Standard 1: Oversight of Operations and Staff - Organizations shall have a board of directors that provides adequate oversight of the charity's operations and its staff. Indication of adequate oversight includes, but is not limited to, regularly scheduled appraisals of the CEO's performance, evidence of disbursement controls such as board approval of the budget, fund raising practices, establishment of a conflict of interest policy, and establishment of accounting procedures sufficient to safeguard charity finances.
USM does not meet this Standard because its board of directors does not:
- Have a person serving as chair.
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.
USM does not meet this Standard because:
- The organization does not produce financial statements,
In response to this finding, USM stated,
"The United States Mission is not a 'charity.' It is a 501(c)(3), non-profit, independent, interdenominational, religious corporation, a church. As such, it is relieved of many of the accounting procedures and reporting obligations of secular charities. The primary focus of the Mission is the practice of the Social Gospel. Any questions may be referred to: Brian Jones, Secretary-General, usmissionsg@q.com, 503-254-7640."
Although the Alliance recognizes that churches are exempt from filing regular tax returns with the IRS, and churches are not required by law to produce financial statements, it is our opinion that financial statements are an important part of non-profit accountability.
Standard 16: Annual Report - Have an annual report available to all, on request, that includes: (a) the organization's mission statement, (b) a summary of the past year's program service accomplishments, (c) a roster of the officers and members of the board of directors, (d) financial information that includes (i) total income in the past fiscal year, (ii) expenses in the same program, fund raising and administrative categories as in the financial statements, and (iii) ending net assets.
USM does not meet this standard because:
- The organization states it does not have an annual report covering activities conducted in the past year.