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 Forests, 734 15th Street, N.W., Suite 800, Washington, D.C. 20013; http://www.americanforests.org. Meets all standards.

American Macular Degeneration Foundation, 132 Main Street, Haydenville, Mass. 01039; http://www.macular.org. As of August 2005, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the American Macular Degeneration Foundation meets the standards.

American Red Cross, 2025 E Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20006; http://www.redcross.org. Meets all standards.

Angel Flight America, also known as AirLifeLine, 4300 Westgrove Drive, Addison, Tex. 75001; http://www.angelflightamerica.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) 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 (3) 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.

Betty Ford Center at Eisenhower, 39000 Bob Hope Drive, Rancho Mirage, Calif. 92270; http://www.bettyfordcenter.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, with the majority of board members attending each meeting in person; (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; (3) have an accessible annual report that includes a roster of officers and members of the board of directors and financial information such as net assets, income, and expenses; and (4) 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. As of August 2005, the organization had not provided complete information about its solicitation materials. Therefore, the alliance is unable to determine if the Betty Ford Center at Eisenhower meets one additional standard.

Bible League, P.O. Box 28000, Chicago, Ill. 60628; http://www.bibleleague.org. Does not meet the standards calling for a charitable organization to have an accessible annual report that includes end-of-year net assets; and to 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.

Boys & Girls Clubs of America, 1230 West Peachtree Street, N.W., Atlanta, Ga. 30309; http://www.bgca.org. Meets all standards.

Catholic Charities USA, 1731 King Street, Alexandria, Va. 22314; http://www.catholiccharitiesusa.org. Meets all standards.

Child Watch of North America, 7380 Sand Lake Road, Suite 500, Orlando, Fla. 32819; http://www.childwatch.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 minimum of three evenly spaced meetings per year of the full governing body, with the majority of board members attending each meeting in person; (3) 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; (4) 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; (5) make available annual financial statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles; (6) have a board-approved annual budget for its current fiscal year that outlines expenses for major program activities, fund raising, and administration; (7) 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; (8) 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 (9) 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.

Church World Service, 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 700, New York, N.Y. 10115; http://www.churchworldservice.org. Meets all standards.

Civil War Preservation Trust, 1331 H Street, N.W., Suite 1001, Washington, D.C. 20005; http://www.civilwar.org. Does not meet the standards calling for a charitable organization to 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 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. As of July 2005, the organization had not provided complete information about its finances and governance. Therefore, the alliance is unable to determine if the Civil War Preservation Trust meets four additional standards.

Global AIDS Alliance, also known as Keep a Child Alive, 1225 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 401, Washington, D.C. 20036; http://www.globalaidsalliance.org. Meets all standards.

Goodwill Industries International, 15810 Indianola Drive, Rockville, Md. 20855; http://www.goodwill.org. Meets all standards.

Greenpeace Fund, also known as Greenpeace USA, 702 H Street, N.W., Suite 300, Washington, D.C. 20001; http://www.greenpeacefund.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; and (3) 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.

International Medical Corps, 1919 Santa Monica Boulevard, Suite 300, Santa Monica, Calif. 90404; http://www.imcworldwide.org. Meets all standards.

Lutheran World Relief, 700 Light Street, Baltimore, Md. 21230; http://www.lwr.org. Meets all standards.

National Children’s Cancer Society, 1015 Locust Street, Suite 600, St. Louis, Mo. 63101; http://www.nationalchildrenscancersociety.org. Meets all standards.

Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, 1726 M Street, N.W., Suite 400, Washington, D.C. 20036; http://www.pflag.org. Meets all standards.

Scleroderma Foundation, 12 Kent Way, Suite 101, Byfield, Mass. 01922; http://www.scleroderma.org. Meets all standards.

Women’s Funding Network, formerly known as the National Network of Women’s Funds, 1375 Sutter Street, Suite 406, San Francisco, Calif. 94109; http://www.wfnet.org. Meets all standards.