THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 19, 1994 TAG: 9406180190
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARK O'KEEFE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940619 LENGTH: Medium
The Christian Broadcasting Network did not.
{REST} When the Chronicle of Philanthropy, the newspaper of the non-profit world, surveyed 210 charities and private foundations this year, 180 mailed in their IRS Form 900 tax returns at the paper's request. CBN was among the 30 that did not.
Since 1989, CBN has provided an audited financial report to its donors.
But the tax-exempt religious organization does not answer more detailed requests from some leading financial accountability groups on how it spends nearly $100 million a year in donations.
CBN stopped cooperating with the Better Business Bureau in 1992, after it repeatedly failed to meet the bureau's standards of disclosure so donors can make what the BBB describes as ``informed decisions.'' The bureau also determined that CBN's board of directors, ultimately responsible for the ministry, had too many employees and relatives of Robertson to be independent.
CBN said it stopped cooperating with the Better Business Bureau because its accounting demands were unreasonable and too expensive. This year, CBN was one of 37 charities on the bureau's ``nondisclosure'' list.
There are about half a dozen accountability groups for non-profit organizations. Most don't give their stamp of approval without meeting a list of standards regulating the spending of charity dollars.
The Christian Children's Fund and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, for example, have the approval of the National Charities Information Bureau. The Salvation Army and Father Flanagan's Boys' Home meet the Better Business Bureau requirements.
More than 750 religious organizations belong to the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, a group founded in 1979 by the Rev. Billy Graham and others. It seeks to enforce standards of financial integrity, full financial disclosure and Christian ethics.
Among the members are James Dobson's Focus on the Family - a Colorado ministry similar in size and scope to CBN - and Regent University, where Robertson is chancellor.
For more than a year, a CBN spokesman has said CBN is in the process of applying for membership. But as of last week, it was not. ECFA would not confirm or deny that CBN had applied.
``CBN and Pat Robertson both strongly advocate financial accountability,'' said CBN spokesman Gene Kapp. As evidence, he cites CBN's 1987 to 1993 membership in The Ethics and Financial Integrity Commission, a self-regulating arm of National Religious Broadcasters. Robertson donated $50,000 to start the organization.
When that group disbanded, members agreed to join the Billy Graham group, even though its standards were tougher.
Charity watchdogs criticize CBN's refusal to submit more detailed information for review.
``Any organization that doesn't have anything to hide should be putting their stuff out for public scrutiny,'' said Bob Bothwell, executive director of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, a Washington-based group that monitors nonprofits.
Said Bennett M. Weiner, head of the Philanthropic Advisory Service of the Council of Better Business Bureaus: ``When someone isn't open, it certainly begs one to ask, `Why?' ''
CBN declines to mail copies of its informational tax return to the public but allows them to be inspected at corporate headquarters. The tax returns contain salaries, some breakdowns of expenses and revenues. Legislation recommended by President Clinton and a congressional subcommittee would require charities like CBN to copy and mail the form to people willing to pay for the expense. by CNB