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CHARITY REVIEW
Issued: September 2024 Expires: September 2026

Physicians for Human Rights

Standards Not Met
Standards Not Met
6 12 14 16
(646) 564-3720
520 8th Avenue Suite 2301, 23rd Floor
New York, NY, 10018
https://phr.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

Physicians for Human Rights does not meet the following 4 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.

PHR does not meet this Standard because:

  • The board of directors does not have a written policy stating that, at least every two years, an appraisal be done assessing the organization’s performance and effectiveness and determining future actions required to achieve its mission.

Standard 12 (Detailed Functional Breakdown of Expenses)
Include in the financial statements a breakdown of expenses (e.g., salaries, travel, postage, etc.) that shows what portion of these expenses was allocated to program, fund raising, and administrative activities. If the charity has more than one major program category, the schedule should provide a breakdown for each category.

PHR does not meet this Standard because, in the organization's financial statements for the year ended June 30, 2023, the detailed functional breakdown of expenses:

  • Only included a functional breakdown for program services. It did not include a detailed breakdown of expenses for each of its major program activities including sexual and gender-based violence, advocacy, asylum, research and investigations, communications, and program general.

Standard 14 (Budget)
Have a board-approved annual budget for its current fiscal year, outlining projected expenses for major program activities, fund raising, and administration.

PHR does not meet this Standard because, when the organization provided 2025 budget information, it indicated that the budget:

  • Did not identify total projected program service expenses broken down by major program category (sexual and gender-based violence, advocacy, asylum, research and investigations, communications, and program general).
  • Did not identify total projected fundraising expenses.
  • Did not identify total projected administrative expenses.

Standard 16 (Annual Report)
Have an annual report available to all, on request, that includes: (a) the organization's mission statement, (b) a summary of the past year's program service accomplishments, (c) a roster of the officers and members of the board of directors, (d) financial information that includes (i) total income in the past fiscal year, (ii) expenses in the same program, fund raising and administrative categories as in the financial statements, and (iii) ending net assets.

PHR does not meet this Standard because the 2023 annual report did not include:

  • A breakdown of total expenses by each major program including sexual and gender-based violence, advocacy, asylum, research and investigations, communications, and program general.
  • Total end of year net assets.

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: 18

Physicians for Human Rights meets the remaining 15 Standards for Charity Accountability.

Stated Purpose:
"to work at the intersection of medicine, science, and law to secure justice and universal human rights for all."

Year, State Incorporated:
1986, MA

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) aims to use medical and scientific research, advocacy, investigations, and forensic documentation to uncover evidence of human rights violations. The organization documents torture, including sexual violence, analyzes forensic evidence of attacks on civilians, proves use of illegal weapons by police and armed forces, defends doctors under attack for upholding professional ethical standards, documents evidence of physical and psychological trauma to help build cases for individuals seeking asylum, and collects and preserves evidence of atrocities to end impunity for perpetrators. PHR reports that it uses the disciplines of medicine, science, forensics, and public health to confront some of the world's problems. The organization also promotes respect for human rights, seeks justice for victims, and advocates for holding human rights violators accountable to prevent further abuses.

For the year ended June 30, 2023, Physicians for Human Rights's program expenses were:

Program services $6,838,360
Total Program Expenses $6,838,360

Chief Executive
Saman Zia-Zarifi, JD, Executive Director

Compensation*
$300,000

Chair of the Board
Gerson H. Smoger, JD, PhD

Chair's Profession / Business Affiliation
Principal, Smoger and Associates, PC

Board Size
18

Paid Staff Size
42

*2024 compensation, as reported by the organization, 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, Radio

Fundraising costs were 19% of related contributions. (Related contributions, which totaled $6,405,647, 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 Physicians for Human Rights's audited financial statements for the year ended June 30, 2023.

Source of Funds
Other revenue $143
In-kind contributions $571,887
Investment income, net $745,974
Contributions $1,564,431
Grants $4,269,329
Total Income $7,151,764

Programs: 72% Fundraising: 13% Administrative: 16%

Total Income $7,151,764
Total expenses: $9,561,803
  Program expenses $6,838,360
  Fundraising expenses $1,199,275
  Administrative expenses $1,524,168
  Other expenses $0
Income in Excess of Expenses $-2,410,039
Beginning Net Assets $11,581,226
Other Changes In Net Assets $-2,855
Ending Net Assets $9,168,332
Total Liabilities $1,109,061
Total Assets $10,277,393

Note 1: As noted in the financial section above, "other changes in net assets" refers to a loss on foreign exchange.

Note 2: According to the organization's audited financial statements for the year ended June 30, 2023, PHR received in-kind contributions totaling $571,887 in the form of physician services.

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.

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Report completed by:
BBB Wise Giving Alliance