Watchdog Watch

Following are summaries of recent reports by the BBB Wise Giving Alliance.

This private organization 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 other standards.

Copies of the full reports are available from the Council of Better Business Bureaus, Wise Giving Alliance, 4200 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 800, Arlington, Va. 22203; http://www.give.org.

Foundation Fighting Blindness, Executive Plaza 1, Suite 800, 11350 McCormick Road, Hunt Valley, Md. 21031-1014; http://www.blindness.org. Meets all standards.

Fund for Animals, 200 West 57th Street, New York, N.Y. 10019; http://www.fund.org. Meets all standards.

Greenpeace Fund, 702 H Street, N.W., Suite 300, Washington, D.C. 20001; http://www.greenpeaceusa.org. At the time the report was published, the organization had not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance. The alliance is unable to determine if the Greenpeace Fund meets its standards.

International Fund for Animal Welfare, 411 Main Street, Yarmouth Port, Mass. 02675; http://www.ifaw.org. Does not meet the standard that financial statements present adequate information to serve as a basis for informed decisions, including significant categories of contributions and other income, expenses reported in categories corresponding to the description of major programs and activities contained in informational materials, a statement of functional allocation of expenses, accurate presentation of all administrative costs, and disclosure of multi-purpose activities that combine fund raising with one or more activities.

The alliance disagrees with how the organization recognized printing and publications and activities and communications costs in its audit report for the 2000 fiscal year. The alliance is therefore unable to determine if the International Fund for Animal Welfare meets the standard that at least 50 percent of total income from all sources be applied to programs and activities directly related to the purposes for which the organization exists, or the standard that fund-raising costs not exceed 35 percent of related contributions.

National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, Empire State Building, Suite 2212, 350 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10118-2299; http://www.nacme.org. Meets all standards.