The Better Business Bureau had a full-page ad in Tuesday's USA Today called "Give With Confidence." It listed about 350 American charities which comply with BBB's Wise Giving Alliance accrediting standards, which consider a charity's governance, finance, fundraising, disclosures and donor privacy. A number of churches and church-based charities were listed, among them:

Adventist Development and Relief Agency
American Bible Society
American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee
American Jewish World Service
Catholic Charities USA
Catholic Medical Mission Board
Catholic Relief Services
Christian Appalachian Project
Christian Foundation for Children and Aging
Christian Record Services for the Blind
Christian Reformed World Relief Committee
Christian Relief Services Charities
Episcopal Relief & Development
International Fellowship of Christians and Jews
Islamic Networks
Jewish National Fund
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service
Lutheran World Relief
Muslim Advocates
Society of St. Vincent de Paul USA
World Jewish Congress Foundation

You will notice that the LDS church is not listed. You can go to the BBB website at http://give.org for the complete list, details of their standards, and to inquire about other charities. I tried to find a listing for the Mormon church. Only a few (less than a dozen) local wards are listed, and none of them are "accredited." "Deseret Industries" is also not accredited.

The Salvation Army is not listed in the ad, but is listed as accredited on the website.

The church doesn't seem to believe the scripture "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

...for the Salt Lake Tribune.

I know that Catholic Charities gives aid without regard to a person's religion, and I'm sure that many of the listed charities do the same.

I'm not either religion but I've received help from both through my years as a single mother. In fact, both have been huge blessings to us several times throughout the last two decades. I always give at Christmas time so they can keep helping those in need -- even if they don't understand the "one true" religion. ;)

Well, they're not a charity, they're a corporation in attitude and in practice. The LDS Church does only enough charitable work to have fodder for propaganda. And when they get some inappropriate, but cheap goods that they can send to Haiti (for example) they pump up the propaganda volume.

Recent threads discussing AGRESERVES land holdings in the UK serve as another example. The Church will close a distribution center that may be benefitting members, but will keep their agricultural lands intact because they're using them to rip off the European Union by way of subsidies.

It seems that's how it worked when we had our roofing business.

Bingo! It's pay for play.

ExMormonRon Wrote:
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> Bingo! It's pay for play.

That's for BUSINESSES! BBB distinguishes between businesses and charities.

I double-checked with a BBB national rep this morning, and a charity does NOT have to pay a fee to be "accredited." They only have to meet the 20 criteria set up by BBB for accreditation of charities.

To use the BBB charity seal and logo does require a charity to pay a fee, but that has nothing to do with being accredited. The charities listed in the ad to which I referred have paid that fee. If you inquire on the BBB website about the LDS church or Deseret Industries, you will not find any church agency that is an accredited charity.

I'm not arguing with you, Richard, but even charities have to apply for accreditation and pay an application fee, don't they? Just because it isn't listed doesn't mean it doesn't qualify accreditation, right?

The list is rife with non-listed charities that are long-standing, reputable, tender financials, etc.

What I'm saying is, I don't think that not being listed means that they don't pass muster with the BBB's criterion.

http://www.bbb.org/charity-reviews/national/community-development/outreach-international-in-independence-mo-1566

http://www.outreach-international.org/

Anyway, the LDS church usually aligns itself with a Muslim charity- I don't recall which one, but they are shown together in DesNews or Churchnews for disaster relief.

This is wonderful. This is fantastic. I don't know why this is tickling me so thoroughly but I'm really getting a kick out of this.

All those Helping Hands T-shirts.

All those "look at us be charitable" news stories.

All the nation wide PR efforts.

None of that means a damn thing to the BBB. "governance, finance, fundraising, disclosures and donor privacy" were considered and the one and only truest of true churches is found wanting.

How do we leverage this so the TBMs can no longer count their tithing as a charitable donation on their schedule A tax forms?

Stunted.

They are a corporation.. so explain, someone please?

vhainya Wrote:
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> They are a corporation.. so explain, someone
> please?

I would bet that ALL the charities listed as accredited are legal corporations. Non-profit corporations can qualify for tax exemptions. Churches which are corporations are allowed special reporting exemptions under American tax law.

Read up on the legal term "corporation sole", which is the kind of corporation most churches are.

Especially, since their temples, which suppose to be a "House of Worship" is closed to non-members, and only those members who pay.

You won't find the Morg on Charity Navigator either.

Funny you should mention this. I was thinking about all the $$ floating around LDS, Inc. and got to thinking of Gordon Hinckley's interview with Helmut Nemetscheck of ZDF television in Germany, and this choice little exchange.

HN: "In my country we say the people’s churches, the Protestants, the Catholics. They publish all their budgets annually to all the public. Why is not this possible for your church?"

GBH: "Well, we simply think that information belongs to those who make the contributions, not to the world. That’s the only thing. Yes."

http://www.salamandersociety.com/interviews/gordonbhinckley/
(I've seen the tape this is not a spoof)

I don't know how much of a contribution you have to make before you get to see the Lord's books, but my name isn't Huntsman or Marriott.

I can't rememebr if I saw him say it or read about his saying it, but I remember saying to myself, huh?
I mean, beyond handing it to a member of the Bishopric, I had no idea where it went and had never ever seen anything that looked like a budget report. Even as Finance Clerk I never saw anything but a ward budget, and nobody else ever knew either.

In fact, that came up in investigators class and the Bishop told them that the lord was in control of the money and we just trrust that it is going to the right purposes.

Hinckley lied. Again.

Sweet Jesus, I do love the irony: a "church" that can't make it to the BBB roster.

That is good information to have. And DI isn't accredited either. I give to some of those- Christian Appalachian Project for one. I say keep the money here in the US if possible.

a specific charitable organization other than the LDS Church.
It's a 501c3 tax exempt-- church, so any donations are tax deductible if you need them to itemize.

Yes? And my question to that would be, WHY NOT? They certainly have enough for-profit corporate holdings/subsidiaries. So many, it seems, that even many years ago, the church president couldn't keep track. The link in the post above listed 46 and that's counting the 35 radio stations as 1. I also personally know of several that weren't listed or have been organized since that 2005 post.

My point is: why 46+ for-profit corporations and NOT ONE organized as a "specific charitable organization" for the sole purpose of humanitarian aid? You'd think that such a large missionary force, for instance, could afford to spend one day a week (or more) giving some sort of service/humanitarian aid, rather than doing 24hr/6day sales. Boggles the mind.

So I put the link to the BBB site in my facebook status, and a little comment about how we should give money to good charities instead of wasting it on consumerism.

I wonder how many of the TBMs will look over the list?

Has anyone gone on the BBB site and submitted an inquiry about TSCC?

Whoa, whoa, WHOA!


The BBB is a "pay to play" organization. It's not an independent rating agency. If you don't "subscribe" and pay dues/royalties, then you aren't listed. You don't actually think the morg is going to pay, do you?

Just sayin'...

Ron

read Rpackhams above posts.... he explains that to be "accredited"... there is NO fee!! and they have no accredited charity ..according to BBB's parameters...just sayin! :)

I get it. They don't want to appear "worldly" so they keep all their charity work hidden from public scrutiny. Makes perfect sense.

I guess the billion+ dollar mall is just a distraction?

Where's the eye-rolling smiley? :)

That brings me back to my 'inquiry' question. If someone asks BBB to investigate TSCC what will happen?

BBB could say "yes they meet the criteria, and now we'll list them."

BBB could say "no they do not meet the criteria."

BbB could say "they meet the criteria, but we won't list them unless they pay us."

Or, is BBB shady and "if they pay us, we'll list them."