Organization: BBB WISE GIVING ALLIANCE
Mission: TO HELP DONORS MAKE INFORMED GIVING DECISIONS.
Activities: PRODUCES ABOUT 1,500 REPORTS ON NATIONALLY-SOLICTING CHARITIES BASED ON THE 20 BBB STANDARDS FOR CHARITY ACCOUNTABILITY. PUBLIC INQUIIES HELP DETERMINE WHICH CHARITIES ARE EVALUATED. CHARITIES CAN ALSO REQUEST TO BE EVALUATED. PRODUCES A WISE GIVING GUIDE MAGAZINE THREE TIMES PER YEAR, WHICH INCLUDES A SUMMARY LIST OF CHARITY EVALUATIONS. CHARITIES THAT MEET ALL 20 STANDARDS ARE CALLED BBB ACCREDITED CHARITIES. THERE IS NO CHARGE FOR CHARITY ACCREDITATION AND THE RESULTING REPORTS ARE FREE TO THE PUBLIC AT GIVE.ORG. ACCREDITED CHARITIES HAVE THE OPTION OF LICENSING A BBB CHARITY SEAL FOR A SLIDING SCALE FEE. OF THE CHARITIES THAT PROVIDE REQUESTED INFORMATION, 70% WERE FOUND TO MEET ALL 2O BBB CHARITY STANDARDS AND 30% DID NOT MEET ONE OR MORE OF THE STANDARDS. (CONTINUED ON SCHEDULE O.)THE CURRENT NAME, BBB WISE GIVING ALLIANCE (BBB WGA) BEGAN TO BE USED IN 2001. HOWEVER, UNDER PREVIOUS NAMES, THE LEGACY OF BBB REPORTING ON NATIONAL CHARITIES DATES BACK TO THE 1920'S.IN ADDITION TO ITS LONG HISTORY, ONE OF THE KEY DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN BBB WGA AND OTHER CHARITY MONITORING ORGANIZATIONS IS THAT IT IS A STANDARDS-BASED CHARITY EVALUATOR. THE 20 BBB STANDARDS FOR CHARITY ACCOUNTABILITY ADDRESS, AMONG OTHER THINGS, CHARITY GOVERNANCE, FINANCES, RESULTS REPORTING, TRANSPARENCY AND ACCURATE APPEALS. THESE STANDARDS SERVE AS THE BASIS FOR RIGOROUS EVALUATIONS COMPLETED BY THE BBB WGA EXPERT RESEARCH STAFF. A DETAILED EXPLANATION OF HOW EACHSTANDARD IS APPLIED APPEARS ON GIVE.ORG.ON THE GIVE.ORG WEBSITE, A WEEKLY "WISE GIVING WEDNESDAY' BLOG ADDRESSES VARIOUS CHARITY ACOUNTABILITY ISSUES, SUCH AS ADVICE ON GIVING TO VETERANS ORGANIZATIONS AND SIGNALS OF TRUST FOR CHARITIES. DURING 2019, THE BLOG REACHED THE MILESTONE OF 250 POSTINGS SINCE ITS INCEPTION. THE BLOG ALSO INCLUDES A 'BUILDING TRUST' VIDEO SERIES WHICH CONSISTS OF INTERVIEWS WITH CEO'S OF MAJOR CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS.IN NOVEMBER 2019, BBB WGA RELEASED THE SECOND EDITION OF THE GIVE.ORG DONOR TRUST REPORT; AN IN-DEPTH LOOK INTO THE STATE OF TRUST IN THE CHARITABLE SECTOR. THE REPORT, A SURVEY OF 2,100 ADULTS IN THE U.S., EXPLORES DONOR BELIEFS, FEELINGS, AND BEHAVIORAL INTENTIONS RELATED TO CHARITY TRUST AND GIVING. ONE OF THE KEY FINDINGS WAS THAT, WHILE THE MAJORITY OF RESPONDENTS (70 PERCENT) SAID IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO TRUST A CHARITY BEFORE GIVING, ONLY 19 PERCENT SAY THEY HIGHLY TRUST CHARITIES.IN JULY 2019, BBB WGA DISTRIBUTED A SPECIAL EDITION OF THE GIVE.ORG DONOR TRUST REPORT THAT FOCUSED ON DISASTER RELIEF DONOR EXPECTIONS. WHEN ASKED ABOUT THE CLARITY OF DISASTER RELIEF APPEALS, ONLY 24% OF SURVEY PARTICIPANTS BELIEVED DISASTER APPEALS CLEARLY EXPLAINED WHAT ACTIVITIES THE CHARITY WOULD ACCOMPLISH. IN 2019, BBB WGA BEGAN WORK ON DEVELOPING A NEW DESIGN FOR ITS GIVE.ORG WEBSITE. AMONG OTHER THINGS, THE NEW SITE (WHICH LAUNCHED IN 2020) SEEKS TO PROVIDE DONORS WITH IMPROVED ACCESS TO CHARITY REPORTS AND WISE GIVING INFORMATION. NEW FEATURES ALSO WERE ADDED FOR CHARITIES TO HELP STRENGTHEN THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF CHARITY ACCOUNTABILITY ISSUES.
THE ADVANCING COLLABORATION PROJECT STARTED IN 2017 AS AN ARTICLE SERIES CREATED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH STANFORD SOCIAL INNOVATION REVIEW. THESE ARTICLES SOUGHT TO ENCOURAGE CHARITIES TO SEEK OUT NEW PARTNERSHIPS AS A WAY TO REACH LARGER AUDIENCES WHILE SHARING RISK AND HELPING ACHIEVE MORE THAN AN ORGANIZATION CAN DO ALONE. IN 2019, BBB WGA ENHANCED THE ADVANCING COLLABORATION SECTION OF ITS GIVE.ORG WEBSITE BY PROVIDING EXAMPLES OF COLLABORATIONS FROM A VARIETY OF CHARITIES. (CONTINUED ON SCHEDULE O)IN 2019, BBB WGA BEGAN A SERIES OF VIDEO MEETINGS WITH CHARITIES CALLED "INTERSESSIONS." THIS WAS INTENDED TO SERVE AS A VIRTUAL WORKSHOP SERIES WHERE BBB ACCREDITED CHARITIES CONNECT AND INTERACT WITH EXPERTS AND COLLEAGUES IN THE CHARITABLE SECTOR ON A VARIETY OF ISSUES OF INTEREST RELATED TO ACCOUNTABILITY AND OTHER MATTERS OF CONCERN. 2019 TOPICS INCLUDED: DONOR TRUST AND DIVERSITY ENGAGING YOUNG AND MINORITY DONORS; FUTURE OF GIVING CLOSING THE GAP BETWEEN DONOR INTENT AND BEHAVIOR; AND CYBERSTRATEGY.
NTEE category: Community Improvement & Capacity Building
Secondary category: Mutual & Membership Benefit