Watchdog Groups Plan to Merge

An updated version of this article, written after The Chronicle‘s print edition went to press, is available.

Two of the biggest organizations that monitor charities — the National Charities Information Bureau and the Philanthropic Advisory Service of the Council of Better Business Bureaus — plan to merge by the end of the year.

The two watchdog groups have long performed similar roles and have evaluated many of the same charities, but the merger has drawn some criticism.

One notable difference between the groups evaluation standards is in the way they measure whether organizations are spending enough on their charitable programs. The Philanthropic Advisory Service says that charities ought to spend at least half of their total annual income on such programs, while the bureau says that at least 60 percent of a charitys total annual expenses should be spent for charitable purposes.

The announcement of the merger plan did not please some senior executives of the National Charities Information Bureau. In a statement, Daniel Langan, director of public information for the bureau since 1990, said the merger meant that the Philanthropic Advisory Service would have a monopoly and would eliminate “an independent source of information.” He added, “The elimination of N.C.I.B. would mean a free ride for some charities that meet B.B.B. standards but refuse to be evaluated by N.C.I.B. because they cannot meet the tougher measurements.”

Officials of the Philanthropic Advisory Service could not be reached at press time for comment on Mr. Langan’s remarks.