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Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Why do smart people in Montgomery County oppose openness and transparency?

by Joseph Hawkins

Recently, via email I received an invitation to the Montgomery County Executive’s Ball. Click here to go to the Ball’s homepage: http://www.mocoexecball.org/. Who knew that an annual Ball has been happening for 25 years? This year’s Ball proceeds go to the Friends of the Library (Montgomery County). The receiving County charity rotates annually. Click here to go the Friends’ homepage: http://www.folmc.org/ .


I suspect I received the email invite because I have donated to previous Ike Leggett election campaigns. Normally, I read and delete these kinds of emails, but the invite bothered me a little and so I emailed the contact with a few pretty simple questions: 1). Is a donation to the Ball or to the Friends tax-deductible? 2). Are there financials for me to review? I was especially interested in both the Ball’s and the Friends’ financials. Call me crazy, but I’m a donor that evaluates a charity’s financials before handing over my cash.


The person handling the Ball’s communications responded to me quickly; however, no specific information was shared about financials (e.g., how much does the Ball typical raise and how much of that amount is donated to the County charity?). And if one visits either the Ball’s or the Friends’ websites, you will not find any links to financials. Nothing!


Why do smart people in Montgomery County oppose openness and transparency?


So, when it comes to financials what exactly am I looking for? Specifically, it would be nice to see two key documents—the charity’s IRS 990 and its annual audit financial report or statement. Together, these documents would allow the smart donor to figure out if his or her charity is spending their cash honestly and efficiently—avoiding waste, for example, on managing the charity or paying too much in office rental space.


The Ball’s email exchanges got me thinking and looking for models of charities that seem totally open and transparent about their financials. Using the November/December issue of Bethesda Magazine, which profiles nearly 50 county non-profits, I found two great models, Shepherd’s Table and Manna Food Center. Why great? Because donors can easily link to their financials. Shephard’s puts a direct link to its IRS 990 and its most recent audit report right on its homepage. Manna does not have a direct link on its homepage, but there is a “financials” link under “about,” and that link provides their last five IRS 990s and four annual reports (this is like transparency to the 10th power). You can link to these two wonderful County charities here http://www.shepherdstable.org/ and here http://www.mannafood.org/.


I was so impressed with Manna’s openness, and the fact that they are a highly rated charity, I made a donation. Click here to read details about Manna’s independent evaluation: http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=12255


So, what happens when smart people are truly open and transparent? I donate. And when they aren’t I push the delete button on my computer.

4 comments:

  1. Transparency, accountability, and charity. I sent a contribution to Shepherds Table and to Manna. Thanks, Joe
    "You can link to these two wonderful County charities here http://www.shepherdstable.org/ and here http://www.mannafood.org/ "

    I am familiar with the good work Shepherds Table does in Silver Spring. Shepherds Table can certify student service hours. My civic association has a group of "cassarole chefs" that freeze a cassarole and the coordinator delivers every month.
    sheldon fishman

    ReplyDelete
  2. It is really very important to remind people to review the financials of charities before they donate. A couple of good links below will help with your research 1) Charity Navigator; 2) GiveWell; and 3) GuideStar:

    http://www.charitynavigator.org/?gclid=CM7T14-cz6wCFYTe4Aodbzqspw

    http://www.givewell.org/?gclid=CMPVmaGcz6wCFQFx4Aod8lN2Mw

    http://www2.guidestar.org/?gclid=CPuD4rWcz6wCFQnf4AodhBSTEQ

    Best Regards, Lori Newsom

    ReplyDelete
  3. Many charities use a third-party 501(c)(3) organization called "Network for Good" to process contributions sent through their web site. Be aware that the "Network for Good" charges their clients a 3% commission, plus substantial other charges. The "Network for Good" disclaimer is often not very prominent on the website of charities that use its services, so here it is:

    Network for Good is a "donor-advised fund," which is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization that collects contributions from donors and distributes those contributions to other nonprofit 501(c)3 organizations in good standing with the IRS as recommended by you, the donor. Your credit card statement therefore lists Network for Good and not the charity on this page because your donation is to our donor-advised fund. Network for Good then forwards the contribution to your charity on your behalf. As required by the IRS, Network for Good has exclusive legal control over donations to our donor-advised fund. All donations are final and may not be refunded.

    According to the IRS 990 for Network for Good, many of their executives receive well over $100,000 in compensation.

    If you want to contribute to a charity that uses "Network for Good" to process contributions, consider sending your contribution directly to the charity instead.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Try asking the Montgomery County Business Roundtable for Education for their financial information.

    How about a PTA - any PTA.

    Good Luck

    ReplyDelete

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