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.

American Liver Foundation, 75 Maiden Lane, Suite 603, New York, N.Y. 10038; http://www.liverfoundation.org. Meets all standards.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, 230 North 13th Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 19107; http://www.bbbsa.org. Meets all standards.

Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, 1 Billy Graham Parkway, Charlotte, N.C. 28201; http://www.billygraham.org. Does not meet the standards calling for a charitable organization to: (1) avoid compensating board members who 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; and (3) 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 November 2005, the organization had not provided complete information about its finances, fund raising, governance, and programs. Therefore, the alliance is unable to determine if the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association meets 12 additional standards.

Box Project, 100 Business Center Drive, Suite 26, Ormond Beach, Fla. 32714; http://www.boxproject.org. Meets all standards.

Boy Scouts of America, 1325 West Walnut Hill Lane, Irving, Tex. 75038; http://www.scouting.org. Meets all standards.

Carter Center, 1 Copenhill, 453 Freedom Parkway, Atlanta, Ga. 30307; http://www.cartercenter.org. Meets all standards.

Communities In Schools, 277 South Washington Street, Suite 210, Alexandria, Va. 22314; http://www.cisnet.org. Does not meet the standards calling for a charitable organization to: (1) have the majority of board members attending each meeting in person; (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; and (3) have a board-approved annual budget for its current fiscal year that outlines expenses for major program activities, fund raising, and administration.

Concern Worldwide U.S., 104 East 40th Street, Suite 903, New York, N.Y. 10016; http://www.concernusa.org. Does not meet the standards calling for a charitable organization to 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; and to 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.

Gifts In Kind International, 333 North Fairfax Street, Alexandria, Va. 22314; http://www.giftsinkind.org. Meets all standards.

Global Impact, formerly known as International Service Agency, 66 Canal Center Plaza, Suite 310, Alexandria, Va. 22314; http://www.charity.org. Meets all standards.

Guiding Eyes for the Blind, 611 Granite Springs Road, Yorktown Heights, N.Y. 10598; http://www.guidingeyes.org. Meets all standards.

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

Medical Ambassadors International, 4048 Tully Road, Modesto, Calif. 95356; http://www.medicalambassadors.org. Does not meet the standard calling for a charitable organization to 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.

Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, 51 Locust Street, Suite 201, New Canaan, Conn. 06840; http://www.multiplemyeloma.org. Meets all standards.

NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation, formerly known as the NARAL Foundation, 1156 15th Street, N.W., Suite 700, Washington, D.C. 20005; http://www.prochoiceamerica.org. Meets all standards.

National 4-H Council, 7100 Connecticut Avenue, Chevy Chase, Md. 20815; http://www.fourhcouncil.edu. Meets all standards.

National Alliance for Autism Research, 99 Wall Street, Research Park, Princeton, N.J. 08540; http://www.naar.org. Meets all standards.

National Brain Tumor Foundation, also known as the Brain Tumor Foundation of America, 22 Battery Street, Suite 612, San Francisco, Calif. 94111; http://www.braintumor.org. Meets all standards.

National Jewish Medical and Research Center, 1400 Jackson Street, Denver, Colo. 80206; http://www.nationaljewish.org. Does not meet the standard calling for a charitable organization to 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.

National Sleep Foundation, 1522 K Street, N.W., Suite 500, Washington, D.C. 20005; http://www.sleepfoundation.org. Meets all standards.

National Transplant Assistance Fund, formerly known as the National Heart Assist and Transplant Fund, 3475 West Chester Pike, Suite 230, Newton Square, Pa. 19073; http://www.transplantfund.org. Meets all standards.

Operation Smile, also known as Operation Smile International, 6435 Tidewater Drive, Norfolk, Va. 23509; http://www.operationsmile.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; (2) 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; and (3) 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.

Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy, 1012 North University Boulevard, Middletown, Ohio 45042; http://www.parentprojectmd.org. Meets all standards.

Refugees International, 1705 N Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036; http://www.refugeesinternational.org. Meets all standards.

Relief International, 1575 Westwood Boulevard, Suite 201, Los Angeles, Calif. 90024; http://www.ri.org. Does not meet the standards calling for a charitable organization to: (1) have a minimum of three evenly spaced meetings per year of the full governing body; (2) accurately report expenses in financial statements; and (3) have a board-approved annual budget for its current fiscal year that outlines expenses for fund raising and administration. As of December 2005, the organization had not provided complete information about its finances. Therefore, the alliance is unable to determine if Relief International meets one additional standard.

Shiloh International Ministries, also known as Handicapped Children’s Services of America, P.O. Box 7157, La Verne, Calif. 91750. 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) spend at least 65 percent of its expenses on program activities; (5) spend no more than 35 percent of contributions on fund raising; (6) 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 activities; and (7) 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 November 2005, the organization had not provided complete information about its solicitation materials. Therefore, the alliance is unable to determine if Shiloh International Ministries meets one additional standard.

Trees, Water & People, 633 Remington Street, Fort Collins, Colo. 80524; http://www.treeswaterpeople.org. Meets all standards.

United Jewish Communities, 111 Eighth Avenue, Suite 11E, New York, N.Y. 10011; http://www.ujc.org. Does not meet the standards calling for a charitable organization to: (1) have the majority of board members attending each board meeting in person; (2) 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; and (3) have a board-approved annual budget for its current fiscal year that outlines expenses for fund raising and administration.

United States Soccer Federation Foundation, 1050 17th Street, N.W., Suite 210, Washington, D.C. 20036; http://www.ussoccerfoundation.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.

USO, also known as United Service Organizations, 2111 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1200, Arlington, Va. 22201; http://www.uso.org. Meets all standards.

World Opportunities International, 1875 Century Park East, Suite 700, Los Angeles, Calif. 90067; http://www.worldopportunities.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; (2) 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; (3) 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 (4) 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 November 2005, the organization had not provided complete information about its finances and solicitation materials. Therefore, the alliance is unable to determine if World Opportunities International meets two additional standards.