Charity Governance

GOOD FOR THE ACLU: REPORT ON CHILLING EFFECT OF OFAC

DATELINE: June 16, 2009, Chicago

Mainstream charities have been upset since President George Bush (43) first began his efforts to identify and shut down charities that finance terrorist activities.  Everyone acknowledges that some charities have been used as fronts to finance terrorism.  Nobody disputes the need to shut those charities down.

What has troubled many U.S. charitable organizations that make foreign grants, provide disaster relief, and provide aid to third world nations has been the...

SIX MONTHS LATER: LOGISTICS WAS THE BIG PROBLEM IN TSUMANIS RELIEF OPERATIONS

Shortly after the tsunamis story fizzled out of the headlines this past February, our very own Jack Siegel  received a call to do an interview with a network of some 400 radio stations. He was asked the obvious question: Has there been any fraud detected yet with respect to all this money being raised for tsunamis relief in South Asia?  Jack indicated that he had heard...

FBI ARRESTS ALLEGED TSUNAMIS SCAM PURVEYOR: DONOR BEWARE

On Thursday, January 13, 2005, the FBI busted the alleged purveyor of a scam seeking to trick donors interested into contributing to South Asia earthquake-tsunamis relief.  The FBI alleges that the person in question had sent over...

U.S. TERRORISM POLICY AND TSUNAMI RELIEF CHARITIES MAY CLASH

As we noted earlier this week, in response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack, President Bush issued Executive Order 13224 (September 21, 2001), providing, among other things, that every United States person is prohibited from making or receiving any contributions of funds, goods, or services to benefit of those persons listed on the Annex to the order [this is a brochure and it may not be current, but it will provide you with some sense of the difficulty facing charities].  This order poses issues for relief organizations working in countries with large Muslim populations such as Indonesia, particularly if these organizations are partnering with local NGOs.

In its January 11, 2005 edition, the Wall Street Journal reports that the Tamil Tigers (a Hindu group) is on the list of terrorist on the State Department's list of terrorist organizations.... 

SYSTEMATIC EXAMINATION OF WHAT TSUNAMI RELIEF ORGANIZATIONS ARE DOING

From the outset, we have wondered what type of relief each of the major relief organizations provides and where they are providing it. In many television interviews, we hear heads of organizations talk in generalities, describing the need to get to victims fast and protect children against predators. Nothing wrong with that, but what exactly is each organization doing with its share of the money?

This analysis will take several days to post so we will post the analysis as we prepare it.  Please keep in mind that information is updated continuously from these organizations so for the most current information, please check each organization's website.  Nevertheless, we believe our analysis will be helpful because it is designed to provide a brief overview of what each organization is doing.

While we believe all of these organizations to be reputable, we can't guarantee that to be the case, or that these organizations will adhere to donor designations.  We don't endorse any of these organizations.

TSUNAMI RELIEF: SIDE ISSUES FOR FURTHER CONSIDERATION

There are a number of interesting issues lurking below the surface as everyone tries to grapple with the South Asia earthquake-tsunami disaster....

HONORING DONOR INTENT: DIRECT RELIEF INTERNATIONAL STEPS UP TO THE PLATE AND SETS AN EXAMPLE FOR OTHER RELIEF ORGANIZATIONS TO FOLLOW WHEN IT COMES TO TRANSPARENCY

Direct Relief International is one of the frequently mentioned disaster relief organizations providing aid to the victims of the South Asia earthquake-tsunami.  When we did our original post regarding earmarking, we indicated that their online donation form did not specifically provide for earmarking of funds for the tsunami disaster.  Direct Relief International has now addressed the issue of earmarking in a very detailed way.  There are no...

SENATOR BAUCUS' TSUNAMIS RELIEF TAX PROPOSAL IS WELL-MEANT, BUT MISGUIDED

Senator Max Baucus, the Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee proposed legislation that would allow Americans “to claim a tax deduction in tax year 2004 for donations made for tsunami disaster relief until...

DON'T BE MISLED BY ADMINISTRATIVE AND FUNDRAISING RATIOS--THESE ARE LARGELY IRRELVANT NUMBERS

A number of relief organizations that are providing South Asia earthquake-tsunamis aid  are highlighting what we call efficiency ratios on their websites.  All of these ratios compare administrative and/or fundraising expenses to total revenues, or some variation thereof.  You are suppose to believe that the charity in question is more efficient as the percentage of administrative and/or fundraising expenses declines as a percent of total revenues.  Don't... 

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WHAT EXACTLY ARE THE RELIEF ORGANIZATIONS DOING?

[WITH A MASSIVE OUTPOURING OF DONATED FUNDS COMES ACCOUNTABILITY: WHAT EXACTLY IS YOUR ORGANIZATION DOING WITH THE PUBLIC'S MONEY?  DON'T SPEAK IN PLATITUDES.  IF YOU CAN SHOW US PICTURES OF DEVASTATED PEOPLE, YOU CAN TELL US EXACTLY HOW AND WHERE YOU ARE SPENDING THE FUNDS YOU HAVE RAISED]

THIS PAGE WILL BE PERIODICALLY UPDATED (January 4, 2005 at 10:53 AM CST)

The money is now flowing to a number of relief organizations that are providing aid to South Asia earthquake-tsunamis victims.  That's good.  But what exactly is each organization doing?  We decided to take a look at press releases to learn exactly...