Watchdog Watch
June 9, 2005 | Read Time: 3 minutes
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.
American Bible Society, 1865 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10023; http://www.americanbible.org. Does not meet the standard calling for a charitable organization to avoid accumulating funds that could be used for program activities. The charity’s unrestricted net assets should not be more than three times the size of the past year’s expenses or three times the size of the current year’s budget, whichever is higher.
Lance Armstrong Foundation, P.O. Box 161150, Austin, Tex. 78716; http://www.laf.org. Meets all standards.
Catholic Medical Mission Board, 10 West 17th Street, New York, N.Y. 10011; http://www.cmmb.org. Meets all standards.
Feed the Children, 333 North Meridian Avenue, Oklahoma City, Okla. 73101; http://www.feedthechildren.org. Meets all standards.
Girls Incorporated, 120 Wall Street, New York, N.Y. 10005; http://www.girlsinc.org. Meets all standards.
Heifer Project International, 1015 Louisiana Street, Little Rock, Ark. 72202; http://www.heifer.org. Meets all standards.
International Learning Trust, also known as Income Builders International, 200 Lime Quarry Road, Madison, Ala. 35758. As of April 2005, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the International Learning Trust meets the standards.
National Association of Students Against Violence Everywhere, also known as SAVE, 322 Chapanoke Road, Suite 110, Raleigh, N.C. 27603; http://www.nationalsave.org. Meets all standards.
National Breast Cancer Foundation, 1 Hanover Park, 16633 North Dallas Parkway, Suite 600, Addison, Tex. 75001; http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org. As of April 2005, 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 Heritage Foundation, 6201 Leesburg Pike, Suite 405, Falls Church, Va. 22044; http://www.nhf.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 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; (3) 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; (4) have a board-approved annual budget for its current fiscal year that outlines expenses for major program activities, fund raising, and administration; (5) have solicitations and informational materials that are accurate, truthful, and not misleading; and (6) 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 April 2005, the organization had not provided complete information about its finances and governance. Therefore, the alliance is unable to determine if the National Heritage Foundation meets three additional standards.
Parents Television Council, 707 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 2075, Los Angeles, Calif. 90017; http://www.parentstv.org. As of April 2005, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the Parents Television Council meets the standards.
Population Council, 1 Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, New York, N.Y. 10017; http://www.popcouncil.org. Meets all standards.
