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CHARITY REVIEW
Issued: July 2025 Expires: July 2027

Advocates for Youth

Standards Not Met
Standards Not Met
6 7 16
(202) 419-3420
1325 G Street NW, Suite 980
Washington, DC, 20005
https://www.advocatesforyouth.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

Advocates for Youth 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.

Advocates for Youth 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 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.

Advocates for Youth does not meet this Standard because:

  • It has not completed an effectiveness assessment in the last two years.
  • The organization’s effectiveness assessment did not take place within the past two years. The last assessment was completed

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.

Advocates for Youth does not meet this Standard because the most recent annual report did not include:

  • Total expenses for each program in the same categories that appear in the organization’s financial statements.
  • A roster of the board of directors.

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: 1, 3, 15

Advocates for Youth meets the remaining 14 Standards for Charity Accountability.

Stated Purpose:
"to partner with young people and their adult allies to champion youth rights to bodily autonomy and build power to transform policies, programs and systems to secure health and equity for all youth."

Year, State Incorporated:
1980, DC

Advocates for Youth (Advocates) works both in the United States and in developing countries with a focus on adolescent reproductive and sexual health. The organization reports that in 2023 it worked with over 28,000 health care providers, educators, and other youth-servig professionals, directly and indirectly strengthening the ability of more than nine and a half million youth to make informed decisions about their sexual health. Advocates' youth leadership and activisim programs include those focused on abortion, HIV/AIDS, contraception, LGBTQ, and racial equity issues. The organization also seeks to reach youth directly through educational resources such as AMAZE, an animated video series providing sex education information, and Kikis with Louie, a video series designed by and for young gay men of color and trans teens. Advocates and their partners also strive to build capacity of youth serving professionals through several programs including Future of Sex Education; School Health Equity; Contraceptive Access for Highly Vulnerable Youth; Sex Education Teacher Training; Assisting Providers in the Globla South; and QUeer and Gender Equity Po+roject. Finally, Advocates provides curricula around sex education, HIV and policy communications.

For the year ended March 31, 2024, Advocates for Youth's program expenses were:

Youth empowerment $2,082,013
Public affairs $1,568,716
International programs $928,723
Education and outreach $1,955,045
HIV/AIDS education $1,284,340
Adolescent and sexual health services $294,592
Public information services $4,679
Total Program Expenses $8,118,108

Chief Executive
Debra Hauser, President and Executive Director

Compensation*
$291,035

Chair of the Board
Allison Agwu, MD

Chair's Profession / Business Affiliation
Physician

Board Size
18

Paid Staff Size
52

*2023 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

Fundraising costs were 5% of related contributions. (Related contributions, which totaled $12,035,097, 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 Advocates for Youth's audited financial statements for the year ended March 31, 2024.

Source of Funds
Interest, publications and other $222,130
Individual contributions $328,893
Program service fees $371,787
Government grants $826,670
Foundation and corporate grants $10,879,534
Total Income $12,629,014

Programs: 83% Fundraising: 7% Administrative: 10%

Total Income $12,629,014
Total expenses: $9,771,989
  Program expenses $8,118,108
  Fundraising expenses $645,306
  Administrative expenses $1,008,575
  Other expenses $0
Income in Excess of Expenses $2,857,025
Beginning Net Assets $7,310,996
Other Changes In Net Assets $0
Ending Net Assets $10,168,021
Total Liabilities $3,852,495
Total Assets $14,020,516

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