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 Anti-Vivisection Society, 801 Old York Road, Suite 204, Jenkintown, Pa. 19046; http://www.aavs.org. Does not meet the standards calling for a charitable organization to: (1) avoid compensating board members who serve as the board’s chair or treasurer; (2) avoid accumulating funds that could be used for program activities. The charity’s unrestricted net assets should not be more than three times the size of the past year’s expenses or three times the size of the current year’s budget, whichever is higher; and (3) 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 activities.

American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, 711 Third Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10017; http://www.jdc.org. Meets all standards.

American Near East Refugee Aid, 1522 K Street, N.W., Suite 202, Washington, D.C. 20005; http://www.anera.org. Meets all standards.

Blinded Veterans Association, 477 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001; http://www.bva.org. Does not meet the standard calling for a charitable organization to accurately report expenses in financial statements. As of January 2006, the organization had not provided complete information about its finances and governance. Therefore, the alliance is unable to determine if the Blinded Veterans Association meets three additional standards.

Global Hunger Project, also known as the Hunger Project, 15 East 26th Street, Suite 1401, New York, N.Y. 10010; http://www.thp.org. Does not meet the standard calling for a charitable organization to have a board of directors that provides adequate oversight of the charity’s operations and staff.

Globus Relief, formerly known as the Globus ReliefFund Foundation, 1775 West 1500 South, Salt Lake City, Utah 84104; http://www.globusrelief.org. Does not meet the standards calling for a charitable organization to have a minimum of three evenly spaced meetings per year of the full governing body; and to have an accessible annual report that includes financial information such as net assets.

Kiwanis International Foundation, 3636 Woodview Trace, Indianapolis, Ind. 46268; http://kif.kiwanis.org/kif. Does not meet the standards calling for a charitable organization to: (1) spend at least 65 percent of its expenses on program activities; (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 a board-approved annual budget for its current fiscal year that outlines expenses for major program activities, fund raising, and administration; (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; and (5) 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.

March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, 1275 Mamaroneck Avenue, White Plains, N.Y. 10605; http://www.marchofdimes.com. Meets all standards.

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10021; http://www.mskcc.org. Does not meet the standards calling for a charitable organization to: (1) make available annual financial statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles; (2) have an accessible annual report that includes financial information such as net assets, income, and expenses; (3) 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 (4) 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. As of February 2006, the organization had not provided complete information about its finances, fund raising, and governance. Therefore, the alliance is unable to determine if the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center meets eight additional standards.

Multiple Sclerosis Foundation, 6350 North Andrews Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 33309; http://www.msfocus.org. As of February 2006, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation meets the standards.

National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression, also known as NARSAD: the Mental Health Research Association, 60 Cutter Mill Road, Suite 404, Great Neck, N.Y. 11021; http://www.narsad.org. Meets all standards.

National Parks Conservation Association, 1300 19th Street, N.W., Suite 300, Washington, D.C. 20036; http://www.npca.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; and (3) 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 January 2006, the organization had not provided complete information about its finances, fund raising, programs, and governance. Therefore, the alliance is unable to determine if the National Parks Conservation Association meets six additional standards.

Pandas International, 4484 West Cottonwood Place, Littleton, Colo. 80123; http://www.pandasinternational.org. Does not meet the standard calling for a charitable organization to have a minimum of three evenly spaced meetings per year of the full governing body.

Pax, 30 Broad Street, 22nd Floor, New York, N.Y. 10004; http://www.paxusa.org. Does not meet the standards calling for a charitable organization to: (1) have a board-approved annual budget for its current fiscal year that outlines expenses for major program activities; (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. As of December 2005, the organization had not provided complete information about its governance. Therefore, the alliance is unable to determine if Pax meets three additional standards.

Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation of the U.S., 302 Ridgefield Court, Asheville, N.C. 28806; http://www.pbtfus.org. Does not meet the standards calling for a charitable organization to: (1) 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; (2) make available annual financial statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles; (3) have an accessible annual report that includes financial information such as net assets and expenses on major program activities; 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 January 2006, the organization had not provided complete information about its finances, fund raising, programs, and governance. Therefore, the alliance is unable to determine if the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation of the U.S. meets 11 additional standards.

Project Orbis International, 520 Eighth Avenue, 11th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10018; http://www.orbis.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 electronic access to its most recent IRS Form 990; and to 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. As of January 2006, the organization had not provided complete information about its finances, fund raising, programs, and governance. Therefore, the alliance is unable to determine if Project Orbis International meets nine additional standards.

St. Labre Indian School Educational Association, Tongue River Road, P.O. Box 216, Ashland, Mont. 59003; http://www.stlabre.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) spend at least 65 percent of its expenses on program activities; (3) spend no more than 35 percent of contributions on fund raising; (4) 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; and (5) 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.

V Foundation for Cancer Research, 100 Towerview Court, Cary, N.C. 27513; http://www.jimmyv.org. Does not meet the standard calling for a charitable organization 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.

Witness for Peace, 707 Eighth Street, S.E., Suite 100, Washington, D.C. 20003; http://www.witnessforpeace.org. Does not meet the standards calling for a charitable organization to: (1) 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; (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 a board-approved annual budget for its current fiscal year that outlines expenses for major program activities, fund raising, and administration; (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 the mailing address of the charity 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, and allow donors opportunities to have their names removed from solicitation lists.

Women for Women International, formerly known as Women for Women in Bosnia, 1850 M Street, N.W., Suite 1090, Washington, D.C. 20036; http://www.womenforwomen.org. Meets all standards.

Women’s Sports Foundation, Eisenhower Park, East Meadow, N.Y. 11554 ; http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org. As of February 2006, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the Women’s Sports Foundation meets the standards.