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 Association of the Deaf-Blind, 814 Thayer Avenue, Suite 302, Silver Spring, Md. 20910; http://www.aadb.org. As of January 2005, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the American Association of the Deaf-Blind meets the standards.

American Children’s Cancer Association, formerly known as the Children’s Cancer Society, 300 Lackawanna Avenue, West Paterson, N.J. 07424. As of January 2005, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the American Children’s Cancer Association meets the standards.

American Ex-Prisoners of War Service Foundation, P.O. Box 284, Watagua, Tenn. 37964; http://www.powfoundation.org. As of January 2005, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the American Ex-Prisoners of War Service Foundation meets the standards.

American Family Association, P.O. Box 2440, Tupelo, Miss. 38803; http://www.afa.net. As of February 2005, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the American Family Association meets the standards.

American Veterans Relief Foundation, 1118 East Chestnut Avenue, Santa Ana, Calif. 92701; http://www.avrfoundation.us. As of February 2005, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the American Veterans Relief Foundation meets the standards.

Any Soldier, P.O. Box 1929, La Plata, Md. 26046; http://www.anysoldier.com. As of February 2005, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if Any Soldier meets the standards.

Association for Disabled Firefighters, 1118 East Chestnut Avenue, Santa Ana, Calif. 92701; http://www.adisabledfirefighter.org. As of February 2005, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the Association for Disabled Firefighters meets the standards.

Braille Institute, 741 North Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles, Calif. 90029; http://www.brailleinstitute.org. As of January 2005, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the Braille Institute meets the standards.

Center for Science in the Public Interest, 1875 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20009; http://www.cspinet.org. As of February 2005, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the Center for Science in the Public Interest meets the standards.

Children’s Network International, also known as Military Family Assistance Paks, 5600 Rickenbacker Road, Building 1B, Bell, Calif. 90201; http://www.childrensnetworkinternational.org. Meets all standards.

Christian Foundation for Children and Aging, 1 Elmwood Avenue, Kansas City, Kan. 66103; http://www.cfcausa.org. Meets all standards.

Coptic Orphans Support Association, P.O. Box 2881, Merrifield, Va. 22116; http://www.copticorphans.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.

Don Stewart Association, also known as Feed My People, 11052 North 24th Avenue, Phoenix, Ariz. 85029. As of January 2005, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the Don Stewart Association meets the standards.

Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, P.O. Box 393, Hohenwald, Tenn. 38462; http://www.elephants.com. 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) 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; and (3) have a board-approved annual budget for its current fiscal year that outlines expenses for major program activities, fund raising, and administration. As of February 2005, the organization had not provided complete information about its governance and oversight. Therefore, the alliance is unable to determine if the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee meets one additional standard.

First Candle/SIDS Alliance, also known as the Sudden Infact Death Syndrome Alliance, 1314 Bedford Avenue, Suite 210, Baltimore, Md. 21208; http://www.firstcandle.org. Meets all standards.

Friends of the Earth, 1717 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Suite 600, Washington, D.C. 20036; http://www.foe.org. Meets all standards.

Gorilla Foundation, 1733 Woodside Road, Suite 330, Redwood City, Calif. 94061; http://www.koko.org. As of January 2005, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the Gorilla Foundation meets the standards.

Heart Support of America, 6344 Clinton Highway, Knoxville, Tenn. 31912; http://www.heartsupport.com. As of December 2004, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if Heart Support of America meets the standards.

Help Hospitalized Veterans, 36585 Penfield Lane, Winchester, Calif. 92596; http://www.hhv.org. As of February 2005, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if Help Hospitalized Veterans meets the standards.

Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International, 120 Wall Street, New York, N.Y. 10005-3904; http://www.jdrf.org. Meets all standards.

Last Chance for Animals, 8033 Sunset Boulevard, Suite 835, Los Angeles, Calif. 90046; http://www.lcanimal.org. Does not meet the standards calling for a charitable organization to: (1) have a board of directors with at least five voting members; (2) 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; 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.

National Organization for Women Foundation, also known as the NOW Foundation, 733 15th Street, N.W., Suite 240, Washington, D.C. 20005; http://www.nowfoundation.org. As of January 2005, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the National Organization for Women Foundation meets the standards.

National Society of High School Scholars, 115 National Headquarters, 2531 Briarcliff Road, Atlanta, Ga. 30329; http://www.nshss.org. As of December 2004, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the National Society of High School Scholars meets the standards.

Negative Population Growth, 1717 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Suite 101, Washington, D.C. 20036; http://www.npg.org. As of January 2005, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if Negative Population Growth meets the standards.

Pathfinder International, 9 Galen Street, Suite 217, Watertown, Mass. 02472; http://www.pathfind.org. Meets all standards.

Population Communications International, 777 United Nations Plaza, Fifth Floor, New York, N.Y. 10017; http://www.population.org. Meets all standards.

Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, 1025 Vermont Avenue, N.W., Suite 1130, Washington, D.C. 20005; http://www.rcrc.org. Does not meet the standard 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.

World Society for the Protection of Animals, 34 Deloss Street, Framingham, Mass. 01702; http://www.wspa-usa.org. As of January 2005, the organization had not provided complete information about its governance, measures to assess organizational effectiveness, and fund-raising appeals. The alliance is therefore unable to determine if the World Society for the Protection of Animals meets four standards.

CORRECTION
An item on Women’s American ORT should not have appeared in the March 3 column; the BBB Wise Giving Alliance is now in the process of reviewing whether the organization has made changes so it will meet the standards.