Thirty-seven of the 237 charities evaluated by the National Charities Information Bureau in its Wise Giving Guide for June failed to meet the organization's standards for governance.
"Good governance - responsibility and leadership by an organization's board of directors - is at the heart of the credibility, integrity and effectiveness of any charity or non-profit group," said NCIB president Kenneth L. Albrecht.Twenty of the 37 charities do not have policy guidelines meeting NCIB's requirements to avoid material conflicts of interest.
Other major reasons for not meeting one or more parts of the governance standard set up by NCIB include having more than one paid staff member serving on the board or serving as board chair; not having an individual attendance policy for board members; and not having policies promoting pluralism and diversity within the organization's board, staff and constituencies.
Free, single copies of the "Wise Giving Guide" are available by sending a stamped, self-addressed, business-size envelope to National Charities Information Bureau, Dept. 165, 19 Union Square West, New York, N.Y. 10003.
Among the charities that did not provide NICB data for evaluation despite repeated requests:
A Better Chance
Account for POW/MIAs (Sky Hook II Project)
Afghan Mercy Fund (Council for International Development)
Afghanistan Relief Committee
African-American Institute
AMVETS National Service Foundation
American Council for the Blind
American Enterprise Institute
American Heart Disease Prevention Foundation
American Indian Heritage Foundation
American Indian Relief Council (Famine Relief Fund)
Asian Relief
Cancer Center for Detection and Prevention (Pacific West Cancer Fund)
Cancer Fund of America
Center for Community Change
Chemotherapy Foundation
Citizens for a Drug Free America
Council for Aid to Education
International Children's Fund
International Fund for Animal Welfare
Just Say No International
Morality in Media
National Cancer Center
National Cancer Research Center
National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund
National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation
National Urban Coalition
Public Citizen
Shriners Hospitals for Crippled Children
United Cancer Research Society
Veterans of the Vietnam War, Inc.
World Missionary Evangelism
Among the charitable organization that do not meet NCIB's standards are:
Asia Foundation
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
National Alliance of Business
National Council on Aging
National Council on Crime and Delinquency