F Rated Charities Awarded Best in America Seal

Dec 1, 2008

Ubiquitous on charity websites is a ribbon-style seal that in large type reads "BEST IN AMERICA," features five stars across the top edge, and indicates that the charity awarded the...

A Wink and a Smile Train

Dec 1, 2008

100% of your donation goes toward programs -- 0% goes toward overhead. Many AIP members have seen the above language in solicitations from Smile Train, a charity that treats children...

America Needs More Truth in Fundraising

Aug 1, 2008

The doubling of oil and food costs, higher unemployment rate, housing and mortgage market collapse, and government cutbacks have caused millions of Americans to struggle to stay financially afloat. Charities...

Two Layers of F’s

Aug 1, 2008

What happens when you donate one dollar to an F rated charity that gives it to another F rated charity? In the case of The Veterans Fund and Help Hospitalized...

No Jail Time For Prison Fellowship Ministries

Dec 1, 2007

An AIP member forwarded to us a solicitation letter she received from Prison Fellowship Ministries earlier this year. Included with the letter was a bright, yellow slip of paper which...

Street Solicitations Promote Uninformed Giving

Apr 1, 2007

Is there anything more annoying than being accosted repeatedly in the street by charity solicitors as you are trying to finish up your errands before your parking meter expires? Chuggers,...

No Defense for Bad Accounting

Apr 1, 2007

Celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, Defenders of Wildlife once again receives a "D" rating from AIP based on recently received 2005 financial information...

Bungled Charity Raffles Become Gateway to Fraud Allegations

Apr 1, 2007

A St. Louis court ordered Gateway to a Cure, a charity that funds spinal cord injury research, to pay $2 million in restitution in what became a pricey raffle ticket...

Beware of Inflated Charity Efficiency Claims!

Dec 1, 2006

When I founded the American Institute of Philanthropy 14 years ago, I often said that there is a vacuum of independent information available to help donors make giving decisions. Now...

Matchless Matching Campaign

Dec 1, 2006

The Union of Concerned Scientists recently conducted a fundraising campaign, "Save the Science," which promised that the UCS board of directors would "match all contributions from UCS members from now...

Charity with Large Assets Reserves Pleads Poverty

Aug 1, 2005

In 2003, a number of AIP members received a direct mail solicitation from Asian Relief, which also uses the name World Villages for Children, that cries desperation. The letter signed...

Undercover Investigation Reveals How Easy It Is to Set Up Phony Charity

Apr 1, 2004

The American Institute of Philanthropy worked with ABC News on a yearlong investigation of the charity business. Rhonda Schwartz, a producer for ABC News, went undercover to see how easy...