Happy New Year! As this is the first week of 2016, it’s natural for everyone to think of resolutions to improve. As important as they are, I am not talking about diet and exercise, but about being better donors and for charities to be more mindful of donor trust issues. Donors reading this blog are likely to already be careful when making contributions. Sadly, however, research has shown that only about a third of contributors check our charities before making a gift. You can help change this in 2016 be encouraging family, friends and colleagues to visit Give.org to identify the trustworthiness of charities by verifying if they meet the holistic BBB Standards for Charity Accountability (i.e., a BBB Accredited Charity).

To help ring in more charity trustworthiness in the New Year, we offer the following infographic which identifies some of the most frequent accountability deficiencies found in the rigorous evaluative reports completed by the BBB Wise Giving Alliance. These tips point to activities that are basic steps that charities of all sizes should be able to address – the frequency of governing board meetings, providing a results report for the charity’s board, having a detailed expense breakdown in financial statements and producing an annual report.  

Facebook has a special page for nonprofits that allows organizations to post images and a brief message (by invitation only.)  We are pleased to note that BBB Wise Giving Alliance was invited to post a message on the site which included the infographic below.  You can visit our posting here:    https://www.facebook.com/nonprofits/photos/a.85612830917.95996.41130665917/10153263692290918/?type=3&theater 

As part of our Building Trust Video Series, we are pleased to provide the following video that features Linda Boucard, Director of Public Relations, Fonkoze USA (a BBB Accredited Charity) which serves as a microfinance and poverty alleviation organization in Haiti and has over 65,000 loan recipients and provides other financial services. 

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:    

• Accordia Global Health Foundation
• Evangelical Christian Humanitarian Outreach
• Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation  

Finally, remember to let us know by going to  https://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