BBB Wise Giving Report for
Muscular Dystrophy Association

BBB Wise Giving Report issued May 2008
BBB Wise Giving Report expires May 2010


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: 520-529-2000
800-572-1717
Web Address: www.mda.org
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BBB Wise Giving Alliance Comments

Year, State Incorporated: 1950, New York
Affiliates: 153 chapters
Stated Purpose: "to support worldwide research at hundreds of universities and hospitals to find the causes and cures or effective treatments for 40 neuromuscular diseases."

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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 oversees a network of 225 hospital-affiliated clinics -- including 38 MDA/ALS centers with focused research and clinical care for individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. At its clinics, MDA offers both initial diagnoses and follow-up treatment. In addition, MDA provides patient support through 240 support groups, summer camps for over 4,000 children (age 6-17) with neuromuscular diseases, and assistance with the purchase of wheelchairs, leg braces, communication devices, flu shots, equipment loan closets, and evaluations for physical, occupational or respiratory therapy. For fiscal year 2007, MDA provided funding of $32.6 million for approximately 350 scientific investigations in the U.S. and abroad. MDA 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. MDA offers educational speakers, seminars, videos, brochures, booklets, books, newsletters, national magazines and Web sites, with many of the publications available in Spanish. The annual “Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon” provides public information on neuromuscular diseases and raises funds for MDA services and research programs. Some $1,739,087 (or 8%) of MDA’s professional and public health education program service activities are conducted in conjunction with fund raising appeals.

For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2007, MDA's program expenses were:

  
Patient and community services 86,484,194
Research 36,909,937
Professional and public health education 22,969,227
Total Program Expenses: $146,363,358
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Governance

              

Chief Executive : Gerald C. Weinberg, President and CEO
Compensation*:
$372,662

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

Board Size: 19

Paid Staff Size: 1354

*April 1, 2006 - March 31, 2007 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, telemarketing, grant proposals, Internet appeals, planned giving, and cause-related marketing
Fund raising costs were 16% of related contributions. (Related contributions, which totaled $183,532,791, are donations received as a result of fund raising activities.)
MDA incurred joint costs of $5,441,450 for informational materials and activities that included fund raising materials. Of those costs $2,720,725 was allocated to fund raising expenses, $1,739,087 was allocated to program expenses, and $981,638 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 fiscal year ended March 31, 2007.

Source of Funds  
Special events (net) 148,759,706
Contributions 28,752,056
Investment income and other revenue 16,228,021
Bequests and legacies 5,050,339
Combined Federal Campaign and Combined Health Appeals 970,690
Total Income $199,760,812


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Uses of Funds as a % of Total Expenses

Programs: 76%  Fund Raising: 15%  Administrative: 7%  Other Expenses: 2%

Total income   $199,760,812
  Program expenses $146,363,358
  Fund raising expenses 28,766,475
  Administrative expenses 13,977,589
  Other Expenses 4,669,642
Total expenses   $193,777,064
Income in Excess of Expenses   5,983,748
Beginning net assets   161,046,153
Ending net assets   167,029,901
Total liabilities   49,050,932
Total assets   $216,080,833

Note: In the above financial section other expenses includes $3,490,955 (minimum pension liability) and $1,178,687 (effect of adoption of FASB Statement No. 158).

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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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