BBB Wise Giving Report for
FINCA International

BBB Wise Giving Report issued August 2011
BBB Wise Giving Report expires August 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...


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Charity Contact Information

Name: FINCA International
Address: 1101 14th Street NW, 11th Floor
  Washington, DC 20005
Phone: 202-682-1510
202-682-2694
Web Address: www.villagebanking.org
Also known as:Foundation for International Community Assistance
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BBB Wise Giving Alliance Comments

Year, State Incorporated: 1984, New York
Affiliates: 28 chapters
Stated Purpose: "to provide financial services to the world's lowest-income entrepreneurs so they can create jobs, build assets and improve their standard of living."

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Evaluation Conclusions

              

FINCA International (FINCA) does not meet the following 3 Standards for Charity Accountability.

Standard 4: Compensated Board Members - Not more than one or 10% (whichever is greater) directly or indirectly compensated person(s) serving as voting member(s) of the board. Compensated members shall not serve as the board's chair or treasurer.

FINCA does not meet this Standard because:

  • Three members out of the 16 member board of directors (19%) are compensated either directly or indirectly.  The Chairman is indirectly compensated as the brother of a staff member.  Two other board members are directly compensated as employees,.

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.

FINCA does not meet this Standard because:

  • FINCA does not meet this Standard because its audited financial statements were not prepared in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).  The audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2009 stated that FINCA adopted the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as the accounting basis related to its operations instead of accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Standard 12: Detailed Functional Breakdown of Expenses - Include in the financial statements a breakdown of expenses (e.g., salaries, travel, postage, etc.) that shows what portion of these expenses was allocated to program, fund raising, and administrative activities. If the charity has more than one major program category, the schedule should provide a breakdown for each category.

FINCA does not meet this Standard because, in the organization's 2009 audited financial statements, the detailed functional breakdown of expenses:

  • Was not included. A detailed functional breakdown shows expenses by natural classification (e.g., salaries, travel, postage, etc.) and indicates what portion of these expenses was allocated to program, fund raising, and administrative activities).
FINCA International (FINCA) meets the remaining 17 Standards for Charity Accountability.
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Programs

              

FINCA is committed to breaking the cycle of poverty in the world’s most desperate communities by providing small loans, savings programs, insurance protection and other financial services for the working poor. The organization reports that it concluded 2009 with 717,217 microfinance clients in 21 countries across Africa, Eurasia, the Greater Middle East and Latin America and had an outstanding loan portfolio of $322.3 million. In 2009, FINCA disbursed $682.2 million in loans. In war torn Afghanistan, for example, FINCA reports that it is providing over 10,000 Afghan clients with working capital, helping them to start and build small businesses. When families are taken into account, these small businesses are helping to improve the lives of some 50,000 individuals, providing nutrition, shelter, and clothing, and helping parents to afford education for their children. Around the world, FINCA targets the working poor: those with the least access to services such as loans, savings programs, and insurance. The organization's clients include women, who make up 70 percent of the world's poor; individuals unable to find work in the formal sector; families displaced by conflict; the rural poor; and those affected by chronic poverty. The majority of FINCA’s clients are impoverished traders, selling goods such as produce, shoes, clothing, charcoal, poultry and fish. Others cook and sell food, produce crafts, or run beauty salons or bicycle repair shops, while increasing numbers of FINCA's clients work in agriculture.

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

  
Program services 35,289,422
Total Program Expenses: $35,289,422
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Governance

              

Chief Executive : Rupert W. Scofield, President and CEO
Compensation*:
$317,281

Chair of the Board: Robert W. Hatch
Chair's Profession / Business Affiliation: CEO, Cereal Ingredients, Inc.

Board Size: 16

Paid Staff Size: 7292

*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, telemarketing, special events, grant proposals, Internet appeals, and planned giving.
Fund raising costs were 10% of related contributions. (Related contributions, which totaled $25,535,820, are donations received as a result of fund raising activities.)
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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 Summary Note

              

Note 1: We are unable to provide a financial overview at this time because the Alliance is requesting further information about the organization's assets.

Note 2: FINCA reports that it received in-kind donations of $1,346,207 in 2009 for legal and consulting services.

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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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