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.

Alaska Wilderness League, 122 C Street, N.W., Suite 240, Washington, D.C. 20001; http://www.alaskawild.org. Does not meet the standards calling for a charitable organization to submit to its governing body for approval a written report outlining the results of a performance and effectiveness assessment and recommendations for future actions; and to have an accessible annual report that includes financial information such as net assets.

American Indian College Fund, 8333 Greenwood Boulevard, Denver, Colo. 80221; http://www.collegefund.org. Meets all standards.

Animal Friends Rescue Project, 560 Lighthouse Avenue, Pacific Grove, Calif. 93950; http://www.animalfriendsrescue.org. Does not meet the standard calling for a charitable organization to make available annual financial statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

Appalachian Trail Conservancy, formerly known as the Appalachian Trail Conference, 799 Washington Street, P.O. Box 807, Harpers Ferry, W.Va. 25425; http://www.appalachiantrail.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) have a board-approved annual budget for its current fiscal year that outlines expenses for major program activities; (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; and (4) 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.

Food Animal Concerns Trust, 411 West Fullerton Parkway, Suite 1402W, Chicago, Ill. 60614; http://www.foodanimalconcernstrust.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, with the majority of board members attending each meeting in person.

Foundation for International Community Assistance, 1101 14th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005; http://www.villagebanking.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, and for compensated members not to serve as the board’s chair or treasurer.

Teammates for Kids Foundation, formerly known as the Touch’em All Foundation, 7851 South Elati Street, Suite 200, Littleton, Colo. 80120; http://www.teammates4kids.com. 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) have a board-approved annual budget for its current fiscal year that outlines expenses for major program activities, fund raising, and administration; (3) have solicitations and informational materials that are accurate, truthful, and not misleading; (4) have an accessible annual report that includes 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. As of December 2006, the organization had not provided complete information about its effectiveness measures. Therefore, the alliance is unable to determine if the Teammates for Kids Foundation meets one additional standard.