BBB Wise Giving Report for
National Organization for Rare Disorders

BBB Wise Giving Report issued November 2010
BBB Wise Giving Report expires November 2012


This BBB Accredited charity meets all 20 Standards for Charity Accountability. Find out more...


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Charity Contact Information

Name: National Organization for Rare Disorders
Address: 55 Kenosia Avenue
  Danbury, CT 06813
Phone: 203-744-0100
800-999-6673
Web Address: www.rarediseases.org
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BBB Wise Giving Alliance Comments

Year, State Incorporated: 1983, New York
Affiliates: None
Stated Purpose: "to help people with rare diseases and assist the organizations that serve them."

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Evaluation Conclusions

              

National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) meets the 20 Standards for Charity Accountability.
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Programs

              

NORD programs and services include providing information about rare diseases in patient-friendly language; referrals to support groups and other resources, especially for newly diagnosed patients and parents or other relatives of patients; raising awareness of rare diseases among physicians and other medical professionals; advocacy on behalf of federal funding for rare disease research; advocacy for public policies to ensure that the needs of this medically under-served patient population are fairly represented; helping patient groups form organizations and mentoring to encourage best practices among patient organizations; helping connect patients with academic, government and industry researchers studying their diseases; administering patient assistance programs to provide free drug and co-pay assistance for certain medications to people who are uninsured or cannot afford their insurance co-pays; working with government agencies; administering a research program providing seed-money grants to encourage study of diseases for which there are few, or no, other sources of funding; and organizing regional and national conferences and workshops for patients and patient organizations.

For the year ended December 31, 2009, NORD's program expenses were:

  
Patient services 11,636,848
Education 1,356,469
Research 263,427
Technical assistance 92,413
Advocacy 84,577
Total Program Expenses: $13,433,734
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Governance

              

Chief Executive : Peter L. Saltonstall, President and CEO
Compensation*:
$228,906

Chair of the Board: Frank J. Sasinowski, MS, MPH, JD
Chair's Profession / Business Affiliation: Attorney, Hyman, Phelps & McNamara

Board Size: 18

Paid Staff Size: 43

*2009 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, grant proposals, planned giving, and membership appeals.
Fund raising costs were 2% of related contributions. (Related contributions, which totaled $13,979,569, are donations received as a result of fund raising activities.)
NORD incurred joint costs of $354,382 for informational materials and activities that included fund raising materials. Of those costs, $313,817 was allocated to program expenses and $40,565 was allocated to fund raising 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 NORD's audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2009.

Source of Funds  
Contributions and grants 10,503,003
Indigent care drug and co-payment assistance programs 1,657,906
Contributions and bequests 785,814
Special events revenue 697,600
Investment income, including unrealized gains 345,586
Government and other grants 280,000
Royalty and other income 55,735
Sales and distribution of materials and services to the public 55,470
Membership dues 55,246
Total Income $14,436,360


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Uses of Funds as a % of Total Expenses

Programs: 94%  Fund Raising: 2%  Administrative: 4% 

Total income   $14,436,360
  Program expenses $13,433,734
  Fund raising expenses 217,775
  Administrative expenses 580,540
 
Total expenses   $14,232,049
Income in Excess of Expenses   204,311
Beginning net assets   14,562,011
Ending net assets   14,766,322
Total liabilities   3,005,626
Total assets   $17,771,948


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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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