10 Key Executives Made $7.7 Million at the NRA
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a non-profit 501 (c) (4) organization that fights tirelessly for our second amendment rights. Whether or not you believe the second amendment refers to “militia” or “the people” has always been controversial but is even more so in the wake of the near daily occurrence of mass shootings in this country. People are screaming out for gun control because quite frankly, there are too many guns and assault weapons in the hands of the wrong people. Read more 
Where does $1 to the Salvation Army go?
During the holiday season, The Salvation Army operates its Red Kettle Campaign throughout the nation. Local volunteers (often working with their families) and paid workers stand by the iconic red kettle ringing a bell, and smiling while donations are placed in the red kettle.
It’s hard for anyone to walk by without placing a $1 or loose change in the kettle of one of the most recognizable charitable fundraisers in this country. But, where does $1 to the Salvation Army go? That’s the $4 billion dollar (the amount of revenue reported in the US in 2014) question, keeping in mind the Salvation Army organizations in the US have more than $11 billion in net assets. Read more
6 Ways to Make Your Donations Go Further
Tis the season for giving. We receive mail and on-line requests, buy tickets for charitable events, and get solicited at work, the grocery store, drug store, the mall, and a zillion other places. Many charities do really good work in our communities but many also have very high administrative and fundraising expenses along with high executive salaries which means our donations don’t go as far as we want them to go. To make your charitable dollars go further, consider the following six recommendations: Read more
What’s Wrong With This Picture?
Last week, The Wall Street Journal published an article entitled “The Truth Behind the Sell-By Date” but with a headline of “Don’t Toss the Milk, Dear” which addressed the expiration date on foods – an interesting topic for sure. But, the photograph that accompanied the article on the front page of The Personal Journal was even more thought provoking. Read more
Where Does $1 to Hope For The Warriors® Go?
Hope For The Warriors® provides comprehensive support programs for service members, veterans, and military families that are focused on transition, health and wellness, peer engagement, and connections to community resources.
Hope For The Warriors® is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) founded by military wives whose programs serve post-9/11 active duty, National Guard, and reserve service members and veterans from all branches of the military. Programs also support the entire military family, families of the fallen, and military caregivers through: Read more
Where does $1 to the Ronald McDonald House go?
The first Ronald McDonald House opened more than 40 years ago (1974) in Philadelphia when Dr Audrey Lane at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia saw a need for short-term lodging near the hospital for families of cancer patients. Since then, Ronald McDonald House Charities, Inc. (RMHC) – a public charity under both the IRS Code 501 (c) (3) and 509 (a) (3) – have opened 353 Ronald McDonald Houses, 196 Ronald McDonald Family Rooms in hospitals, and 50 Ronald McDonald mobile health units (Ronald McDonald Care Mobiles) along with providing grants to other non-profit organizations (hence, its 509 (c) (3) designation) and scholarships to students across the United States. Read more
Spotlight
Many years ago, there was a postal carrier who delivered mail to our home nearly every day. A quiet guy who rarely spoke, the mailman often looked at the ground as he walked from house to house delivering letters, bills, catalogs, and packages. One day, the local newspaper carried a story about a group of adults who came forward claiming they were sexually abused by priests in the Catholic parishes they attended as children. Filled with shame and often told to be quiet, many of these children grew up deeply disturbed and troubled, unable to reconcile the sexual assault or the way their families and the leaders of the church treated them. Our mailman was one of those children and it was heartbreaking to be a bystander and read about the personal violation of a person we both knew and didn’t know in the local paper. Read more
Turkey Time
The Thanksgiving meal is about as American and traditional as it gets with nearly every family in the United States celebrating this national holiday – most with a roasted turkey on the table. Although many dishes have changed little in the past hundred years – bread stuffing, cornbread, gravy, cranberry sauce, green beans – the turkey has changed dramatically. Before I tell you how the turkey has changed, I want to say this is not about shaming those who choose to eat turkey. The purpose is to inform the reader of what many turkey farmers, cooperatives, processors, and food companies don’t want consumers to know about the turkey on your table. Read more
World Vision International: Revenue and Expenses
World Vision International (WVI) is an evangelical christian humanitarian aid, development, and advocacy organization that works with children, families, communities, and organizations throughout the world. Established in 1977 by Walter Stanley Mooneyham, the then president of World Vision, Inc. (which was established in 1950 by Robert Pierce to meet the emergency needs of missionaries), WVI is a 501 (c) (3) religious non-profit corporation under the laws of California. Read more
Where does your $1 to World Vision go?
World Vision – a Christian humanitarian organization – is one of the most complicated charitable entities to understand because many people believe that World Vision is one entity when in fact, there are many “World Vision” organizations under the legal umbrella of World Vision International (WVI) which was established in 1977 as a non-profit religious organization in California but whose executive offices are in England.
Because WVI is a “church,” they are not required to file the IRS Form 990 filed by most US-registered tax-exempt organizations although two of their subsidiaries – the US fundraising affiliate –World Vision, Inc. (WV Inc) which was established in 1950 – and the microfinance affiliate – VisionFund International – file a form 990 for the “benefit of its US donors.” Read more
Paddock Post 