Charity Monitoring Worldwide

During the introductory remarks (click here for video) of the Donor Trust and Participation Program held on March 21, 2024 in New York City, BBB Wise Giving Alliance’s President & CEO, Art Taylor, welcomed guests to a series of discussions that would explore the growing concern about fewer households giving to charity. Art began by welcoming Ana Benavides, President, Charity Monitoring Worldwide (CMW). This organization (previously known as the International Committee of Fundraising Organizations) has been promoting transparency and accountability in the charitable sector for over sixty years. Its members seek to demonstrate, after applicable analysis, that charities are accountable and transparent. This trustworthiness verification is accomplished by organizations located in twenty countries: Austria, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Ukraine, and United States. BBB Wise Giving Alliance has served as the United States member. Ana Benavides also serves as President & CEO, Fundación Lealtad, the Spanish charity monitor.

The membership of CMW consists of standards-based charity monitoring organizations that share common standards, produce reports by professional staff, and make these reports accessible and understandable by the donating public. As explained by Ana Benavides, “It is also important that there is no ranking because this is not a race between charities. We want to show that charities are doing a good job and they have been checked by an independent organization that is demonstrating they are trustworthy.” This worldwide network stretches over four continents and provides opportunities for members to share experiences, trends, and new developments in their evaluation processes. The subject charity reports produced by members are not one-time events but must be periodically updated to verify if a charity continues to meet its standards. Members also offer seals to charities that organizations place on their websites and appeals to quickly communicate that they meet standards.

CMW recently launched a new website that further describes the objectives and activities of the organization and seeks to further help its membership promote charity transparency and integrity.

Heart of Giving Podcast

In this week’s Heart of Giving Podcast, the featured guest is Trent Stamp, CEO of The Eisner Foundation. We discuss Trent's journey in philanthropy and the work The Eisner Foundation is doing to invest in intergenerational programs.

Finally, remember to let us know by going to 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.