its evaluation practices, finances, fund-raising and informational materials, and governance. Therefore, the alliance is unable to determine if the Association for Firefighters and Paramedics meets 14 additional standards.

Cancer Care, 275 Seventh Avenue, 22nd Floor, New York, N.Y. 10001; http://www.cancercare.org. Meets all standards.

Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation, formerly known as Cancer Research Foundation of America, 1600 Duke Street, Suite 500, Alexandria, Va. 22314; http://www.preventcancer.org. Meets all standards.

Children’s Network International, 5600 Rickenbacker Road, Building 1B, Bell, Calif. 90201; http://www.childrensnetworkinternational.org. Does not meet the standards calling for a charitable organization to: (1) have a board policy for assessing, at least every two years, the organization’s performance and effectiveness and for determining actions to achieve its mission; (2) accurately report expenses in financial statements; (3) have an accessible annual report that includes financial information such as net assets, income, and expenses; (4) include on Web sites that solicit contributions the same information recommended for annual reports, as well as the mailing address of the charity and electronic access to its most recent IRS Form 990; and (5) take action to ensure that privacy concerns of donors are respected in the collection, dissemination, and securing of personal information, and allow donors opportunities to have their names removed from solicitation lists. As of June 2004, the organization had not provided complete information about its finances and fund-raising and informational materials. Therefore, the alliance is unable to determine if Children’s Network International meets three additional standards.

Dakota Indian Foundation, 209 North Main Street, P.O. Box 340, Chamberlain, S.D. 57325; http://www.dakotaindianfoundation.org. As of June 2004, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the Dakota Indian Foundation meets the standards.

Foundation for International Community Assistance, also known as FINCA, 1101 14th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005; http://www.villagebanking.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 on Web sites that solicit contributions the same information recommended for annual reports, as well as the mailing address of the charity and electronic access to its most recent IRS Form 990; and (3) take action to ensure that privacy concerns of donors are respected in the collection, dissemination, and securing of personal information, and allow donors opportunities to have their names removed from solicitation lists. As of June 2004, the organization had not provided complete information about its evaluation practices. Therefore, the alliance is unable to determine if the Foundation for International Community Assistance meets one additional standard.

Last Chance for Animals, 8033 Sunset Boulevard, Suite 835, Los Angeles, Calif. 90046; http://www.lcanimal.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 of directors with at least five voting members; (3) 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; (4) 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; (5) accurately report expenses in financial statements; and (6) include on Web sites that solicit contributions the same information recommended for annual reports, as well as the mailing address of the charity and electronic access to its most recent IRS Form 990. As of June 2004, the organization had not provided complete information about its evaluation practices and finances. Therefore, the alliance is unable to determine if Last Chance for Animals meets three additional standards.

National Wildlife Federation, 11100 Wildlife Center Drive, Reston, Va. 20190-5362; http://www.nwf.org. As of June 2004, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the National Wildlife Federation meets the standards.

Natural Resources Defense Council, 40 West 20th Street, New York, N.Y. 10011; http://www.nrdc.org. Meets all standards.

Rainforest Action Network, 221 Pine Street, Suite 500, San Francisco, Calif. 94104; http://www.ran.org. As of June 2004, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the Rainforest Action Network meets the standards.

Save the Children Federation, 54 Wilton Road, Westport, Conn. 06880; http://www.savethechildren.org. Meets all standards.

Save the Manatee Club, 500 North Maitland Avenue, Suite 210, Maitland, Fla. 32751; http://www.savethemanatee.org. As of June 2004, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the Save the Manatee Club meets the standards.

Sierra Club Foundation, 85 Second Street, Suite 750, San Francisco, Calif. 94105-3465; http://www.tscf.org. As of June 2004, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the Sierra Club Foundation meets the standards.

Starlight Children’s Foundation, 5900 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 2530, Los Angeles, Calif. 90036; http://www.starlight.org. As of June 2004, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the Starlight Children’s Foundation meets the standards.

Tomorrow’s Abundance, also known as American Veterans Coalition, Children’s Cancer Assistance Network, Disabled Firefighters Association, Find America’s Lost Kids, National Association of Disabled Police Officers, and Vision for the Blind, 3110 Judson Street, Gig Harbor, Wash. 98335. As of June 2004, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if Tomorrow’s Abundance meets the standards.

Trinity Broadcasting Network, P.O. Box A, Santa Ana, Calif. 92711; http://www.tbn.org. As of June 2004, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the Trinity Broadcasting Network meets the standards.

Vietnam Veterans of America, 8605 Cameron Street, Suite 400, Silver Spring, Md. 20910; http://www.vva.org. As of June 2004, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if Vietnam Veterans of America meets the standards.