This Foundation believes in and advocates the Better Business Bureau's Standards as
described at http://www.give.org/index.asp
"Give ... but give
wisely". We extract below (edited and
greatly
reduced for San Miguel organizations and their minimal ability to perform)
those which we require our grantees to meet:
Public Disclosure and Accountability
Organizations shall provide on request complete annual financial statements.
The financial statements shall present the overall financial activities and financial position of the organization, shall be prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and reporting practices, and shall include the
... treasurer's report, notes and any supplementary schedules. Soliciting organizations' financial statements shall present adequate information to serve as a basis for informed decisions.
Information needed as a basis for informed decisions generally includes but is not limited to: a) significant categories of contributions and other income; b) expenses reported in categories corresponding to the descriptions of major programs and activities contained in the annual report, solicitations, and other informational materials; c) a detailed schedule of expenses by natural classification (e.g., salaries, employee benefits, occupancy, postage, etc.), presenting the natural expenses incurred for each major program and supporting activity; d) accurate presentation of all fund raising and administrative costs; and e) when a significant activity combines fund raising and one or more other purposes (e.g., door-to-door canvassing combining fund raising and religious ministry, or a direct mail campaign combining fund raising and public education), the financial statements shall specify the total cost of the multi-purpose activity and the basis for allocating its costs.
Governance
Organizations shall have an adequate governing structure.
Organizations shall have and operate in accordance with governing instruments
... which set forth the organization's basic goals and purposes, and which define the organizational structure.
Organizations shall have an active governing body, ... exercis(ing) responsibility in establishing policies, retaining qualified executive leadership, and overseeing that leadership.
An active board meets formally at least three times annually, with meetings evenly spaced over the course of the year, and with a majority of the members in attendance (in person or by proxy) on average.
CBBB Standards for Charitable Solicitations
Copyright 1982 (note from
MPWCF: there is a
much more stringent 2003 update to the above 1982 standards but they have not been
extracted by us here, as we will be satisfied IF the above standards serve as a
basis for MINIMUM compliance. However, if the San Miguel reader is interested, you may see
all of this at http://www.give.org/standards/implementation.asp#11
Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc.
