August 12, 1999 | Read Time: 1 minute
The Council of Better Business Bureaus’ Philanthropic Advisory Service has appointed a committee to recommend ways to revise the 23 standards it uses to evaluate the financial-management, fund-raising, governance, and public-disclosure practices of charities.
The watchdog group first issued its standards in 1974 and last revised them in 1981.
The group says it decided to reconsider the standards in light of changes that affect charities and donors, including new non-profit accounting guidelines and the emergence of fund-raising techniques such as appeals via the Internet.
For example, the Internet presents new opportunities as an inexpensive way to communicate with a large pool of donors and potential donors.
But it also poses dangers, since “unscrupulous operators can also take advantage of the low-cost entry into this and create impressive sites with little behind them,” observed Bennett Weiner, director of the Philanthropic Advisory Service.
The 17-member committee recommending changes in the standards includes representatives of charities, foundations, and corporate-giving programs, as well as experts in non-profit accounting, state regulation, philanthropic research, and international fund-raising practices.
The council wants to be “as inclusive as possible” as it develops the new standards, Mr. Weiner said, and is encouraging members of the public to post comments about the standards on the Philanthropic Advisory Service’s World-Wide Web site at http://www.bbb.org/pas/srp.
