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Wise Giving Wednesday: The Clock is Ticking for Year End Giving

For those U.S. donors seeking to get a 2015 tax deduction for charitable gifts, the clock is ticking. By the time this blog is posted, there will be less than 48 hours left for this opportunity. Not surprisingly, last minute donations are particularly popular with online gifts. For example, Network for Good reported via an online giving study that 12% of online gifts made in 2014 came in the last three days of the year. In making last minute contributions, here are some points to keep in mind.

Give with confidence by verifying the trustworthiness of the charity on Give.org. Look at our national soliciting charity report list to see if the organization meets the 20 BBB Standards for Charity Accountability. Or, use the Give.org search engine for both national and local charity reports.

If you want to confirm that the organization has received charitable tax-exempt status, you can use the IRS search engine but be sure you know the exact official name of the organization.

If you decide to give online, you can claim a 2015 deduction as long as the contribution transaction is posted before midnight on December 31 ^st even though your credit card bill won’t arrive until 2016.

If you prefer to mail a check, you need to be a bit more careful if you want a 2015 deduction. For example, if you use a mailing service other than the U.S. Postal Service, the “delivered when mailed” rule may not apply. Also, don’t post date your check with a 2016 date – doing so makes the check a type of pledge to give in 2016. For more information, see IRS Publication 526.

As part of our Building Trust Video Series, we are pleased to provide the following video that features Scott Case, Chair of the Board of Network for Good (a BBB Accredited Charity). Network for Good enables donors to make online contributions to charities and offers charities training in online fundraising.

Finally, remember to let us know by going to https://www.give.org/ask-us-about-a-charity1/ if you are interested in seeing a report on a charity not on the list and we will do our best to produce one.

H. Art Taylor, President & CEO
BBB Wise Giving Alliance

July 17, 2020
Wise Giving Wednesday: A Lesson from Martin Luther King Jr. Day
In looking back at the Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Day we just celebrated on January 16th, I am reminded that we honor Dr. King not only in regards to his legacy on civil rights but also for his encouragement for giving. As noted in the blog posted Monday by the Council on Foundations, we are urged to think of MLK Day as a “Day On, Not a Day Off” which quotes Dr. King as concluding, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?”

So, if MLK Day inspires us to service, how can we best take on this task, not just for one day, but as more of a commitment to service throughout the year? An article in Forbes makes the helpful suggestion of mentoring a young person. There are a number of charitable programs that involve assisting young people which can range from a couple of hours a month to longer programs depending on the interests and availability of volunteers. In addition, the website of the Corporation for National and Community Service includes a search engine titled “United We Serve” that enables visitors to locate volunteer opportunities in their area.

Independent Sector (a leadership network for nonprofits, foundations, and corporations committed to advancing the common good) previously stated that 62.8 million Americans or 25.3 percent of the adult population, gave 7.9 billion hours of volunteer service worth $184 million in 2014. Americans are clearly generous in giving their time to charities. As suggested in a previous Wise Giving Guide cover story on volunteering, however, potential donors are encouraged to find out, among other things, what charities expect of their volunteers, whether the volunteer work involves special skills or training, and whether the volunteer position involves a long term commitment.

As donors consider Dr. King’s question of what they are doing for others, we also hope they will take the time to verify the trustworthiness of the organization by seeing if the charity meets the 20 BBB Standards for Charity Accountability.

On a related note, as part of our Building Trust Video Series, we are pleased to provide a video featuring Nancy Kelly, MHS, Executive Director of Health Volunteers Overseas (HVO) (a BBB Accredited Charity) which seeks to improve the availability and quality of health care through education, training and professional development of the health workforce in resource-scarce countries. The organization reports that each year, health professionals complete more than 500 HVO volunteer assignments, contributing over 7,000 days of volunteer service at more than 80 HVO project sites around the world.

We are always working with charities to publish or update reports for donors. Visit Give.org or local BBBs to check out any charity before giving. Our recently evaluated charities include:
Finally, remember to let us know by going to https://www.give.org/ask-us-about-a-charity1/ if you are interested in seeing a report on a charity not on the list and we will do our best to produce one.

H. Art Taylor, President & CEO
BBB Wise Giving Alliance
July 17, 2020
Wise Giving Wednesday: Similar Sounding Charity Names
It is common practice for a charity’s name to include the disease, problem or issue that the charity seeks to address. So, for example, charities that address animal issues, diabetes, or the homeless, are likely to include those words as part of their name. From a marketing perspective, it helps donors and others know what type of charity is approaching them. On the other hand, for certain causes, this can result in a crowded field with hundreds of organizations including one or more similar words as part of their name.

Most of the time this name similarity problem is unintentional and just reflects the popularity of the charity’s cause. There are circumstances, however, where questionable organizations seek to confuse donors who may not recognize that the charity soliciting them is not the same one they have in mind. In BBB Wise Giving Alliance’s experience, this problem is particularly acute for charities that address cancer and veterans issues.

In recent years, U.S. government agency enforcement actions alerted the public to the potential for misleading charity appeals. In 2018, the Federal Trade Commission, state Attorneys General and state charity regulators announced their “Donate With Honor” initiative to crackdown on questionable appeals claiming to help veterans or active duty service members. In 2015, a similar combined press event was held by the Federal Trade Commission and state charity regulators against three cancer charities that engaged in deceptive practices.

To help avoid donor confusion on name similarity, here are some suggestions:

Look at the name carefully. This may seem like an obvious point to avoid charity name confusion, but we sometimes are not as careful as we could be because of other demands on our time and attention.

Address verification. Don’t assume the charity is located in the city and/or state appearing on the return envelope in a direct mail appeal. For large mailings, it is common for charities to use a different address, such as a P.O. Box, to help provide security and ensure prompt depositing of contributions. So, if you are just using the address to verify the identity of the charity, you may be mistaken.

Visit the Charity’s Website. This can help you verify the organization’s location, current activities, and if you have potentially confused it with another group.

Be Wary of Pressure to Donate Immediately. Excessive pressure in fundraising can unfortunately also be used as a means of reducing your likelihood of checking out the charity before donating.

Check with third-party evaluators. Visit the charity reports on Give.org and at your BBB to verify if it meets the BBB Standards for Charity Accountability.

Video of the Week

As part of our Building Trust Video Series, we are pleased to provide a video featuring Nancy Kelly, MHS, Executive Director of Health Volunteers Overseas (HVO) (a BBB Accredited Charity) which seeks to improve the availability and quality of health care through education, training and professional development of the health workforce in resource-scarce countries. The organization reports that each year, health professionals complete more than 500 HVO volunteer assignments, contributing over 7,000 days of volunteer service at more than 80 HVO project sites around the world.

Recent Reports

We are always working with charities to publish or update reports for donors. Visit Give.org or local BBBs to check out any charity before giving. Our recently evaluated charities include:
Finally, remember to let us know by going to www.give.org/charity-inquiry if you are interested in seeing a report on a charity not on the list and we will do our best to produce one.

H. Art Taylor, President & CEO
BBB Wise Giving Alliance
July 17, 2020
Wise Giving Wednesday: Matching Gifts and Impact Claims
It can be challenging to provide potential donors with incentives to make a contribution in view of so many competing interests in today’s marketplace. This is why many charities engage in matching gift appeals that announce a third-party has promised to match every dollar donated in a specified time period, usually with a required threshold (e.g., “we must raise at least $50,000 or lose the match.”)

We are disappointed, however, to see a growing trend for some matching gift appeals to include another promise about the “impact” of the charity, here some excerpts from actual past promotions:

Matching Drive – Double your impact!

Your Donation + Matching Gift = Double the Impact!

Now is the perfect time to make a donation to [ABC charity] – because your gift will have twice the impact! [XYZ person] has generously agreed to match, dollar-for-dollar, all individual donations up to $ 1 million.

Donations made to [ABC Charity] from now through the end of 201X will have double the impact! Every dollar donated to [ABC charity] will unlock a $1 donation from [XYZ Corporation] up to $740,000.

Some might conclude that the word “impact” in this context is intended to be synonymous with a reference to financial matching. The problem is there has been much discussion within the charitable community in recent years about the importance of charity impact: how effective has a charity been in addressing its announced goal(s) and mission? As a result, fundraising promotions need to be careful how the impact word is used. Few would suggest that more money represents a dollar for dollar increase in a charity’s impact. Due to the diversity of charity missions and goals and the numerous influences on any particular issue, the measurement of impact can be a complicated task that is unlikely to have a universal approach.

Words matter, especially in these social-media driven times when fewer of them can be pressed into service. When BBB Wise Giving Alliance has asked charities to substantiate the references to “impact” appearing in matching gift appeals, the contacted organizations usually agree to change their language to avoid creating a misimpression about the effectiveness of the charity’s activities.

To learn more about the charity impact issue and find out how the BBB Standards for Charity Accountability address this matter, visit our previous blog on this subject:

Video of the Week

As part of our Building Trust Video Series, we are pleased to provide a video featuring Kim Callinan, CEO, Compassion & Choices (a BBB Accredited Charity) that seeks to provide education, advocacy, media outreach and litigation to expand end-of-life options and improve medical care. The organization reports it works nationwide in state legislatures, Congress, courts, medical settings and communities to empower people with information and tools, including its free consultation program, to receive healthcare that is consistent with their values and priorities as they approach the end of life.

Recent Reports

We are always working with charities to publish or update reports for donors. Visit Give.org or local BBBs to check out any charity before giving. Our recently evaluated charities include:
Finally, remember to let us know by going to www.give.org/charity-inquiry if you are interested in seeing a report on a charity not on the list and we will do our best to produce one.

H. Art Taylor, President & CEO
BBB Wise Giving Alliance
July 17, 2020
Wise Giving Wednesday: BBB WGA Presentation at National Health Council Conference
Last week, the National Health Council held its 2018 Health Leadership Conference in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This is a membership organization that includes over 100 national health-related organizations such as voluntary health agencies, nonprofits with an interest in health, professional associations, as well as businesses involved in health care products and/or services that collectively “work for health care that meets the personal needs and goals of people with chronic diseases and disabilities.” This annual gathering included CEOs as well as other senior executives from these organizations.

BBB Wise Giving Alliance’s Chief Operating Officer, Bennett Weiner, participated in a panel that discussed how charity evaluators address the issue of measuring impact. In his remarks, he noted that as a standards-based charity evaluator, BBB WGA focuses on a variety of issues in the comprehensive BBB Standards for Charity Accountability. Since 2003, however, two of these standards (Standards 6 and 7), specifically address issues related to results reporting (also called effectiveness or impact assessments) that note it is essential for organizations to regularly make time to assess their past performance and define their future goals and actions. Standard 6 calls for the board to have a policy of completing such assessments every two years. Standard 7 seeks to ensure the charity governing board is provided with a written report on this assessment (i.e., how well it is addressing its mission.)

These standards do not require charities to conduct expensive long-term or longitudinal studies, but can be achieved by much more modest means. As an example see the Charting Impact 5-question results-reporting format recommended in the 2011 collaborative project that BBB WGA had with Independent Sector and GuideStar.

In his concluding remarks, Bennett recognized that while information on a charity’s impact can serve as a helpful supplement for donors and other stakeholders to consider, such information, by its nature, will always be historical, looking backward. To help charities engage in more forward-thinking efforts, BBB WGA encourages organizations to seek out collaborations with others that share their mission interests and find ways to accomplish more together than they could have achieved by working separately. For more information on collaboration, visit our January 10^th blog or review the Advancing Collaboration page on our website: http://www.give.org/advancing-collaboration/

Video of the Week

As part of our Building Trust Video Series, we are pleased to provide a video featuring Linda Webb, Executive Director, Ally’s House (a BBB Accredited Charity) that provides financial assistance to the families of Oklahoma pediatric cancer patients. The financial assistance covers expenses such as medical costs, housing, transportation to and from treatment, and household utilities. It also sponsors a summer camp for patients between the ages of 9-17.

Recent Reports

We are always working with charities to publish or update reports for donors. Visit Give.org or local BBBs to check out any charity before giving. Our recently evaluated charities include:
Finally, remember to let us know by going to https://www.give.org/ask-us-about-a-charity1/ if you are interested in seeing a report on a charity not on the list and we will do our best to produce one.

H. Art Taylor, President & CEO
BBB Wise Giving Alliance
July 17, 2020
Wise Giving Wednesday: Summer Camps and Charity
As we leave spring and approach summer, schools are completing the academic year and many families look forward to sending children to one of a variety of summer camps that can address almost every sport, music, art or scientific interest. While many families cannot afford such opportunities, there are a number of “philanthropy camps” that might offer fresh air, instruction, field trips and games to needy youth. You may be solicited to help children have summer opportunities they would not otherwise access.

If so, keep the following philanthropy camp tips in mind:
- Specialization: Philanthropy camps usually specialize in some way, whether it be helping children in poverty-stricken homes or catering to the needs of seriously ill children. Don’t assume what the camps do based on their names alone. Read the appeal carefully and look at the descriptive that appears on its website.
- Qualifications: Find out about the qualifications and training of the camp’s staff. For example, if the camp is addressing the needs of children with diabetes or with learning disabilities, does the staff have appropriate backgrounds and training to handle such circumstances? Having good intentions alone does not provide sufficient background to manage such circumstances. Also, does the camp conduct criminal background checks on all of its personnel?
- Licensing: States can vary in terms of what health and other regulations that children’s camps must follow. See if the camp’s materials indicate what licensing and permits they hold.
- Trustworthiness: Check out Give.org or the BBB in your area to see if there is a current report on the charity camp that indicates if the charity meets the 20 BBB Standards for Charity Accountability. Keep in mind that sometimes these camps are separate organizations devoted to providing this help for kids. In other cases, they might be a program of a larger cause that is addressing poverty, health or religious issues.
Video of the Week

As part of our Building Trust Video Series, we are pleased to provide a video featuring Delaney Gracy, M.D., Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Children’s Health Fund (a BBB Accredited Charity) which seeks to deliver health care to disadvantaged children. Among other things, it has a national network that operates in 17 states and the District of Columbia that help reach over 75,000 individuals each year.

Reports

We are always working with charities to publish or update reports for donors. Visit Give.org or local BBBs to check out any charity before giving.

Finally, remember to let us know by going to https://www.give.org/ask-us-about-a-charity1/ if you are interested in seeing a report on a charity not on the list and we will do our best to produce one.

H. Art Taylor, President & CEO
BBB Wise Giving Alliance
July 17, 2020
Wise Giving Wednesday: Passing Wise Giving Habits to Children
An online national survey of 1,004 American parents, commissioned by BBB Wise Giving Alliance, found that 61 percent of Millennial parents (ages 18-35) have talked about charity with their children in the past year, and they are introducing their children to more types of charity than parents of older generations. Millennials were most likely to talk with their young about disaster relief, animal protection, environmental, and health charities.

According to the survey, half of Millennial parents research charities before donating, compared to 37 percent of both Generation X (ages 36-51) and Baby Boomers (ages 52-70), and 29 percent of the Silent generation (ages 71-88). A helpful infographic summarizing these results can be found here.

Whatever the trigger(s), the BBB Wise Giving Alliance stands as a ready resource that helps donors verify the trustworthiness of charities. Our detailed evaluative reports specify if a charity meets the 20 BBB Standards for Charity Accountability, which identify expected behaviors on charity governance, finances, results reporting and appeal accuracy.

Video of the Week

As part of our Building Trust Video Series we are pleased to provide a video that features an interview with Jaime Berman Matyas, President and Chief Executive Officer, Student Conservation Association, (a BBB Accredited Charity). They have been involved in building the next generation of conservation leaders and encouraging environmental stewardship since 1957.

Recent Reports

We are always working with charities to publish or update reports for donors. Visit Give.org or local BBBs to check out any charity before giving. Our recently evaluated charities include:
Finally, remember to let us know by going to https://www.give.org/ask-us-about-a-charity1/ if you are interested in seeing a report on a charity not on the list and we will do our best to produce one.

H. Art Taylor, President & CEO
BBB Wise Giving Alliance
July 17, 2020
Wise Giving Wednesday: Environmental Organizations
The United Nations Climate Change Conference is taking place in Paris this week as world leaders gather to discuss global warming and other important environmental matters. Protests have taken place around the world to encourage leaders to take significant actions to address climate issues. This spotlight on the environment during the holiday season will also bring donor attention to charitable organizations that address environmental issues.

BBB Wise Giving Alliance reports on a variety of nationally-soliciting environmental groups seeking to address public awareness as well as take action on issues ranging from preserving wildlife to protecting the oceans and forests. Everyone recognizes the importance of protecting natural resources, but we also encourage donors to take the time to verify the trustworthiness of environmental charities by visiting Give.org to verify that they meet the 20 holistic BBB Standards for Charity Accountability (i.e., BBB Accredited Charities.) And, if you are more interested in helping environmental groups closer to home, keep in mind that many of the BBBs report on regionally soliciting charities that are engaged in local efforts to do their part in helping the environment.

As part of our Building Trust Video Series, we are pleased to provide the following video that features Robin Perkins, Director of Marketing and Communications for EarthShare (a BBB Accredited Charity) which annually helps hundreds of thousands of individuals connect with environmental and conservation charities. Among other things, they assist a number of workplace giving campaigns. Workplace giving also happens to be the subject of the cover story of the holiday edition of the Wise Giving Guide.

We are always working with charities to publish or update reports for donors. Visit Give.org or local BBBs to check out any charity before giving. Our recently evaluated charities include:
Finally, remember to let us know by going to https://www.give.org/ask-us-about-a-charity1/ if you are interested in seeing a report on a charity not on the list and we will do our best to produce one.

H. Art Taylor, President & CEO
BBB Wise Giving Alliance
July 17, 2020
Can Charity Watchdogs Assess a Charity’s Effectiveness or Impact?

In the wake of the Overhead Myth campaign which urged donors to recognize that charity financial ratios should not be used as the sole basis for making contribution decisions, some have encouraged charity watchdogs (and I hate that label) to formulate a universal measure of effectiveness that focuses on a charity’s results or impact. I have several concerns about this recommendation.

Due to the wide diversity of charity missions ranging from curing diseases to promoting religious beliefs and from helping the needy to saving the environment, it is unlikely that any single metric will be able to capture the effectiveness of all charity activities in a fair and objective manner.

Even if such a metric was proposed, it would be vulnerable to exploitation by some charities that will manipulate the impact metric just as some organizations manipulate financial reporting to show larger than actual program expenditures. For example, if the metric was based on accomplishing goals, a charity could set theirs knowing they are easy to accomplish. Also, focusing on an impact metric could discourage risk taking to solve problems out of fear that a promising but untested activity might not achieve its objective.

In my view, the most a charity monitoring group could do is to recommend potential content for an effectiveness assessment and verify if a charity produced a corresponding results report. But that verification would not measure a charity’s impact, it will just be identifying the process the organization used to gather its information and report its results.

Finally, while BBB WGA supports the idea of making charity impact reports publicly available ( see the 2011 Wise Giving Guide cover story on Charting Impact project), I anticipate many will focus on the positive results just as a typical charity annual report does today. This is one of the main reasons that BBB Charity Standards 6 and 7 focus on producing such reports for the charity’s board of directors so there will be greater openness about both positive and negative results as well as recommended course corrections.

H. Art Taylor, President & CEO
BBB Wise Giving Alliance

July 17, 2020
Wise Giving Wednesday: Helping Victims of California Wildfires
At the time this blog is being written, the wildfires in Southern California continue to spread, although the wind is reporting to decrease somewhat. CNN reports that a 1,000 homes and other structures have been lost to the blaze and the fire warnings now cover an area that impact 1 million residents.

2017 has seen its share of hurricanes, floods, mass shootings, earthquakes and other disasters and tragedies. It’s hard to keep track of them all. The outpouring of public concern and generosity has been extraordinary. For some reason, however, fires don’t receive as much fundraising response as some of the other disasters. A small number (compared to earlier disasters) of nationally-soliciting relief organizations have referenced activities on their websites that describe efforts to help those in need in California. From what we have seen, most of the appeal activity involves more regional charities and/or crowdfunding campaigns to assist specific families.

BBB’s Give.org, nevertheless, reminds donors to give thoughtfully to avoid questionable solicitation efforts.
- Give to vetted charities. Visit Give.org to find out if the charity engaged in relief activities for the California fires meets the BBB Standards for Charity Accountability. To help you get started, the following nationally-soliciting relief organizations meet the BBB Charity Standards and are engaged in activities to assist victims of the California wildfires: American Red Cross, Direct Relief and Salvation Army.
- Crowdfunding cautions. If you are considering donating to a crowdfunding posting raising money for a victim of the California fires, it is safest to give to families or individuals that you know personally. Not all crowdfunding sites have sufficient procedures to verify the accuracy of postings.
- Charity appeals should specify funded activities. Be wary of relief appeals from charities that have vague program descriptions and do not identify what activities will be funded through the money raised.
- Watch out for click-bait or phishing scams. Online giving scams tend to pop up after a disaster or tragedy to take advantage of public sympathy. Don’t click on links in email, text, or social media messages promising to connect you to familiar charities; go to the website of these groups on your own.
- Registered to solicit? Most states require charities to register with a state government agency (usually a division of the either the Office of the Attorney General or Secretary of State) before they can solicit for contributions. Visit the applicable government agency’s website to find out more.
Before this blog comes to a close, we want to acknowledge that this is the 150^th entry for Wise Giving Wednesday. We covered a lot of ground on a variety of charity topics these past three years, but we hope our information has been helpful to the community of donors who use our website to assist their contribution decisions.

Video of the Week

As part of our Building Trust Video Series, we are pleased to provide a video that features Melinda Kotzian, CEO, Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation (a BBB Accredited Charity) that seeks to find a cure and eradicate mesothelioma as a life-ending disease through its collaboration with patients and families, physicians, advocates and researchers.

Recent Reports

We are always working with charities to publish or update reports for donors. Visit Give.org or local BBBs to check out any charity before giving. Our recently evaluated charities include:
Finally, remember to let us know by going to https://www.give.org/ask-us-about-a-charity1/ if you are interested in seeing a report on a charity not on the list and we will do our best to produce one.

H. Art Taylor, President & CEO
BBB Wise Giving Alliance
July 17, 2020