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CHARITY REVIEW
Issued: November 2024 Expires: November 2026

EarthLinks

Standards Not Met
Standards Not Met
6 7 18
(303) 389-0085
2746 West 13th Avenue
Denver, CO, 80204
https://earthlinks-colorado.org
📄 Full Report 🖨️ Print 📋 BBB Charity Standards

Standards For Charity Accountability

Governance

  1. Board Oversight
  2. Board Size
  3. Board Meetings
  4. Board Compensation
  5. Conflict of Interest

Measuring Effectiveness

  1. Effectiveness Policy
  2. Effectiveness Report

Finances

  1. Program Expenses
  2. Fundraising Expenses
  3. Accumulating Funds
  4. Audit Report
  5. Detailed Expense Breakdown
  6. Accurate Expense Reporting
  7. Budget Plan

Fundraising & Info

  1. Truthful Materials
  2. Annual Report
  3. Website Disclosures
  4. Donor Privacy
  5. Cause Marketing Disclosures
  6. Complaints

EarthLinks does not meet the following 3 Standards for Charity Accountability:

Standard 6 (Board Policy on Effectiveness)
Have a board policy of assessing, no less than every two years, the organization's performance and effectiveness and of determining future actions required to achieve its mission.

EarthLinks does not meet this Standard because:

  • The organization's effectiveness assessment policy does not specify that this assessment will take place at least once every two years.

Standard 7 (Board Approval of Written Report on Effectiveness)
Submit to the organization's governing body, for its approval, a written report that outlines the results of the aforementioned performance and effectiveness assessment and recommendations for future actions.

EarthLinks does not meet this Standard because:

  • Although the organization produced a written effectiveness assessment report in December 2022, the report did not include recommendations for future actions.
  • The report was not submitted for approval to the board of directors.

Standard 18 (Privacy for Written Appeals & Internet Privacy)
Address privacy concerns of donors by (a) providing in written appeals, at least annually, a means (e.g., such as a check off box) for both new and continuing donors to inform the charity if they do not want their name and address shared outside the organization, (b) providing a clear, prominent and easily accessible privacy policy on any of its websites that tells visitors (i) what information, if any, is being collected about them by the charity and how this information will be used, (ii) how to contact the charity to review personal information collected and request corrections, (iii) how to inform the charity (e.g., a check off box) that the visitor does not wish his/her personal information to be shared outside the organization, and (iv) what security measures the charity has in place to protect personal information.

EarthLinks does not meet this Standard because the privacy policy on its website, https://earthlinks-colorado.org/, does not indicate:

  • What security measures are in place to protect personal information that is collected.

The BBB Wise Giving Alliance requested but did not receive complete information from the organization and is unable to verify the organization's compliance with the following Standard(s) for Charity Accountability: 15, 19

EarthLinks meets the remaining 15 Standards for Charity Accountability.

Stated Purpose:
"to cultivate transformation and self-worth with people experiencing homelessness and poverty."

Year, State Incorporated:
1996, CO

EarthLinks reports that it is a social-enterprise organization in Denver’s Sun Valley neighborhood addressing housing insecurity through Earth-centered programming. The organization’s Workshop program provides stipends to compensate participants for their work in the EarthLinks urban garden and craft workshop, where participants develop skills and leadership opportunities. EarthLinks offers trauma-informed, person-centered case management that ensures access to basic needs with a focus on housing placement and retention. In 2022, the organization report 4,573 hours of employment were completed by 70 participants in its Workshop program.

For the year ended December 31, 2022, EarthLinks's program expenses were:

Program services: $629,438

Total Program Expenses: $629,438

Chief Executive
Kathleen Cronan, Interim Executive Director

Compensation*
$70,553

Chair of the Board
Elizabeth Staton

Chair's Profession / Business Affiliation
Senior Instructor, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine

Board Size
14

Paid Staff Size
8

*2022 compensation includes annual salary and, if applicable, benefit plans, expense accounts, and other allowances.

Method(s) Used:
Direct mail appeals, Grant proposals, Internet, Direct mail appeals, Print advertisements

Fundraising costs were 5% of related contributions. (Related contributions, which totaled $791,118, are donations received as a result of fundraising activities.)

This organization is tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. It is eligible to receive contributions deductible as charitable donations for federal income tax purposes.

The following information is based on EarthLinks's audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2022.

Source of Funds
Foundations and other grants $423,341
Workshop sales, net $18,147
Contributions $231,721
In-kind contributions $28,753
Special events, net $107,303
Interest income $3,127
Miscellaneous income $1,401
Total Income $813,793

Programs: 80% Fundraising: 5% Administrative: 15%

Total Income $813,793
Total expenses: $785,057
  Program expenses $629,438
  Fundraising expenses $40,473
  Administrative expenses $115,146
  Other expenses $0
Income in Excess of Expenses $28,736
Beginning Net Assets $1,469,658
Other Changes In Net Assets $0
Ending Net Assets $1,498,394
Total Liabilities $974,096
Total Assets $2,472,490

Note: According to EarthLinks' 2022 audited financial statements, the organization received in-kind contributions totaling $28,753 in the form of miscellaneous items.

An organization may change its practices at any time without notice. A copy of this report has been shared with the organization prior to publication. It is not intended to recommend or deprecate, and is furnished solely to assist you in exercising your own judgment. If the report is about a charity and states the charity meets or does not meet the Standards for Charity Accountability, it reflects the results of an evaluation of information and materials provided voluntarily by the charity. The name Better Business Bureau is a registered service mark of the International Association of Better Business Bureaus.

This report is not to be used for fundraising or promotional purposes.

RELATED CONTENT

Report completed by:
BBB Wise Giving Alliance