Bbb Wise Giving Alliance

“The by-laws of the organization were updated to remove reference to a single membership corporate structure and include changes established by the licensing agreement between council of better business bureaus and the organization. Changes to the by-laws include the following: 1) reference to sole membership corporate structure removed 2) fundamental transactions (merger, dissolution, conversion etc.) will need to be made in consultation with council of better business bureaus 3) board member minimum increased from 13 to 15 4) two board members will be appointed by council of better business bureaus board 5) council of better business bureaus president will serve as a voting member of the board of directors 6) governance and nominating committee defined 6) office of vice chair defined”

“The number and general qualifications of voting members is determined by the board of directors.”

“The voting members of the board of directors consist of the following individuals: the cbbb president, two individuals who are appointed by the cbbb board after consulting with the bbb wise giving alliance governance and nominating committee, two individuals who are bbb presidents/ceos and elected by the board of directors, and ten to sixteen individuals who are elected by the board of directors.”

“The following decisions are subject to the approval of the president of the council of better business bureaus inc: amendment of by-laws and articles of incorporation, sale, termination and mergers.”

“A draft of the irs form 990 is shared with the bbb wise giving alliance audit committee and board of directors prior to its submission to the irs, taking into account their comments.”

“Bbb wise giving alliance board members are annually asked to complete a conflict of interest form. No conflicts have arisen, so follow-up was not required.”

“The board of wga reviews the performance of the president and ceo. The board sets goals and expectations for the entity, and president and ceo position and assesses the president and ceo's performance in meeting those goals. This assessment is used in conjunction with a review of compensation information available for similar positions each year in determining the president and ceo's compensation.”

“Bbb wise giving alliance audited financial statements and other governing documents are made available to inquirers upon request.”

“The cbbb president & ceo serves on the bbb wga board, representing cbbb pursuant to bbb wga bylaws and a license agreement between bbb wga and cbbb which seeks to strengthen their strategic alliance and ensure collaboration with cbbb in developing and realizing mutual organizational goals.”

“Bbb wise giving alliance's irs form w-3, transmittal of wages and tax statement, is included as part of the filing for council of better business bureaus, inc., a related organization. The bbb wise giving alliance (the alliance) is affiliated with the council of better business bureaus, inc. (cbbb), a business membership organization tax exempt under section 501(c)(6) of the internal revenue code. The alliance reimburses cbbb for rent, accounting services, postage, office supplies, legal services, and technical consulting. In addition, the alliance reimburses cbbb for salaries, payroll taxes, and benefits of alliance staff persons paid through cbbb.”

“Bbb standards for charity accountability: one of the key distinctions between bbb wga and other charity monitoring organzations are the 20 bbb charity standards which address charity governance, finances, results reporting, donor privacy, and fundraising practices. They serve as the basis for rigorous evaluations completed by the bbb wga expert research staff. A detailed explanation of how each standard is applied appears on give.org. Give.org website: bbb wga launched a new weekly blog on its website in 2015: "wise giving wednesday." this blog features a discussion on a variety of charity accountability issues including volunteering, the value of standards, and cybersecurity. The blog also includes a "building trust" video series which consists of a video interview with the ceos of major national charitable organizations. In addition, the blog provides links to recently completed national charity reports. International conference on charity accountability: in june 2015, bbb wga hosted a charity conference in washington dc about advancing donor trust, which was held in conjunction with the international committee on fundraising organizations - an international association of national charity monitoring organizations with a membership of standards-based charity reporting organizations that report on charities in their respective countries. Topics covered in the panel presentations included charity security and privacy, gaining trust of new generations, and communicating charity value and inspiring trust. Major charity fraud announcement: on may 19, 2015, bbb wga joined a washington dc press conference that was held by the federal trade commission and law enforcement agencies from across the country. This confernce announced a major government action against four cancer charities that were accused of collectively bilking more that $187 million form the public over a period of several years. Bbb wga had previously reported that three of these cancer charities did not provide information to bbb wga despite repeated written request, and while the fourth charity provided information, it did not meet several bbb charity standards. Public outreach: bbb wga issued a number of press releases in 2015 on such topics as: giving wisely on giving tuesday, hurricane patricia donation tips, syrian refugee assistance, and advice on donating to nepal earthquake relief. Such educational efforts were assisted by distributions at the regional level. In 2015, 57 of the 112 better business bureaus in the united states and canada had local charity reporting programs that genrated an additional 10,000 reports using the same standards as bbb wga. Promoting wise giving: in september 2015, bbb wga launched a public campaign to bring attention to charities that do not disclose any information desipite repeated written requests. These are called "nondisclosure organizations." bbb wga reports on these organizations have a literal red flag - a red exclamation mark- along with an expalnation about this lack of cooperation. Wise giving guide: during 2015, cover stories appearing in the wise giving guide magazine included: privacy and security in online giving, when charities don't disclose, and workplace giving.”

“The audit oversight process remains unchanged from the prior year.”

“The functional allocation of compensation expenses into the three expense categories of program services, management and general, and fund raising was based on time sheet data that kept track of actual staff time spent on these activities during 2015.”