ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, August 3, 1996 TAG: 9608060008
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LESLIE TAYLOR STAFF WRITER
NOTE: Above
THE NRA FOUNDATION, though not a "partner" agency, can receive donations through the United Way.
Since 1992, United Way of the Roanoke Valley has allowed donors to designate their contributions for organizations in a group known as "eligible charities."
They are not the United Way "partner" agencies, the better-known 36 that have cleared a stringent host of conditions and been granted the privilege of using the United Way logo. They are charities - currently 83 of them - for which United Way has agreed only to accept and transmit donations.
They include Habitat for Humanity in the Roanoke Valley, the Bedford Area Family YMCA, the Roanoke Valley Fund for Deaf Children and the Leukemia Society of America Virginia Special Olympics.
Last year, the National Rifle Association Foundation became one of them.
The foundation, which has conducted firearm safety instruction in Roanoke, Salem and Alleghany County, applied for "eligible charity" status with United Way of Roanoke Valley in 1994. Its application was approved for the 1995 fund-raising campaign and it is among the 83 eligible charities in the 1996 campaign.
"When they applied, we just sort of said 'No.' It didn't even sound right," said Bob Kulinski, United Way of Roanoke Valley's president. "Then when we understood that their programs were of educational value and had no connection to the NRA as a lobbying group, we had no basis on which to turn that one down."
Kulinski stressed that United Way's agreeing to accept donations for the eligible charities shouldn't be interpreted as an endorsement of them. Approval as an eligible charity means only that United Way has agreed to accommodate donors and ensure that contributions designated for the eligible charities get to them.
"We have given no seal of approval to any of those eligible agencies," Kulinski said. "We make no claims about the quality or value of an organization or of their programs. We simply don't study them to the same degree as we study partner agencies."
The NRA Foundation was established in 1991. It is a nonprofit corporation with offices in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia. Its purpose is to carry out charitable education and scientific activities, particularly in firearm safety.
The NRA Foundation received close to $3,000 (from 46 people) in contributions through the United Way of Roanoke Valley in 1995, the foundation's first year as an eligible charity, Kulinski said. Collectively, the eligible charities received $380,000 in contributions last year, he said.
The NRA is an organization with a history of controversy over its lobbying activities and political contributions. Of the 1,400 United Way affiliates in the United States, 25 have accepted donations for the NRA Foundation, said Maryanne McInerney, media relations director for United Way of America.
"Each [United Way] affiliate is an autonomous, independent organization," she said. "They value contributors' right to choose how their contributions are spent. That would not mean a local United Way would necessarily support [the foundation] or give their program any approval."
To qualify as a United Way eligible charity, an organization or program must have a service component, have a registered-charity status and have completed an Internal Revenue Service form required for all nonprofit organizations.
McInerney said the foundation began pursuing United Way eligible-charity status in 1993. To her knowledge, its inclusion has stirred no controversy.
Nor has it in the Roanoke Valley, though Kulinski said it did, at first, raise some eyebrows internally.
United Way of Roanoke Valley has faced controversy before over Planned Parenthood of the Blue Ridge's status as a partner agency.
Last year, United Way's affiliation with Planned Parenthood was criticized after the agency announced that it would begin providing first-trimester abortions. United Way had to defend itself against abortion opponents, arguing that its allocations to Planned Parenthood were used only to fund three of the agency's education programs.
The United Way begins its 1996 campaign this month. "Pacesetter" campaigns - conducted by 22 Roanoke-area businesses and organizations to jump-start the full campaign - began last month.
LENGTH: Medium: 81 linesby CNB