BBB Wise Giving Report for
Grist Magazine

BBB Wise Giving Report issued March 2011
BBB Wise Giving Report expires March 2013


Does not meet one or more standards
This charity does not meet one or more of the 20 standards for Charity Accountability. Find out more...


Find out more about this charity:

Back To Top

Charity Contact Information

Name: Grist Magazine
Address: 710 Second Avenue, Suite 860
  Seattle, WA 98104
Phone: 206-876-2020
Web Address: http://www.grist.org
Back To Top

BBB Wise Giving Alliance Comments

Year, State Incorporated: 2002, Washington
Affiliates: None
Stated Purpose: "to set the agenda by showing how green is reshaping our world; to cut through the noise and empower a new generation to make change."

Back To Top

Evaluation Conclusions

               

Grist Magazine (Grist) does not meet the following 2 Standards for Charity Accountability.

Standard 6: Board Policy on Effectiveness - Have a board policy of assessing, no less than every two years, the organization's performance and effectiveness and of determining future actions required to achieve its mission.

Grist does not meet this Standard because:

  • Its effectiveness assessment policy does not specify that this assessment will take place at least once every two years.

Standard 7: Board Approval of Written Report on Effectiveness - Submit to the organization's governing body, for its approval, a written report that outlines the results of the aforementioned performance and effectiveness assessment and recommendations for future actions.

Grist does not meet this Standard because:

  • It has never completed an effectiveness assessment.
Grist Magazine (Grist) meets the remaining 18 Standards for Charity Accountability.
Back To Top

Programs

               

Grist provides daily reportage, environmental advice, consumer tips, Q&As with activists, book reviews, and opportunities for activism, helping to weave together the disparate threads of the environmental movement. According to the organization, hundreds of thousands of readers encounter Grist reporting through its website and emails, while millions of others are reached through websites of media and advocacy organizations with which Grist partners. Grist reports reaching a monthly audience of 750,000 people.

For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2010, Grist's program expenses were:

  
Editorial 1,385,133
Production and distribution 717,340
Readership expansion 461,464
Total Program Expenses: $2,563,937
Back To Top

Governance

               

Chief Executive : Charles Giller, President and CEO
Compensation*:
 $154,250

Chair of the Board: Susan L. Kaufman
Chair's Profession / Business Affiliation: Assistant commissioner in the Department of Health Care Finance and Policy of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Board Size: 15

Paid Staff Size: 25

*October 1, 2008 - September 30, 2009 compensation includes annual salary and, if applicable, benefit plans, expense accounts, and other allowances.
Back To Top

Fund Raising

               

Method(s) Used:

Direct mail, grant proposals, Internet appeals, cause-related marketing, and membership appeals.
Fund raising costs were 19% of related contributions. (Related contributions, which totaled $2,161,770, are donations received as a result of fund raising activities.)
Back To Top

Tax Status

               

This organization is tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. It is eligible to receive contributions deductible as charitable donations for federal income tax purposes.
Back To Top

Financial

               

The following information is based on Grist's audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2010.

Source of Funds  
Grants 1,380,000
General contributions 688,982
Advertising 403,228
In-kind contributions 92,788
Investment income 34,314
Syndication fees 21,770
Miscellaneous income 11,152
Affiliate fees 960
Total Income $2,633,194


chart



Uses of Funds as a % of Total Expenses

Programs: 75%  Fund Raising: 12%  Administrative: 13% 

Total income   $2,633,194
  Program expenses $2,563,937
  Fund raising expenses 405,074
  Administrative expenses 434,011
 
Total expenses   $3,403,022
Expenses in Excess of Income   (769,828)
Beginning net assets   3,097,366
Ending net assets   2,327,538
Total liabilities   288,188
Total assets   $2,615,726


Back To Top

An organization may change its practices at any time without notice. A copy of this report has been shared with the organization prior to publication. It is not intended to recommend or deprecate, and is furnished solely to assist you in exercising your own judgment. If the report is about a charity and states the charity meets or does not meet the BBB Standards for Charity Accountability, it reflects the results of an evaluation of information and materials provided voluntarily by the charity. The name Better Business Bureau is a registered service mark of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc.

This report is not to be used for fund raising or promotional purposes.

Send to:



What is an Accredited Charity