Better Business Bureau introduces 'Wise Giving Seal' for charity sites
Howard Lake | 16 April 2003 | News
In the USA, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) has announced an independent seal of approval for charity Web sites.
Charities that meet the BBB’s standards can pay up to $15,000 to display an official seal on their Web site.
Rick Christ of NPadvisors.com reports that the new seal has led to criticism of the BBB from some non-profits. “Some of the “standards” are almost pathetically easy to meet”, he says, while “others are intrusive to the point of absurdity.” Should non-profits pay so much to acquire independent approval?
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Nevertheless, some of the standards for certification are worth reviewing, if only as a guide to good practice. For example, charity Web sites that solicit donations should include “the organisation’s mission statement, a summary of the past year’s program service accomplishments; a roster of the officers and members of the board of directors; and financial information that includes (i) total income in the past fiscal year, (ii) expenses in the same program, fund raising and administrative categories as in the financial statements, and (iii) ending net assets, as well as the mailing address of the charity and electronic access to its most recent IRS Form 990.” Other standards include a clear and detailed privacy statement.
NPadvisors.com have reproduced the full text of the Wise Giving Alliance’s fundraising standards, including those relating to the Internet.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.