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.

Aidmatrix Foundation, also known as Aidmatrix Virtual Aid Drive, 11701 Luna Road, Dallas, Tex. 75234; http://www.aidmatrix.org. Meets all standards.

Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy, 96 Cummings Point Road, Stamford, Conn. 06902; http://www.acgtfoundation.org. Meets all standards.

Center for Public Integrity, 910 17th Street, N.W., Seventh Floor, Washington, D.C. 20006; http://www.publicintegrity.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) submit to its governing body for approval a written report outlining the results of a performance and effectiveness assessment and recommendations for future actions; and (3) have an accessible annual report that includes financial information on program expenses.

Cure Autism Now, 5455 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 2250, Los Angeles, Calif. 90036; http://www.cureautismnow.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) 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; 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. As of February 2007, the organization had not provided complete information about its effectiveness measures. Therefore, the alliance is unable to determine if Cure Autism Now meets one additional standard.

Diabetes Research Institute Foundation, also known as Dad’s Day (Dollars Against Diabetes), 200 South Park Road, Suite 100, Hollywood, Fla. 33021; http://www.diabetesresearch.org. Does not meet the standards calling for a charitable organization to have a minimum of three evenly spaced meetings per year of the full governing body, with the majority of board members attending each meeting in person; 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.

Earthwatch Institute, 3 Clock Tower Place, Suite 100, Maynard, Mass. 01754; http://www.earthwatch.org. Does not meet the standards calling for a charitable organization to: (1) submit to its governing body for approval a written report outlining the results of an effectiveness assessment; (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 an accessible annual report that includes financial information such as net assets. As of January 2007, the organization had not provided complete information about its governance. Therefore, the alliance is unable to determine if the Earthwatch Institute meets one additional standard.

Friends of the Earth, 1717 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Suite 600, Washington, D.C. 20036; http://www.foe.org. Meets all standards.

Global Peace Initiative, 24210 East Lake Houston Parkway, Huffman, Tex. 77336; http://www.globalpeacenow.com. As of January 2007, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the Global Peace Initiative meets the standards.

International Bible Society, 1820 Jet Stream Drive, Colorado Springs, Colo. 80921; http://www.ibs.org. As of January 2007, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if International Bible Society meets the standards.

National Coalition for the Protection of Children and Families, formerly known as the National Coalition Against Pornography, 800 Compton Road, Suite 9224, Cincinnati, Ohio 45231; http://www.nationalcoalition.org. Does not meet the standards calling for a charitable organization to 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; and 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.

Pearl S. Buck International, 520 Dublin Road, Perkasie, Pa. 18944; http://www.pearlsbuck.org. Meets all standards.

Prem Rawat Foundation, 1223 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 914, Santa Monica, Calif. 90403; http://www.tprf.org. Meets all standards.

St. Jude’s Ranch for Children, 100 St. Jude’s Street, P.O. Box 60100, Boulder City, Nev. 89005; http://www.stjudesranch.org. As of February 2007, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if St. Jude’s Ranch for Children meets the standards.

The Arc of the United States, formerly known as the Association for Retarded Citizens, 1010 Wayne Avenue, Suite 650, Silver Spring, Md. 20910; http://www.thearc.org. Does not meet the standards calling for a charitable organization to: (1) spend no more than 35 percent of contributions on fund raising; (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) 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.

United Methodist Committee on Relief, 475 Riverside Drive, Room 330, New York, N.Y. 10115; http://www.umcor.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) submit to its governing body for approval a written report outlining the results of an effectiveness assessment; and (3) 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.

Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, 406 West 34th Street, Kansas City, Mo. 64111; http://www.vfw.org. As of February 2007, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States meets the standards.

Wounded Warrior Project, 7020 AC Skinner Parkway, Suite 100, Jacksonville, Fla. 32256; http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org. As of February 2007, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the Wounded Warrior Project meets the standards.