AIP Gives JDF an "A", Joins "Smart Money" in Citing Effectiveness

    The American Institute of Philanthropy’s Spring 1998, Watchdog Report gives the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation an "A" rating, the only such rating for any national diabetes organization, and one of only six "A" ratings (out of 44 charities) for general heath organizations nationally.

   The rating is based on three major criteria:

• The percent spent on the organization’s charitable purpose with an AIP target of 60% or more (JDF spent 82% - 83%);

• The cost to raise $100, with an AIP target of $35 or less (JDF cost = $15); and

• Whether or not an organization has opened its books to AIP (JDF freely provided material).

   The AIP is a nonprofit charity watchdog and information services whose mission is to maximize the effectiveness of charitable contributions by providing  donors with information needed to make more informed giving decisions.

JDF, One of 10 "Charities You Can Trust", according to The Wall Street Journal’s "Smart Money" Magazine

    JDF is one of the nation’s top 10 "charities you can trust," one of only two health/medical charities in the top "notch" ten pick by The Wall Street Journal’s "Smart Money" magazine in its December 1997 end-of-year look at charitable giving. Those in the coveted top ten received the highest overall efficiency scores in three categories as well as favorable peer reviews from such industry watchdogs as the National Charities Information Bureau and the Council of Better Business Bureaus.

  Taking a close look for consumers at how to decide which charities to support, the article states that "while it’s hard to weigh the worthiness of one cause over another, you can measure a  non-profit group’s financial efficiency by finding out how much of your donation dollar is actually being put to work in charitable or research programs (versus, for instance, how much is being spent on additional direct-mail fundraising)."

   The magazine looked at the nation's 100 largest non-profits as surveyed in the Non-Profit Times and applied four criteria:

• The amount spent on programs as a percentage of total expenditures;

• The amount an organization has on hand, its saving ratio (which should be relatively low);

• The ratings of an independent panel of watchdogs and experts as to a charity's strength of reputation and broadness of reach; and

• "Individual donors make up the backbone of philanthropy in the U.S.," writes Smart Money.  "Treating your donation like an investment" provides a sound basis for decision making.

JDF’s Mission

    The mission of the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation is to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research. JDF has over 100 chapters and affiliates in the United States and overseas, and provides more money to diabetes research than any other non-profit, non-governmental health agency in the world. In fiscal year, 1998, JDF will award over $40 million to diabetes research, bringing its cumulative dollar commitment to more than $290 million since 1970.

    JDF was founded in 1970 by the parents of children with diabetes who were convinced that a cure for diabetes could be found through research. They were and still are determined to make that cure happen in their children’s lifetime.

News from:   April 20, 1998