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12/11/2009
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~tate "
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keeps eye Contirfue'd{rom Page lA
on local
charities
356 Ministries, Inc.
Report examines
gifts, expenses that we are
By ALYSSA ScHNUGG
Slaff Writer
Each year, charities are
required to file a report with
ted, we are still a registered
the Mississippi Secretary of
State's Office that shows
'how much of their revenue The Council of Better
goes toward their stated pur­ Pantry of Oxford and Lafayette County
pqse and how much.. g gqes to
adlnin/ss'lKive,-dJund nij,.
ing costs.
During a lunch meeting of
the Oxford Rotary Club on
Tuesday, Service Coordinator
Jeremy A. Martin spoke to the
club about the 2009 Charity
Report that was released two
weeks ago by $esretary of
State Delbert Hosemann.
The report shows how
much of donations go toward
a charity's stated purpose
and how much goes toward
expenses for· non-charitable
purposes, such as fundraising
and administrative costs.
"It's good to have handy
when someone calls you and
asks for a donation," Martin
said. "You can scroll down
and look and see if you want
to give to that charity."
Defining the group Looking forward
Martin said not every non­
profit is a charity.
"We have nonprofits that
never solicit for funds," he
said. "If a nonprofit is solicit­
ing for money, in any matter,
be it letter writing, phone calls
or television ads, they IllIJ't
register with our office."
Also exempt from register­
ing are charities raising less
than $25,000 or duly consti­
tuted reiigioils institutions.
"Our job is not to make
life harder for that 98 or 99
percent of charities doing the
right thing," Martin said. "It's
to weed out those 1 or 2 per­
cent that Q\ay try to spoil the
whole basket of good deeds
done by others."
The report shows all chari­
ties that do fund raising in
Mississippi. The report pro­
vides a summary of financial
information on file with the
Secretary of State as of March
3 r, 2008, so soine of the infor­
mation may have changed,
including those charities list­
ed as "expired," like the very
much alive Yoknapatawpha
Arts Council. .
Wayne Andrews, director
of the Arts Council, said YAC
filed for an extension after it
had to change auditors.
See STA,:T-E on Page SA
State: Charities balance costs
'-. .
"We are completing our
Local nonprofits' expenses
annual audit
by an inde­
pendent firm
Here's how the Mississippi Secretary of State's Office breaks down the way charities spend
donations between their program purposes and their administrative and fundraising costs.'
which will
Program purpose Administrative
consist
us complet­
of
9 Lives Cat Rescue
Angel Ranch Inc.
No revenue reported
77.39 percent
69.82 percent
22.61 percent
30.18 percent
ing, not only
state forms, Exchange Club Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse 90.40 percent 9.60 percent
Andrews Friends of the North Mississippi Regional Center 73.65 percent 26.35 percent
bu t ensuring
Fund Democracy Inc. 89.55 percent 10.45 percent
Health Services In-Action Inc. (Oxford Medical Ministries) 23.88 percent 76.12 percent
following federal charitable Interfaith Compassion Ministry 80.73 percent 19.27 percent
gUidelines," Andrews said. Lafayette County Literacy Council 34.47 percent 65.53 percent
"Although our charitable reg­ Leap Frog Program Inc. 100 percent o percent
istration has lapsed and is in LOU-Home Inc. 100 percent o percent
the process of being submit­ Mississippi Women's Law Enforcement Association No revenue reported
National Center for Open Source Policy and Research Inc. o percent 100 percent
501c3 organization with the Oxford Ballet Association Inc. 85.41 percent 14.59 percent
IRS." Oxford Charger Athletic Booster Club 70.60 percent 29.40 percent
Oxford Lafayette Habitat for Humanity 95.81 percent 4.19 percent
90.97 percent 9.03 percent
Business B,ureaus ~ecom­
mends that at le'~st 65 per­
Pathways Family Life Center 100 percent o percent
Pieceworks Inc. o percent 100 percent
cent of total expenses should Sav-A-Life of Lafayette County Inc. 62.66 percent 37.34 percent
be spent on program activities United Way of Oxford and Lafayette County 84.03 percent 15.97 percent
directly related to the organi­ Yocona International Folk Festival 56.98 percent 43.02 percent
zation's purpose. Fundraising Family Crisis Services of Northwest Mississippi, Inc. 90 percent 10 percent
costs by the organization
should not exceed 35 percent Not listed on the report but are registered non-proflts with 'the IRS were: Oxford Film Festival (Filed its
of related contributions. report flfter the deadline) and Yoknapatawpha Arts Council Inc. (Applied for an extension after· hiring a
new -auditor): . .
"However, there are some
instances when a departure
from these standards would
be reasonable," Hosemann 65 .53 spent on non-chari- of contributions on average ance, said Marlene Bishop,
states in the report. table purposes. The council being lower, we do have to executive director of Medical
reported $49,116 in revenue reach more donors to meet Ministries. The organization
"For example, a newly cre­
with $40,051 in total expens- o~r program expenses," she often receives grants that are
ated organizations may have
es, which includes $25,293 said. "On a positive note, for specific purposes, such as
higher administrative expens­
for administrative purposes. even though the average its obesity and diabetes clinic
es due to start-up costs and
"As a small not-for-profit donation is lower, we have which received a $9,000 grant
larger gifts or donor restric­
with a total budget under more donors and thus more earlier this year.
tions on the use of contrib­
$50,000, our fixed operating people are getting involved in "We have one paid full­
uted funds could skew an
organization's apparent man­ expenses occupy a larger per- fighting illiteracy in our com- time employee and two part-
agement of funds in either centage of our total budget munity." time employees," she said.
a favorable or unfavorable than some larger organiza- ... . "Everything else is donated.
light." tions," said Susan Phillips, MinimiZing expenses We do have some monthly
director of the Literacy Oxford Medical Ministries utility expenses."
Council. "As our operating started seemg patients m When it comes to giving
The Lafayette County budget in'creases, the amount 2005. The mformatlOn m the to charities, the Secretary of
Literacy Council and Oxford we spend on programs will report was ftled for .Its 2006 State's Office recommends
lAedical Ministries fall into account for a much larger fIscal year where It raIsed donors do the follOWing: know
me or more of those catego­ percentage of the total." $360,731 durmg Its fmt year the charity they are giving to;
·ies. Phillips said fundraising has and spent $54,982 on expens- avoid pressure tactics; watch
The Literacy Council, been more difficult in the past
es. . . for "same names;" be wary of
vhich offers reading pro­ year although they have had The medIcal chanty offers telephone calls; verify mail
:rams to children and adults, more actual donors than pre- free medIcal servIces and pre- solicitations; and always gel
eports 34.4 7 percent is spent vious years. scnptlons to the workmg pub- receipts.
m charitable purposes with "With
. th~~ d.QU'M _~ount hc wh.a h~ve no he~lt~
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