UNCF cannot currently be evaluated by our Leadership & Adaptability methodology because we have not received data from the charity regarding its leadership capacity, strategic thinking and planning, and ability to innovate or respond to changes.Note: The absence of a score does not indicate a positive or negative assessment, it only indicates that we have not yet evaluated the organization. Current CEO and Board Chair can be found in the Leadership & Adaptability report below. In this situation, we deduct 7 points from the charity's Accountability and Transparency score. The charity's 2010 tax form revealed it continued to spend more on "awareness," including Mortenson's books, than funding schools that year. Mortenson later admitted that events in his books were compressed, but insisted any literary license taken did not amount to lying. In CharityWatchs opinion, anyone who is as brazen and immoral as to forge more than 600 checks over a period of almost 20 years in order to steal nearly $7 million from her nonprofit employer is deserving of a spot in our Hall of Shame. Founded in 1969, HAI, which closed suddenly in May 2016, was a New York-based nonprofit with a mission to remove barriers to arts and culture and inspire healing, growth and learning through engagement with the arts. To be added to our Do Not Call List please call 800-215-1579, **Our records are referenced by phone numbers.Email UPF atinfo@unitedpolicefund.org (Best)Backup Email: upfinformation@gmail.com. Following in his fathers footsteps, James Reynolds, Jr. (Junior), who worked at CFA from the age of 16, started two of these charities, and he was a founding member, as well as president, of the board of directors of a third. Following a detailed review of the financial records for the [fiscal] year ended June 30, 2017, management discovered a misappropriation approximating $343,000 for the fiscal year. Mullaney resigned from WonderWork in 2017 amid allegations of fraud and mismanagement. Kim Williams, the former payroll manager / accountant for the Healing Arts Initiative (HAI) was accused of stealing more than $750,000 from the charity. National Police Support Fund is a grassroots political organization that is committed to aligning the interests and needs of police officers with the public's issues and concerns within the national political process. The Program Expense Ratio is determined by Program Expenses divided by Total Expense (average of most recent three 990s). CFA's and CSS's judgment will be partially satisfied through liquidation of their assets. A general website policy which references "visitor" or "user" personal information will not suffice. Dividing these net available assets in the most recent year by a charity's average total expenses, yields the working capital ratio. The amounts do not include nontaxable benefits, deferred compensation, or other amounts not reported on Form W-2. The New York Times reported on the testimony of Aramony's former aide, Rina Duncan, with whom he also had an affair. Contributions to the United Police Fund are NOT tax deductible, because of our IRS Tax Status. After the USNVA scandal broke all of them eventually agreed to donate those monies to other veterans charities. At the end of the holding period, the deposit would be matched by an anonymous donor and the now doubled funds would be sent back to the nonprofit. The report concluded that evidence "that Father Ritter engaged in sexual activities with certain residents and made sexual advances towards certain members of the Faith Community is extensive.". It seemed like the people who did real well were the guys that did time.. The most important lesson to be learned from the following colorful stories of charity scoundrels is that regardless of how distinguished, well-connected and honored a charity leader is, he is only human and may be tempted to use the power and influence of his position to abuse the public's trust and thusly become the next member of the CharityWatch Hall of Shame. CH then launched its own investigation into the priest. Our movement is comprised of tens of thousands of Americans from all walks of life who are joined together by their common . Freedom Service Dogs. While this theft from HAI is unfortunate, because of the frequency of similarly sized thefts from nonprofits, it alone would not merit membership in the CharityWatch Hall of Shame. Our estimates are drawn from rigorous social science studies of similar scholarship programs. Chapin was later compelled to testify at a second hearing in early 2008. Aramony was convicted on 25 felony counts and sentenced to seven years in prison for fraudulently diverting $1.2 million of the charity's money to benefit himself and his friends. UNCF has earned a 88% for the Accountability & Finance beacon. This ratio is an indicator of an organizations solvency and or long term sustainability. As part of the bankruptcy proceedings, the court-appointed Examiner analyzed the charitys finances and governance, and in his Final Report stated, WonderWork abused the publics trust from its inception. According to a press release from the Ohio AG, the state "won a default judgment for $3.7 million plus attorney fees" from USNVA, having "proved the organization had falsely claimed to raise money for US veterans' causes; in reality, very little money ever went to help veterans.". Charges against Williams, however, also included assault, weapons possession and conspiracy in an apparent cover up attempt that is so heinous that it, along with what appears to be Williams role in HAIs eventual shutdown, clearly befit the Hall of Shame. See the metrics below for more information. The HAI staff, however, began noticing an increase in financial irregularities, including bounced checks, declined credit cards, and debt that had ballooned even though cost cutting measures were being employed. United Police Fund - Political 527 Group, United Police Fund Wendy Beckman got a call the other day from a man asking her to help retired police and firefighters. No Credit: There has been a diversion of assets within the last two years and the charity's explanation on Schedule O is either non-existent or not sufficient. CH quickly grew into one of the most well-regarded charities in the nation. Our analysts check the charity's website to see if the organization has a donor privacy policy in place and what it does and does not cover. As reported by charities on their IRS Form 990, this measure reflects what percent of its total budget a charity spends on overhead, administrative staff and associated costs, and organizational meetings. We calculate the charity's average expenses over its three most recent fiscal years. Charity Navigator: The 10 Best Charities - Direct Relief The UNITED POLICE FUND is an advocate on the National level for America's Law Enforcement. While it is reprehensible for anyone to steal from a charity, it is even more horrendous to permanently disfigure the individual brought in to uncover the wrong doing. Thompson later admitted that his real name is John Donald Cody. As reported by charities on their IRS Form 990, this measure reflects what percent of its total budget a charity spends on overhead, administrative staff and associated costs, and organizational meetings. Duncan testified to falsifying Aramony's expense records for seven years so that he could charge the charity for things like champagne, flowers and plane tickets for Villasor. See the metrics below for more information. Before the scandal broke, Aramony was widely respected as one of the most influential nonprofit leaders of his time. Organizations that demonstrate consistent annual growth in program expenses are able to outpace inflation and thus sustain their programs year to year. Included in a statement published by KITV Channel 4 Island News reporting on the Oahu grand jurys indictment of Amorin in September 2017, The Arc in Hawaii said: [W]e were shocked and saddened when we discovered a former employee had stolen money from The Arc. We calculate the charity's average expenses over its three most recent fiscal years. Best and Worst Charities for Your Donations - Consumer Reports Your donation attempt encountered a problem. The United States Navy Veterans Association certainly looked like a legitimate organization on the surface. By providing your phone number, you are consenting to receive calls and SMS/MMS msgs, including autodialed and automated calls and texts using prerecorded voice, to that number from United Police Fund. Further, Amorins husband, Albert Amorin, was sentenced to five years probation after pleading no contest to evading taxes on about $3 million that his wife stole from ARC and he failed to report as income on joint tax returns. For instance, he used UWA cash to woo a girl, Lori Villasor, who was only 17 years old when they began dating; Aramony was 59. The list of dubious charities includes the International Union of Police Associations, AFL-CIO (ranked 5th worst); American Association of State Troopers (7th worst); United States Deputy Sheriffs Association (16th worst); and the 20th worst the Police Protective Fund (PPF), an Austin, Texas-based charity with fundraising call centers in south Florida. The March 2016 settlementconcludes the largest joint enforcement action ever undertaken by the FTC and state charity regulators. In May 2014, Newsweek reporter Simon Marks wrote about many alleged discrepancies in Mam's stories. Williams was charged with two counts of first-degree assault, two counts of conspiracy, two counts of grand larceny, weapons possession, falsifying business records, and 48 counts of identity theft; as of late April 2016, she was being held without bail and faced up to 25 years in prison, according to The New York Times. As a digital subscriber to Prison Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content. Paid for by United Police Fund. Friends of the Orphans. Both steps are necessary to properly net out counterfactual successes from observed successes. The percentage each beacon contributes to the organizations overall rating depends on the number of beacons an organization has earned. The charity's website boasted of 66,000 "members," cited substantial contributions from nonexistent foundations, and featured thank-you notes from soldiers USNVA purported to have helped. UNITED POLICE FUND was formed in 2018 as a political nonprofit organization designated under of IRS tax code section 527. The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform subpoenaed Chapin in 2007 when he refused to voluntarily testify at its hearing on rampant financial inefficiency at many of the nation's veterans charities. Give the page a little longer to finish The Giving Basket is having some issues. Part of our goal in rating the financial performance of charities is to help donors assess the financial capacity and sustainability of a charity. Find Best Charities To Donate | Charity Ratings, Reviews We have implemented new procedures and financial controls we believe will prevent similar crimes from occurring in the future CharityWatch certainly hopes that is the case because while no organization deserves to be victimized in such a way, ARC needs to take some responsibility for its role in failing to catch on to Amorins embezzlement scheme before it spanned 19 years and reached nearly $7 million in lost funds. Ten Law Enforcement Groups Among Worst Charities in America In contrast, the organization spent only 0.7% of the donations it received on direct cash aid to the families of police officers killed in the line of duty and to promote officer safety its purported missions. Through fundraising campaigns designed to mislead donors as to how their contributions would be spent, and an accounting system which failed to properly record and track those contributions, WonderWork raised, and then misapplied and misused, millions of charitable dollars.. Opt-out: The charity has a written privacy policy published on its website which enables donors to tell the charity to remove their names and contact information from lists the charity shares or sells. The organization's stated purpose was to sell affordable food to the needy by purchasing food in bulk and distributing it through a network of volunteers and churches. Not authorized by any candidate or candidates committee. Police reduce crime and their absence gives criminals space to wreak havoc. Support our Police! We compute the average annual growth of program expenses using the following formula: [(Yn/Y0)(1/n)]-1, where Y0 is a charity's program expenses in the first year of the interval analyzed, Yn is the charity's program expenses in the most recent year, and n is the interval of years passed between Y0 and Yn. In its fiscal 2017 tax filing, ARC reported becoming aware of a significant diversion of assets: In March 2017, an impropriety was discovered involving a former employee. CFA has even faced charges, some dating back to as early as 1989, from about 20 states for allegedly misleading donors, but it has paid fines and continued to operate. UPF made over 600,000 Voter Outreach Contacts in St. Louis in April 2021, https://unitedpolicefund.org/terms-of-service/. Dan knows the real meaning of Officer Safety and Survival. Extravagant spending by Lorraine Hale and her husband, Jesse DeVore, who was employed as HH's public relations director, was widely reported in the media. This overall score is calculated entirely from a single beacon score, weighted as follows: 100% Accountability & Finance. Joe Wingo, who also served as a pastor at a church he founded, started AFM in 1994, a few years after he served a one-year prison sentence for extortion. Here are some things you can do to avoid donating to a fake charity: Pay attention to the charity's name. Click here to search for this organization's Forms 990 on the IRS website (if any are available). The organizations on Charity Navigator's 2022 list of the "10 Best Charities" were selected from the more than 8,000 nonprofits that are evaluated each year by the charity watchdog agency. Similarly, de-policing inChicago (2016)andBaltimore (2015)saw arrests fall by a quarter while homicide spiked by 59% (Chicago) and 55% (Baltimore) in the following months. Organizations that demonstrate consistent annual growth in program expenses are able to outpace inflation and thus sustain their programs year to year. We estimate the increase in income caused by a nonprofit's scholarship program in two steps. A policy that refers to donor information collected on the website is also not sufficient as the policy must be comprehensive and applicable to both online and offline donors. Audited financial statements provide important information about financial accountability and accuracy. Use the tool below to select different beacons to see how the weighting shifts when only one, two, or three beacons are earned. Partial Credit: There has been a diversion of assets within the last two years and the charity has used Schedule O on the Form 990 to explain: the nature of the diversion, the amount of money or property involved and the corrective action taken to address the matter. Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the Form 990, or for some metrics on the charity's website, that the organization has these policies in place. To Protect and to Serve. Ratings are based on data the nonprofit itself collects on its work. Alphabetical List of Charities Wise Giving Guide Our Accreditation Process Tips for Donors. Thompson gained credibility for his organization, and donors' trust, by claiming that he and other charity officers were ex-military men, and that USNVA had been in operation since 1927 with dozens of local chapters throughout the U.S. This measure reflects the percent of its total expenses a charity spends on the programs and services it exists to deliver. The Form 990 is a document that nonprofit organizations file with the IRS annually. SMF announced in October 2014 that it has permanently closed its doors. See the metrics below for more information. Dividing a charity's total liabilities by its total assets yields this percentage. Roger Chapin's extraordinary retirement payout from HHV, Leadership Booted at Dishonored Veterans Charity, Phantom Charity Takes Flight: Leaves Veterans Stranded, Mullaney resigned from WonderWork in 2017, WonderWork Co-Founder is No Mr. As a Board Member of the Virginia Coalition of Police and Deputy Sheriffs Dan helped establish this on a state wide basis at the Virginia General Assembly and throughout the Commonwealth. First, we compare the estimated postsecondary graduation rate of its scholars to that of comparable students who did not receive a scholarship (the counterfactual). Dividing a charity's average fundraising expenses by its average total functional expenses yields this percentage. This overall score is calculated entirely from a single beacon score, weighted as follows: 100% Accountability & Finance. Why Aren't Donated Clothes Always Given Away for Free? against CFA, CSS, and Reynolds, jointly and severally. HHF also amassed an art collection valued at $440,133, according to the paper, most of which Lorraine Hale used to adorn her private office. Having admitted to the fundraising abuses and other misconduct alleged by the OAG, Shor has forfeited his claims to the over $600,000 in back-pay, as well as the lifetime pension and insurance benefits, under a settlement agreement. Which charity report are you looking for? Another law enforcement charity that faced disciplinary action was the American Association of State Troopers, which was fined a total of $321,115 in three states Georgia, Mississippi and Pennsylvania. And fines of $224,660 were imposed against the United States Deputy Sheriffs Association in five states. Simply enter the organization's name (National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund) or EIN (521382926) in the 'Search Term' field. concludes the largest joint enforcement action ever undertaken by the FTC and state charity regulators. If the organization does not appear on BBB's website,. Email: Dan@unitedpolicefund.org. Of that amount, about $26.5 million, or 83%, went to Zeitlin's companies, according to CFPI. OUR DEFEND THE POLICE CAMPAIGN NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT. The amounts do not include nontaxable benefits, deferred compensation, or other amounts not reported on Form W-2. Americans overwhelmingly oppose "defunding the police" with 73% of those polled wanting funding maintained (42%) or increased (31%), with 55% of Black Americans wishing to see funding maintained or increased. Leaving politics aside for a minute, how do you know if those calls are legitimate? Police Unity Tour Wonderful (Posted 03/08/2018), In one of the largest white-collar crime cases in the state of Hawaii, Lola Jean Amorin was sentenced to 25 years in prison in August 2018 after pleading no contest to embezzling nearly $7 million from The Arc in Hawaii, a nonprofit that provides services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Training truly is the key. Form 990 Series Downloads. The privacy policy must be specific to donor information. Williams reportedly seemed to live fairly well for someone with her salary, including driving a late-model Mercedes, having a second home in Florida, taking lavish vacations, and going on shopping sprees; although The New York Times noted, Some of her income may have come from a side business she owned and ran from her office computer called Virago, Inc., which sold sex toys and offered online sex seminars.. According to the report, Ritter diverted CH funds to the Franciscan Charitable Trust, an organization he founded, and loaned charity money to two senior staff members who later resigned. They want to know more about how an organization is governed and the ethics of its leaders.". When Aramony resigned amidst scandal in 1992, the organization's growth in contributions stalled for a few years. For Donors . Unable to repay them Bennett was forced to place New Era into bankruptcy and admit that his anonymous donors never existed. no@email. His causes have ranged from curing Alzheimer's disease and cancer, to assisting veterans. AG Spitzer also filed a civil suit against the two, seeking the recovery of over $1 million in charity funds that Hale used to pay her property taxes, install a jacuzzi in her home, pay her brother's legal expenses, and give $500,000 to her husband's failed theatrical production. It is also the 2,417 th largest credit union in the nation. Does Not Provide Loan(s) to or Receive Loan(s) From Related Parties, Audited Financial Statements Listed on Website. loading and try your donation again. They have awarded more than 480 soldiers with a financial grant to appreciate their continued service. CharityWatch Hall of Shame: The Personalities Behind - Charity Ratings Fundraising expenses can include campaign printing, publicity, mailing, and staffing and costs incurred in soliciting donations, memberships, and grants. Please check with the charity directly for any questions you may have. No donor should ever feel obligated to "Make one gift now and we'll never ask for another donation again!" It is unclear how much of the misappropriated funds ARC will be able to recoup, according to Hawaii News Now, which in June 2018 reported that prosecutors said ARC will probably recover only about a quarter of the amount taken by Amorin. The charity responded with a countersuit alleging that Jones took kickbacks from vendors, lied to FTC's board about giving himself and his wife unauthorized raises, misused charity funds, and had a large stash of pornography hidden in his private area at this Christian charity. Legislators under consideration must be tough on crime and demonstrate a willingness to provide sufficient funding to achieve public safety goals. How a donor can have themselves removed from a list differs from one charity to the next, but any and all opt-out policies require donors to take specific action to protect their privacy. The UNITED POLICE FUND is formed under section 527 of the IRS Tax Code. UNCF has earned a 80% for the Impact & Results beacon. ), Amorin, 71 years-old at the time of her sentencing, was a Senior Accountant at The Arc in Hawaii (ARC) and had worked at the charity for more than 30 years before being accused of the misappropriation. It was raising money using four different police-oriented names (one "association," two "coalitions" and one "support fund"). He even had a hand in creating many of the rules under which charities operate today. A man who assumed the stolen identity of "Bobby Thompson" disappeared in June 2010, and went on the lam with a nationwide warrant for his arrest for crimes including corruption, theft, and money laundering associated with his sham charity, The United States Navy Veterans Association (USNVA). United Police Officers Fund is a political action committee dedicated to enhanced law enforcement and support for our brave first responders. This measure reflects what a charity spends to raise money. The UNITED POLICE FUND is a national advocate for America's Law Enforcement. Mullaney, who earned an annual base salary of $475,000, failed to report a total of $700,000 of bonus compensation to the IRS in WonderWorks annual 2012 through 2015 tax filings. If this organization aligns with your passions and values, you can give with confidence. United Police Fund / National Police Fund scam harassment. Our mission is to enhance the quality of education by providing financial assistance to deserving students, raising operating funds for member colleges and universities, and increasing access to technology for students and faculty at historically black colleges and universities.