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.

Adopt-A-Native-Elder, P.O. Box 3401, Park City, Utah 84060; http://www.anelder.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 Adopt-A-Native-Elder meets the standards.

Disabled Veterans’ LIFE Memorial Foundation, also known as the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial, 2300 Clarendon Boulevard, Suite 302, Arlington, Va. 22201; http://www.avdlm.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 the Disabled Veterans’ LIFE Memorial Foundation meets the standards.

Morris Animal Foundation, 45 Inverness Drive East, Englewood, Colo. 80112; http://www.morrisanimalfoundation.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.

Native American Rights Fund, 1506 Broadway, Boulder, Colo. 80302; http://www.narf.org. Meets all standards.

Network in Solidarity With the People of Guatemala, 1830 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20009; http://www.nisgua.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 Network in Solidarity With the People of Guatamala meets the standards.

NGA, also known as New Clothes for New Tomorrows, 822 Veterans Way, Warminster, Pa. 18974; http://www.nga-inc.org. As of June 2006, the organization had not provided current information about its governance. The alliance is unable to determine if NGA meets one standard. The group meets all other standards.

Oblate Missions, 323 Oblate Drive, P.O. Box 659440, San Antonio, Tex. 78265; http://www.oblatemissions.org. Meets all standards.

Orphan Helpers, 2 Eaton Street, Suite 1000A, Hampton, Va. 23669; http://www.orphanhelpers.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 Orphan Helpers meets the standards.

Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, P.O. Box 65301, Washington, D.C. 20035; http://www.sldn.org. Meets all standards.

Surgical Eye Expeditions International, also known as SEE International, 27 East De La Guerra Street, Suite C-2, Santa Barbara, Calif. 93101; http://www.seeintl.org. Meets all standards.

Union of Concerned Scientists, 2 Brattle Square, Cambridge, Mass. 02238; http://www.ucsusa.org. Meets all standards.

Way to Happiness Foundation International, 201 East Broadway, Glendale, Calif. 91205; http://www.twth.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 Way to Happiness Foundation International meets the standards.

WeTip, P.O. Box 1296, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. 91729; http://www.wetip.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; (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) 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. As of June 2006, the organization had not provided complete information about its annual report. Therefore, the alliance is unable to determine if WeTip meets one additional standard.