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Lincoln Tribune, USA
Jan. 27, 2005
www.lincolntribune.com

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ReligionNewsBlog.com • Item 10072 • Posted: Sunday January 30, 2005  

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Refusal to release financial information is reason for donors to find other ministries to support – whether for tsunami relief or other purposes

MATTHEWS, N.C. –Wall Watchers, through its donor empowerment Website, www.MinistryWatch.com, has issued a Donor Alert for those ministries in the MinistryWatch.com database with a Transparency Grade of F.

Wall Watchers CEO Rusty Leonard explained, “MinistryWatch.com is committed to the belief that all Christian ministries have a responsibility to be good stewards of the financial resources they have received from donors. Donors should be informed of those ministries that have failed to display transparency. Based on our most recent request for basic information, there are at least 27 ministries that did not provide financial statements of any kind to MinistryWatch.com.”

To read the Donor Alert and see the full list, visit: http://www.ministrywatch.com/mw2.1/pdf/MWDA_Transparency_F.pdf

Leonard stated, “The refusal by these ministries to release the financial information is reason enough for donors to find other ministries to support, whether for tsunami relief or other purposes. We are confident that donors committed to doing their due diligence and who prayerfully consider how to best help those in need can find many worthy ministries to support by utilizing our website and the resources of those organizations listed on the last page of the Donor Alert.” He added, “The number of these ministries on the F Transparency List is a small percentage of the more than 500 ministries in our database. Most have willingly responded to our inquiries because they understand that transparency is at the heart of long-term trust. Donors want to make wise giving decisions; however, without information it is not possible to make a good decision. Charitable organizations that seek to hide fundamental information from scrutiny undermine the faith and trust of the donor and damage donor attitudes that have an impact well beyond their own operations. Accordingly, transparency is fundamental to long term prosperity in the charitable arena.”

To view a list of ministries sorted by transparency grade, visit MinistryWatch.com’s interactive table.

Leonard continued, “With so much focus on the nonprofit sector, and questions being raised in many quarters as to whether or not funds are being used for the charitable purposes for which they are designated, it is more important than ever that those wishing to help the victims of the tsunami or others in need be aware of these ministries that are not willing to let the public know how they utilize their resources.”

He concluded, “In times like this it is often best to donate to those ministries that already have established networks of key people in the affected areas and that have demonstrated a commitment to integrity and transparency. Additionally, seek to give to biblically-based ministries who have long focused on relief work so that those they serve will have both their physical and spiritual needs met.”

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