Watchdog Watch

Following are summaries of recent reports by the Council of Better Business Bureaus’ Philanthropic Advisory Service and the National Charities Information Bureau.

Those two private organizations report on whether charities meet standards for fund raising, governance, financial management, and public information. The organizations do not approve or disapprove of charities, and urge potential donors to evaluate the importance of variations from the standards. They also note 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 Council of Better Business Bureaus, Philanthropic Advisory Service, 4200 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Va. 22203; World-Wide Web http://www.bbb.org; and the National Charities Information Bureau, 19 Union Square West, New York 10003; World-Wide Web http://www.give.org.

BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU

AirLifeLine, 50 Fullerton Court, Suite 200, Sacramento, Cal. 95825-6205; http://www.airlifeline.org. Meets all standards.

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, 424 East 92nd Street, New York 10128; http://www.aspca.org. Meets all standards.

America’s Athletes with Disabilities (formerly United States Organization for Disabled Athletes), 8630 Fenton Street, Suite 920, Silver Spring, Md. 20910. As of March 1, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The bureau is unable to determine if America’s Athletes with Disabilities meets its 23 standards.

Animal Legal Defense Fund, 127 Fourth Street, Petaluma, Cal. 94952-3005; http://www.aldf.org. Meets all standards.

Disabled American Veterans, P.O. Box 14301, Cincinnati 45250-0301; http://dav.org. Does not meet the standard calling for solicitations in conjunction with the sale of goods, services, or admissions to identify at the point of solicitation: a) the benefiting organization, b) a source from which written information is available, and c) the actual or anticipated portion of the sales or admission price to benefit the charitable organization or cause.

Epilepsy Foundation (formerly Epilepsy Foundation of America), 4351 Garden City Drive, Landover, Md. 20785-2267; http://www.efa.org. Meets all standards.

Fulfill a Wish Foundation, 111 South Pine Avenue, Oldsmar, Fla. 34677. As of April 2, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The bureau is unable to determine if the Fulfill a Wish Foundation meets its 23 standards.

Kiwanis International Foundation, 3636 Woodview Trace, Indianapolis 46268-3196; http://www.kiwanis.org. Does not meet the standard calling for the soliciting organization’s financial statements to include a detailed schedule of expenses by natural classification (e.g., salaries, postage, utilities, etc.) for each major program and supporting activity, or the standard calling for solicitations in conjunction with the sale of goods, services, or admissions to identify at the point of solicitation: a) the benefiting organization, b) a source from which written information is available, and c) the actual or anticipated portion of the sales or admission price to benefit the charitable organization or cause.

National Organization on Disability, 910 16th Street, N.W., Suite 600, Washington 20006; http://www.nod.org. Does not meet the standard calling for the soliciting organization to have an active governing body that, among other things, meets at least three times a year, with a majority of its members present on average.

Parents Television Council, 600 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 700, Los Angeles 90017; http://www.parentstv.org. As of April 2, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The bureau is unable to determine if P.T.C. meets its 23 standards.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, 501 Front Street, Norfolk, Va. 23510; http://www.peta-online.org. Does not meet the standard calling for the soliciting organization to have an independent governing body whose directly and/or indirectly compensated board members constitute no more than one-fifth of the total voting membership of the board.

Polycystic Kidney Research Foundation, 4901 Main Street, Suite 200, Kansas City, Mo. 64112-2634; http://www.pkdcure.org. Meets all standards.

Red Cloud Indian School, 100 Mission Drive, Pine Ridge, S.D. 57770-9710; http://www.redcloudschool.com. Does not meet the standard calling for a reasonable percentage, at least 50 per cent, of total income from all sources to be applied to programs and activities directly related to the purposes for which the organization exists, or the standard calling for fund-raising costs to be reasonable by not exceeding 35 per cent of related contributions.

Shriners Hospitals for Children, 2900 Rocky Point Drive, Tampa, Fla. 33607; http://www.shrinershq.org. Does not meet the standard calling for a reasonable percentage of total income from all sources to be applied to programs and activities directly related to the purpose for which the organization exists.

Southern Poverty Law Center, 400 Washington Avenue, Montgomery, Ala. 36104; http://www.splcenter.org. Meets all standards.

United Way of America, 701 North Fairfax Street, Alexandria, Va. 22314-2045; http://www.unitedway.org. Meets all standards.

Volunteers of America, National Office, 110 South Union Street, Alexandria, Va. 22314-3324; http://www.voa.org. Meets all standards.

Word of Faith World Outreach Center Church, P.O. Box 22066, Tulsa, Okla. 74121-7000. As of March 16, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The bureau is unable to determine if the Word of Faith World Outreach Center Church meets its 23 standards.

NATIONAL CHARITIES INFORMATION BUREAU

Freedom from Hunger, 1644 DaVinci Court, P.O. Box 2000, Davis, Cal. 95617; http://www.freefromhunger.org. Meets all standards.

Native American Scholarship Fund, 8200 Mountain Road, N.E., Suite 203, Albuquerque, N.M. 87110; http://www.nasf.com. Does not meet the following standards: (1) that the organization spend at least 60 per cent of annual expenses for program activities; (2) that the organization’s annual report should include a) a narrative description of program activities that are presented in the same major categories as the audited financial statements, b) a list of board members, and c) a comprehensive financial summary that reports expenses by functional category — program, management/general, and fund-raising — and reports ending net assets; and (3) that the organization’s financial statements are prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, 2101 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 550, Arlington, Va. 22201-3077; http://www.missingkids.com. Meets all standards.