Standard 11: Financial Statements - Make available to all, on request, complete annual financial statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. When total annual gross income exceeds $250,000, these statements should be audited in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards. For charities whose annual gross income is less than $250,000, a review by a certified public accountant is sufficient to meet this standard. For charities whose annual gross income is less than $100,000, an internally produced, complete financial statement is sufficient to meet this standard.
Wildcat Sanctuary does not meet this Standard because:
- Although the organization's annual income exceeds $250,000, WS states it does not have audited financial statements for 2010.
Standard 15: Misleading Appeals - Have solicitations and informational materials, distributed by any means, that are accurate, truthful and not misleading, both in whole and in part. Appeals that omit a clear description of program(s) for which contributions are sought will not meet this standard. A charity should also be able to substantiate that the timing and nature of its expenditures are in accordance with what is stated, expressed, or implied in the charity's solicitations.
WS does not meet this standard because:
In the Alliance's opinion, fund raising appeals sent in 2011 cited claims of the organization's financial and operational position that are not evident in the financial statements WS provided to the Alliance.
Specifically, fund raising appeals included references to WS's financial position that indicate the organization's practice of operating without debt. Below is an excerpt from such an appeal:
“The Wildcat Sanctuary has always operated debt-free and only rescues animals and completes construction projects as budgets permit. This is because we have a strong commitment to our animals, and to you our supporters, to be fiscally responsible."
After reviewing the 2010 financial statements and IRS Form 990 for the organization, the Alliance disagrees with the claim that WS has always operated without debt. Financial and tax documents, submitted to the Alliance by WS for the years ended December 31, 2010 and December 31, 2008, indicate that WS has, either currently or in the past, possessed mortgage, credit card, and auto loan debt.
In response to this finding, WS stated, in part:
"The intent of 'operating debt-free' was in regard to building habitats and rescues. The Sanctuary has always paid cash for all animal buildings and habitats constructed, the organization has never taken out a construction loan or any type of financing for these types of projects. In addition, at the time this [appeal] was written the Sanctuary had no mortgage, it was completely paid off."