Your Donation is Used by TCF in Many Important Ways
Every dollar that is donated by you to a charity is important. That is why, when you make a tax deductible donation to The Compassionate Friends, you should feel confident that what you have generously given will be used carefully to help TCF in its mission to help grieving families following the death of a child.
As a testament to its careful use of donor dollars, TCF has been awarded the Seal of Excellence by Independent Charities of America. The Seal of Excellence is only given, upon rigorous independent review, to organizations that have been able to certify, document, and demonstrate on an annual basis that they meet the highest standards of public accountability, program effectiveness, and cost effectiveness. Of the 1,000,000 charities operating in the U.S. today, only about 50,000 or 5% meet or exceed these standards, and of those, fewer than 2,000 or .2 percent of all charities have been awarded this seal. Learn more about the Independent Charities of America and the Seal of Excellence.
In addition, The Compassionate Friends has also met the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance's Standards for Charity Accountability and is allowed to use the BBB Wise Giving Seal.
According to the Wise Giving Alliance donors may not be aware "that for charities, putting the seal in their materials is the culmination of a demanding process. Before national charities can even apply to use the seal, they must undergo evaluation by the BBB Wise Giving Alliance, the nation’s most experienced charity evaluator. And the evaluation process is anything but superficial. It involves rigorous scrutiny of a charity’s governance, effectiveness, finances and solicitations and informational materials. The standards go beyond what government regulators require.”
To learn more, visit the BBB Wise Giving Alliance Compassionate Friends page.
The Compassionate Friends national organization has a small office staff of six full-time and three part-time persons who coordinate a multitude of support services both for the organization’s more than 600 U.S. chapters and for bereaved families across the country that are seeking support after the death of a child. Here are some of the services your important donation helps support:
1) Personal responses to nearly 55,000 inquiries per year to the National Office for referrals to local chapters and requests for information.
2) Oversight and support to the more than 600 chapters, as well as assistance to individuals who wish to establish a chapter.
3) Approximately 4,000 to 7,000 customized packets assembled annually for bereaved parents, siblings, and grandparents who contact the National Office. Each packet costs approximately $5.00 for materials, not including assembly and shipping charges.
4) Development and distribution of grief-related materials covering most areas of grief following the death of a child. Currently there are 26 English language brochures and five Spanish language brochures. In addition, there are nearly two dozen TCF exclusive items that have been developed and are available.
5) Publishing of quarterly magazine, We Need Not Walk Alone (WNNWA), distributed free to all patron donors, TCF Foundation donors, as well as chapter leaders and newsletter editors. Customized bereavement packets include a copy of WNNWA, and all new chapter members receive a complimentary copy upon request.
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