BBB Wise Giving Report for
Muscular Dystrophy Association

BBB Wise Giving Report issued July 2010
BBB Wise Giving Report expires June 2012


This BBB Accredited charity meets all 20 Standards for Charity Accountability and is a Seal Holder. Find out more...


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Charity Contact Information

Name: Muscular Dystrophy Association
Address: 3300 East Sunrise Drive
  Tucson, AZ 85718-3208
Phone: 800-572-1717
Web Address: www.mda.org
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BBB Wise Giving Alliance Comments

Year, State Incorporated: 1950, New York
Affiliates: 130 chapters
Stated Purpose: "to cure muscular dystrophy, ALS and related diseases by funding worldwide research, and to provide comprehensive health care and support services, advocacy and education."

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Evaluation Conclusions

              

Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) meets the 20 Standards for Charity Accountability.
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Programs

              

MDA provides services for individuals affected by neuromuscular diseases and reports overseeing a network of more than 200 hospital-affiliated clinics -- including 38 MDA/ALS Centers. At its clinics, MDA offers both initial diagnoses and follow-up treatment. MDA also provides support for those affected by neuromuscular disease through more than 240 support groups, summer camps for over 4,000 children (age 6-17) with neuromuscular diseases, assistance with repairs to medical equipment, an equipment loan program, flu shots and evaluations for physical, occupational and respiratory therapy. For 2009, MDA reports providing funding of $34.7 million for 363 scientific investigations in the U.S. and abroad. MDA also partners with federal government health researchers and biotechnology and biopharmaceutical companies to develop and test potential treatments for neuromuscular diseases and is involved in clinical trials of potential drugs and genetic therapies. The organization offers educational speakers, seminars, videos, brochures, booklets, books, newsletters, national magazines and websites, with some of the publications available in Spanish. The annual MDA Labor Day Telethon provides public information on neuromuscular diseases and raises funds for MDA services and research programs. Some $2,800,380 (or 12.3%) of MDA’s professional and public health education program service activities are conducted in conjunction with fund raising appeals.

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008, MDA's program expenses were:

  
Patient and community services 84,074,013
Research 39,147,352
Professional and public health education 23,469,432
Total Program Expenses: $146,690,797
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Governance

              

Chief Executive : Gerald C. Weinberg, President and CEO
Compensation*:
$379,710

Chair of the Board: R. Rodney Howell, M.D.
Chair's Profession / Business Affiliation: Professor of Pediatrics and Chairman Emeritus, University of Miami

Board Size: 20

Paid Staff Size: 1234

*2008 compensation includes annual salary and, if applicable, benefit plans, expense accounts, and other allowances.
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Fund Raising

              

Method(s) Used:

Direct mail, special events, print advertisements, television, grant proposals, Internet appeals, planned giving, and cause-related marketing.
Fund raising costs were 16% of related contributions. (Related contributions, which totaled $175,900,213, are donations received as a result of fund raising activities.)
MDA incurred joint costs of $6,762,257 for informational materials and activities that included fund raising materials. Of those costs, $3,381,128 was allocated to fund raising expenses, $2,890,865 was allocated to program expenses, and $490,264 was allocated to administrative expenses.
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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.
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Financial

              

The following information is based on MDA's audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2009.

Source of Funds  
Special events, including telethon (net) 144,866,285
Contributions 23,638,491
Investment income and other 14,937,068
Bequests and legacies 6,488,590
Combined Federal Campaign and Combined Health Appeals 906,847
Total Income $190,837,281


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Uses of Funds as a % of Total Expenses

Programs: 77%  Fund Raising: 15%  Administrative: 8% 

Total income   $190,837,281
  Program expenses $146,690,797
  Fund raising expenses 28,295,533
  Administrative expenses 15,035,229
 
Total expenses   $190,021,559
Income in Excess of Expenses   815,722
Beginning net assets   68,988,744
Other Changes in Net Assets 4,696,526
Ending net assets   74,500,992
Total liabilities   54,591,188
Total assets   $129,092,180

Note: In the financial section above, "other changes in net assets" refers to changes in unrecognized benefit plan costs ($4,696,526).

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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.

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