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 Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities / St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, Tenn. 38105; http://www.stjude.org. Meets all standards.

Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith, 605 Third Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10158; http://www.adl.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) 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) submit to its governing body for approval a written report outlining the results of a performance and effectiveness assessment.

Bible League, P.O. Box 28000, Chicago, Ill. 60628; http://www.bibleleague.org. Meets all standards.

Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, also known as the National Center for Tobacco-Free Kids, 1400 I Street, N.W., Suite 1200, Washington, D.C. 20005; http://www.tobaccofreekids.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 staff; (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; (3) submit to its governing body for approval a written report outlining the results of a performance and effectiveness assessment; (4) 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; (5) have an accessible annual report that includes financial information such as the amount spent for administrative expenses, fund raising, major program expenses, or total program service expenses; and (6) include on Web sites that solicit contributions the same information recommended for annual reports, as well as electronic access to its most recent IRS Form 990.

Catholic Charities USA, 1731 King Street, Alexandria, Va. 22314; http://www.catholiccharitiesusa.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 submit to its governing body for approval a written report outlining the results of a performance and effectiveness assessment; and to have an accessible annual report that includes the total amount spent for each of its major program activities.

Direct Relief International, 27 South La Patera Lane, Santa Barbara, Calif. 93117; http://www.directrelief.org. Meets all standards.

Doctors Without Borders USA (Mdecins Sans Frontires USA), 333 Seventh Avenue, Second Floor, New York, N.Y. 10001; http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org. Does not meet the standard 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.

Feed the Children, formerly known as Larry Jones Ministries, 333 North Meridian Avenue, Oklahoma City, Okla. 73107; http://www.feedthechildren.org. Meets all standards.

Girls and Boys Town, 14100 Crawford Street, Boys Town, Neb. 68010; http://www.girlsandboystown.org. As of July 2007, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if Girls and Boys Town meets the standards.

Heifer International, 1 World Avenue, Little Rock, Ark. 72202; http://www.heifer.org. Meets all standards.

Heritage Foundation, 214 Massachusetts Avenue, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20002; http://www.heritage.org. Meets all standards.

Kiwanis International Foundation, 3636 Woodview Trace, Indianapolis, Ind. 46268; http://kif.kiwanis.org. Meets all standards.

LUNGevity Foundation, 2421 North Ashland Avenue, Chicago, Ill. 60614; http://www.lungevity.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 a board policy for assessing, at least every two years, the organization’s performance and effectiveness and for determining actions to achieve its mission; (3) spend at least 65 percent of its expenses on program activities; (4) 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; (5) include on Web sites that solicit contributions the same information recommended for annual reports, as well as financial information and electronic access to its most recent IRS Form 990; and (6) take action to ensure that privacy concerns of donors are respected in the collection, dissemination, and securing of personal information.. As of August 2007, the organization had not provided complete information about its solicitation materials. Therefore, the alliance is unable to determine if the LUNGevity Foundation meets one additional standard.

Mercy Corps, 3015 S.W. First Avenue, Portland, Ore. 97201; http://www.mercycorps.org. Meets all standards.

National Multiple Sclerosis Society, 733 Third Avenue, Sixth Floor, New York, N.Y. 10017; http://www.nationalmssociety.org. Meets all standards.

National World War II Museum, formerly known as the National D-Day Museum, 945 Magazine Street, New Orleans, La. 70130; http://www.nationalww2museum.org. As of August 2007, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the National World War II Museum meets the standards.

Points of Light Foundation, also known as MissionFish, 1400 I Street, N.W., Suite 800, Washington, D.C. 20005; http://www.pointsoflight.org. As of August 2007, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the Points of Light Foundation meets the standards.

Seva Foundation, 1786 Fifth Street, Berkeley, Calif. 94710; http://www.seva.org. Meets all standards.

Sierra Club Foundation, 85 Second Street, Suite 750, San Francisco, Calif. 94105; http://www.tscf.org. Meets all standards.

Susan G. Komen for the Cure, formerly known as the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, 5005 LBJ Freeway, Suite 250, Dallas, Tex. 75244; http://www.komen.org. Meets all standards.

William J. Clinton Foundation, 1200 President Clinton Avenue, Little Rock, Ark. 72201; http://www.clintonfoundation.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 a board of directors with at least five voting members; (3) 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 (4) for compensated members not to serve as the board’s chair.