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.

Alternative Gifts International, also known as Alternative Gift Markets, P.O. Box 3810, Wichita, Kan. 67201; http://www.alternativegifts.org. Does not meet the standard calling for a charitable organization to have a board-approved annual budget for its current fiscal year that outlines expenses for major program activities, fund raising, and administration.

American Border Patrol, 2160 East Fry Boulevard, Suite 426, Sierra Vista, Ariz. 85650; http://www.americanborderpatrol.com. As of June 2006, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if American Border Patrol meets the standards.

American Chestnut Foundation, 469 Main Street, Suite 1, P.O. Box 4044, Bennington, Vt. 05201; http://www.acf.org. As of May 2006, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the American Chestnut Foundation meets the standards.

American Indian Heritage Foundation, P.O. Box 6301, Falls Church, Va. 22040; http://www.indians.org. As of May 2006, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the American Indian Heritage Foundation meets the standards.

American Service Council, also known as Christian Voice, 208 North Patrick Street, Alexandria, Va. 22314. As of June 2006, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the American Service Council meets the standards.

Charm Foundation, 22431 Antonio Parkway, Suite 160-453, Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. 92688; http://www.charmfoundation.org. As of June 2006, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the Charm Foundation meets the standards.

Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis, 1659 Branham Lane, Suite F227, San Jose, Calif. 95118; http://www.coalitionforpf.org. As of May 2006, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis meets the standards.

Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation, also known as the Holy Land Christian Support Network, 6935 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 214, Bethesda, Md. 20815; http://www.hcef.org. Meets all standards.

Institute of the Americas, 10111 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, Calif. 92037. As of June 2006, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if Institute of the Americas meets the standards.

International Association for Human Values, 4520 Fessenden Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20016; http://www.iahv.org. As of June 2006, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the International Association for Human Values meets the standards.

National Gaucher Foundation, 61 General Early Drive, Harpers Ferry, W.Va. 25425; http://www.gaucherdisease.org. As of June 2006, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the National Gaucher Foundation meets the standards.

National Missing Children’s Locate Center, 16 Northeast 148th Avenue, Portland, Ore. 97230; http://www.nmclc.org. As of June 2006, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the National Missing Children’s Locate Center meets the standards.

New Israel Fund, 1101 14th Street, N.W., Suite 600, Washington, D.C. 20005; http://www.nif.org. Meets all standards.

Pacifica Foundation, also known as the Pacifica Radio Foundation, 1925 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way, Berkeley, Calif. 94704; http://www.pacifica.org. As of May 2006, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the Pacifica Foundation meets the standards.

Parkinson Research Foundation, 420 Beach Road, Suite 701, Sarasota, Fla. 34242. As of June 2006, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the Parkinson Research Foundation meets the standards.

Partners In Health, 641 Huntington Avenue, First Floor, Boston, Mass. 02115; http://www.pih.org. As of April 2006, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if Partners In Health meets the standards.

Partnership Project, also known as SaveOurEnvironment.org, 1130 17th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036; http://www.saveourenvironment.org. As of June 2006, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the Partnership Project meets the standards.

Patient Advocate Foundation, 700 Thimble Shoals Boulevard, Suite 200, Newport News, Va. 23606; http://www.patientadvocate.org. Meets all standards.

Physicians for Human Rights, formerly known as the American Committees for Human Rights, 2 Arrow Street, Suite 301, Cambridge, Mass. 02138; http://www.phrusa.org. Meets all standards.

Red Cloud Indian School, 100 Mission Drive, Pine Ridge, S.D. 57770-2100; http://www.redcloudschool.org. Does not meet the standard calling for a charitable organization to spend at least 65 percent of its expenses on program activities.

Tel Aviv University: American Council, also known as American Friends of Tel Aviv University, 39 Broadway, 15th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10006; http://www.tauac.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) have an accessible annual report that includes program accomplishments; (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 June 2006, the organization had not provided complete information about its budget. Therefore, the alliance is unable to determine if the Tel Aviv University: American Council meets one additional standard.

Wolf Haven International, formerly known as Wolf Haven America, 3111 Offut Lake Road, Tenino, Wash. 98589; http://www.wolfhaven.org. As of June 2006, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if Wolf Haven International meets the standards.