As quoted by the Associated Press, CharityWatch President Daniel Borochoff commented that nonprofits "evidently saw New Era making money for a competitor and just played follow the leader, gambling away their individual donor contributions for snake oil.". Moreover, CharityWatch noted that ARC reported a negative unrestricted fund balance at fiscal year-end over a six-year span from fiscal 2011-2016. Otherwise, we would be attributing changes (increase in graduation rate and increase in earnings) to the nonprofit when they would have happened anyway. under Section 527 of the IRS Tax Code. PLN printISSN: 10757678 |PLN online ISSN: 2577-8803, Deep-Seated Culture of Violence and Abysmal Medical Care at Rikers Island, New Mexico Jail Pays $500,000 for Prisoners Death, Supreme Court Clarifies Legal Standard for Pre-Trial Detainee Excessive Force Claims, Whether Private Actors Entitled to Qualified Immunity Bypassed Due to Factual Dispute, Error for Florida Court to Find Action Moot Before Ruling on Motion to Supplement, CDCR Adopts New Contraband Rules on Obscene, Gang-related Materials, Brits Alarmed to Learn Prisoners Work as Insurance Telemarketers, Arizona Department of Corrections Adopts Same-Sex Marriage Policy, Ninth Circuit: Brutal Cavity Search Violated Fourth Amendment, Florida Home Confinement Program Criticized After Witness Murder, Strip Searches of Female Visitors on Their Menstrual Period Addressed at CCA Shareholder Meeting, Peer-Review Reports Must be Disclosed in Philadelphia Jail Conditions Suit, California Prison Officials Ordered to Provide Qualified Sign Language Interpreters for All Deaf Prisoners, Settlement Moots Appeal of Claims Denied by Summary Judgment, $1.35 Million Total Settlement for South Carolina Detainee Beaten by Jail Guard, Texas Prisoners Face Annual Shortage of Hygiene Items in Prison Commissaries, Alabama DOC Agrees to Protect Women Prisoners from Systemic Sexual Abuse, Harassment, Harris County, Texas Jail Prisoners Death Results in Firings, Lawsuits, Companies Pitch Tablets for Prisoners to Maintain Family Ties, Aid in Reentry and Generate Profit, Private Prison Corporation GEO Group Expands its Stable of Former Top Federal Officials, Georgias Privatized Probation Statute Facially Constitutional, but Problems with Administration, New Jersey County Seeks New Jail Phone Contract, Increases Commission Rate, Deaths, Lawsuits Plague San Diego County Jail, Chicago Systematically Denies Medical Care to Detainees; $1 Million Verdict, Successful Defense of Consent Decree Merits Award of Untimely Attorney Fees, Supreme Court Holds Equitable Tolling Excuses Missed Federal Tort Claim Filing Deadlines, $400,000 Settlement in Suit Over Minnesota Prisoners Death Due to Medical Neglect, Supreme Court Holds Jurors Alleged Lies During Voir Dire Not Grounds for New Trial, 32 Deaths at CCA-operated Immigration Detention Facilities Include at Least 7 Suicides, $6.2 Million Settlement Reached in D.C. Charity Navigator: The 10 Best Charities - Direct Relief The organization's stated purpose was to sell affordable food to the needy by purchasing food in bulk and distributing it through a network of volunteers and churches. 60 Minutes surveyed about thirty schools that CAI claimed to have built, finding that roughly half of them were empty, built by someone else, or not receiving funding from CAI. Based on Marks' research, he alleges that a couple of her most heart rendering stories are at best misrepresented and at worst fiction. Full Credit: The charity's audited financials were prepared by an independent accountant with an audit oversight committee. Kim Williams, Pia Louallen and Jerry Mohammed reportedly have all proclaimed innocence through their lawyers in this case, but each of them respectively were facing multiple charges and a potentially lengthy prison sentence in connection with their alleged crimes. Williams luck started to run out in July 2015, though, when HAI hired a new, highly qualified executive director, the Reverend D. Alexandra Dyer. Our analysts check the charity's website to see if the organization has a donor privacy policy in place and what it does and does not cover. Following a detailed review of the financial records for the [fiscal] year ended June 30, 2017, management discovered a misappropriation approximating $343,000 for the fiscal year. Williams was accused of creating dozens of phantom employee bank accounts wherein she direct-deposited over $750,000 of HAI funds, with about $600,000 going to her own benefit and $150,000 to that of her best friend, Pia Louallen, who also wascharged in the case. Current CEO and Board Chair can be found in the Leadership & Adaptability report below. loading and try your donation again. National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund cannot currently be evaluated by our Impact & Results methodology because either (A) it is eligible, but we have not yet received data; (B) we have not yet developed an algorithm to estimate its programmatic impact; (C) its programs are not direct services; or (D) it is not heavily reliant on contributions from individual donors.Note: The absence of a score does not indicate a positive or negative assessment, it only indicates that we have not yet evaluated the organization. In January 2011, Jones and FTC announced a resolution of the legal dispute. PPF earned its worst charity ranking, according to the Times and CIR, by spending more than 32% of the $37.7 million it took in over a 10-year period from 2002-2012 on fundraising fees. This measure reflects the percent of its total expenses a charity spends on the programs and services it exists to deliver. Such GIK schemes, however, have long been an industry-wide concern to CharityWatch.). WonderWork presents a case study on how a dominant CEO, left unchecked by a passive and overly deferential Board of Directors, can damage a charity beyond repair" Final Report of Examiner, In re WonderWork, Inc. (U.S. Bankruptcy Court). Learn more about the BMF on the IRS website, Organization which receives a substantial part of its support from a governmental unit or the general public 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) (BMF foundation code: 15), Independent - the organization is an independent organization or an independent auxiliary (i.e., not affiliated with a National, Regional, or Geographic grouping of organizations). Four men stepped forward between 1989 and 1990, according to Time magazine, accusing Ritter of having sexual relationships with them while they were under his care. SEE ALSO: WonderWork Co-Founder is No Mr. Greg Mortenson, founder of the Central Asia Institute (CAI) and author of New York Times best selling books Three Cups of Tea and Stones into Schools, was the darling of philanthropic and literary communities until CharityWatch began investigating his charity in 2009. Dividing a charity's average program expenses by its average total functional expenses yields this percentage. We check the charity's last two Forms 990 to see if the charity has reported any diversion of assets. Source: IRS Form 990 (page 7), filing year 2021, Below are some key data points from the Exempt Organization IRS Business Master File (BMF) for this organization. We calculate impact, defined as the change in outcomes attributable to a program divided by the cost to achieve those outcomes. Through fundraising campaigns designed to mislead donors as to how their contributions would be spent, and an accounting system which failed to properly record and track those contributions, WonderWork raised, and then misapplied and misused, millions of charitable dollars.. SMF reports having served thousands of women and girls. In May 2014, Newsweek reporter Simon Marks wrote about many alleged discrepancies in Mam's stories. This metric will be assigned to one of the following categories: Full Credit: There has been no diversion of assets within the last two years. Terms & conditions/privacy policy apply https://unitedpolicefund.org/terms-of-service/. Please check with the charity directly for any questions you may have. Your donation attempt encountered a problem. CFA's and CSS's judgment will be partially satisfied through liquidation of their assets. By Angie Ward. Aramony was also known for treating female employees inappropriately. Having admitted to the fundraising abuses and other misconduct alleged by the OAG, Shor has forfeited his claims to the over $600,000 in back-pay, as well as the lifetime pension and insurance benefits, under a settlement agreement. This payment was in addition to the years of annual, multiple six-figure salary and benefits he received while serving as president of the organization. Alphabetical List of Charities Wise Giving Guide Our Accreditation Process Tips for Donors. The couple vacationed in Egypt, London, Las Vegas, and Atlantic City. CharityWatch Hall of Shame Members: Father Bruce Ritter (Covenant House); William Aramony (United Way of America); John Bennett, Jr. (Foundation for New Era Philanthropy); Lorraine Hale (Hale House); Roger Chapin (Help Hospitalized Veterans and Coalition to Salute America's Heroes); Larry Jones (Feed the Children); John Donald Cody (United States Navy Veterans Association); Greg Mortenson (Central Asia Institute); The Wingo Family (Angel Food Ministries); Somaly Mam (Somaly Mam Foundation); James Reynolds, Sr. (Cancer Fund of America);Zvi Shor (National Children's Leukemia Foundation);Kim Williams (Healing Arts Initiative);Brian Mullaney (WonderWork); and Lola Jean Amorin (The Arc in Hawaii). Your donation attempt encountered a problem. We calculate the charity's average expenses and average contributions over its three most recent fiscal years. State Rep. Jeff Brandes said he intends to introduce legislation to close that loophole. Another law enforcement charity that faced disciplinary action was the American Association of State Troopers, which was fined a total of $321,115 in three states Georgia, Mississippi and Pennsylvania. Cart ID: Not Assigned, Copyright 2023 | EIN 13-4148824 | Bridge ID 3108588923. The amount spent to raise $1 in charitable contributions. By the time Thompson's deception was uncovered he had already succeeded in bilking donors out of nearly $100 million over a seven year period. With everything that's happening this pandemic year, people are getting more and more calls to support their local police. If a nonprofit reports impact but doesn't meet the benchmark for cost-effectiveness, it earns a score of 65. ), Amorin, 71 years-old at the time of her sentencing, was a Senior Accountant at The Arc in Hawaii (ARC) and had worked at the charity for more than 30 years before being accused of the misappropriation. Freedom Service Dogs. Presented here are this organizations key compensated staff members as identified by our analysts. Just like CFA, the four spin-off charities, Cancer Support Services (CSS), Childrens Cancer Fund of America (CCFOA), The Breast Cancer Society (BCS) and American Association for Cancer Support (AAFCS), receive F ratings from CharityWatch. Joe Wingo, who also served as a pastor at a church he founded, started AFM in 1994, a few years after he served a one-year prison sentence for extortion. Beacon Weights Historical Ratings Important note on the timeliness of ratings Mam also risked humiliating the girls she had been trusted to protect by parading them in front of the media and donors, and coaching them to tell emotionally charged and exaggerated stories. Why Aren't Donated Clothes Always Given Away for Free? And fines of $224,660 were imposed against the United States Deputy Sheriffs Association in five states. And this support is for good reason. Shor also enlisted his son to be NCLFs vice president as of around 2009 merely for the purpose of signing official checks and contracts at his fathers behest. The IRS is significantly delayed in processing nonprofits' annual tax filings (Forms 990). A new Colorado Privacy Act takes effect on July 1, 2023 and, unlike other similar legislation in other states, this law has no exception for nonprofits. One studycalculated that for every $1 a city spent on police, municipal revenues and economic growth rose by $1.63. Learn more about our criteria and methodology. We leverage finance and accountability data from it to form Encompass ratings. Not authorized by any candidate or candidates committee. 2013 UPDATE: Bobby Thompson was captured by U.S. Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the Form 990, or for some metrics on the charity's website, that the organization makes this information easily accessible. UNITED POLICE FUND was formed in 2018 as a political nonprofit organization designated under of IRS tax code section 527. For decades, HH provided help for children touched by poverty, drug abuse, and AIDS. During Jones' nearly three decades as president of the charity, FTC was plagued by financial impropriety and mismanagement. In CharityWatchs opinion, anyone who is as brazen and immoral as to forge more than 600 checks over a period of almost 20 years in order to steal nearly $7 million from her nonprofit employer is deserving of a spot in our Hall of Shame. (BMF affiliation code: 3). Click here to search for this organization's Forms 990 on the IRS website (if any are available). It was partially funded by the USDA through an almost $7 million low interest loan issued in 2005. Partial Credit: The charity's audited financials were prepared by an independent accountant, but it did not have an audit oversight committee. Given that neither Gutwein nor Shors son had any real involvement in NCLF based on their own admissions, for all intents and purposes, NCLF remained firmly under Shors sole control up until it was finally shuttered by the OAG in December 2015. Impact & Results scores of postsecondary scholarship programs are based on income generated relative to cost. The Police Officers Defense Alliance, for example, raised $3.2 million in 2020, and The American Police Officers Alliance raised $4.3 million. If the organization does not appear on BBB's website,. We estimate the increase in income caused by a nonprofit's scholarship program in two steps. State Rep. Jeff Brandes said he intends to introduce legislation to close that loophole. Being a generous person, she agreed to mail them $50. The charity's website boasted of 66,000 "members," cited substantial contributions from nonexistent foundations, and featured thank-you notes from soldiers USNVA purported to have helped. In an interview with Reuters, CharityWatch President Daniel Borochoff said "No one has ever made a bigger mockery of veterans, politicians and charity as Bobby Thompson did with his U.S. Navy Veterans Association.". It has saved my sanity multiple times in the past year because these "Police Officer" scams are relentless. "My brother was a police officer, my cousin was a cop and one of my sons is a cop," she said. Police reduce crime and their absence gives criminals space to wreak havoc. For a charity to receive BBB accreditation, it must meet 20 Standards of Accountability covering everything from governance to fundraising. According to a former PPF telemarketer, however, his co-workers were open about their prior convictions. Learn more about the BMF on the IRS website, Other school related activities (BMF activity code: 059), Organization which receives a substantial part of its support from a governmental unit or the general public 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) (BMF foundation code: 15), Independent - the organization is an independent organization or an independent auxiliary (i.e., not affiliated with a National, Regional, or Geographic grouping of organizations). Mam is described as a courageous and beautiful activist whose rise to fame has hinged on her own claims of sexual slavery and torture and those of the women she has helped save, who she refers to as her "girls." The UNITED POLICE FUND is formed under section 527 of the IRS Tax Code. NCLF also falsely reported the existence of a compensation committee, and the charity filed purported independent financial audits that failed to meet even basic auditing standards. NCLF also heavily promoted a Make A Dream Come True program for terminally ill children that did little more over the past several years than pay for one laptop computer and one trip to Disney World. Use the tool below to select different beacons to see how the weighting shifts when only one, two, or three beacons are earned. These organizations also supply givers with greater confidence by maintaining broad public support for their programs. This metric will be assigned to one of the following categories: Full Credit: There has been no diversion of assets within the last two years. However, the disturbing claims in the May 2015 federal action against four of the Reynolds family charities, CFA, CSS, CCFOA and BCS, Reynolds, Junior, and Reynolds ex-wife, Rose Perkins (Perkins), have cinched Reynolds and his family a spot in the CharityWatch Hall of Shame. When the accompanying audit report is fake. "So I really want to support the police for what they do.". A policy that refers to donor information collected on the website is also not sufficient as the policy must be comprehensive and applicable to both online and offline donors. In one, SmileTrain UK won a summary judgment against Mullaney ordering him to repay the charity 633,000 GBP (over $1 million) related to unauthorized payments. See the metrics below for more information. This Accountability & Finance score represents IRS Form 990 data up until FY 2020, which is the most recent Form 990 currently available to us. The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund has built the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, which is visited by more than 200,000 people annually. Ritter allegedly diverted up to $25,000 in CH money to finance one of these affairs, according to Time.