Management of Financial Information in Charitable Organizations: The Case of Joint-Cost Allocations

2006 ◽  
Vol 81 (1) ◽  
pp. 159-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher L. Jones ◽  
Andrea Alston Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Public Education ◽  
Financial Information ◽  
Charitable Organizations ◽  
Cost Allocations ◽  
Education Effort

Charities that use direct mailings or other activities that combine a public education effort with fundraising appeals must allocate the joint costs related to these activities to programs, fundraising, and administration. This study investigates whether charities use joint-cost allocations to manage the program ratio—a widely used measure of spending efficiency. Using a hand-collected dataset of 708 organization-year observations from 1992 to 2000, we find evidence that charities use joint costs to mitigate changes in the program ratio.

The Implications of Joint Cost Standards for Charity Reporting

2005 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Alston Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Public Education ◽  
Fund Raising ◽  
Cost Allocations ◽  
Charity Reporting

In 1987, SOP No. 87-2 permitted charities to report a portion of the joint costs associated with combined public education efforts and fund-raising appeals as program service expenses. Charities used the standard to allocate costs related to direct mailings. A decade later, SOP No. 98-2 amended SOP No. 87-2 and provided stricter guidelines with respect to when and how charities can allocate joint costs. This paper examines: (1) whether the adoption of the joint cost standards impacts how charities classify program expenses, and thus, affects the program ratio—a widely used indicator of spending efficiency, and (2) whether the adoption of joint costing standards causes charities to alter fund-raising strategies. The data indicate a higher program ratio after the adoption of SOP No. 87-2. Furthermore, the data suggests that after passage of SOP No. 98-2, a subset of charities alter their fund-raising strategies and stop allocating joint costs. In addition, charities that continue to allocate joint costs reduce joint cost allocations to programs. Although charities report fewer joint costs under the new regime, program ratios do not decrease under SOP No. 98-2.

scholarly journals Erratum

2017 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 678-678
Keyword(s):  
Public Education ◽  
Urban History ◽  
Community Empowerment ◽  
Online Version ◽  
Charitable Organizations ◽  
Correct Sequence

Andrew T. Simpson, “We Will Gladly Join You in Partnership in Harrisburg or We Will See You in Court”: The Growth of Large Not-for-Profits and Consequences of the “Eds and Meds” Renaissance in the New Pittsburgh,” Journal of Urban History, 42, no. 2 (March 2016): 306-22. doi: 10.1177/0096144215623952 In this article, the notes citation within the article text were incorrectly numbered. The correct sequence is listed below: 1. On page 310, last paragraph, line 12 the note citation 27 should be 28 2. On page 311, the notes citations 28, 29, 30, 31, 32 should be 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 3. On page 312, the note citation 34 should be 35 4. On page 314, note citation 54 should be added at the end of the following text: Finally, outside of contributing to municipal coffers, not-for-profits like UPMC routinely make financial and in-kind contributions to a range of charitable organizations, community empowerment programs, and public education.54 5. On page 314, the notes citations 53, 54 should be 55, 56 6. On page 315, the notes citations 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61 should be 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63 7. On page 316, the notes citations 62, 63, 64, 65 should be 64, 65, 66, 67 Subsequent online version of this article is corrected. SAGE regrets the error.

scholarly journals Reducing the Gap Between the Ambitious Goals and Practical Reality of Animal Welfare Law Enforcement: A Review of the Enforcement Gap in Australia

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rochelle Morton ◽  
Michelle L. Hebart ◽  
Alexandra L. Whittaker
Keyword(s):  
Public Education ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Charitable Organizations ◽  
The Public ◽  
Animal Law ◽  
Practical Reality ◽  
The Impact

Enforcement of animal welfare statutes are the primary protection given for the maintenance of animal welfare and prevention of cruelty. It is speculated that animal law enforcement in Australia has a number of weakness in the enforcement model. These weaknesses create a gap between the goals of animal law enforcement and the reality of the animal law justice system. This gap is defined as the ‘enforcement gap’. This paper identifies and investigates the causes of this gap. The hypothesized causes discussed are (1) the impact the public can have on reporting animal cruelty, (2) the reliance on charitable organizations as enforcement bodies, (3) the inconsistencies in animal welfare legislation, and (4) the role of the sentencing courts. Thus, the causes of the enforcement gap are multifactorial; derived from all stages of the enforcement process. Further research is needed to investigate the concepts raised in this paper. However, it is likely that a combination of structural change to enforcement agencies, legislative reform and public education is required to reduce the enforcement gap.

scholarly journals Activities of Charitable Societies and Institutions in Nizhny Novgorod Province in Second Half of XIX — early XX Century

2021 ◽  
pp. 486-511
Author(s):  
A. V. Tikhovodova
Keyword(s):  
Public Education ◽  
Russian Empire ◽  
Self Organization ◽  
Social Self ◽  
Charitable Organizations ◽  
Historical Experience ◽  
Social Sphere ◽  
The Social ◽  
Xix Century ◽  
Charitable Activities

The article is devoted to the work of public charitable organizations and institutions in the Nizhny Novgorod province of the post-reform Russian Empire in various areas of the social sphere. The relevance of the study is due to the development of charitable activities in modern Russia, the need to get acquainted with the historical experience. A review of the activities of voluntary societies, both all-Russian, with branches in Nizhny Novgorod, and, in fact, regional, in the field of social security, health care and public education has been carried out. On the basis of the charters and reports of the companies, their goals, objectives, management structure, sources of funds, forms of assistance to those in need are considered. The author shows the possibilities of social self-organization in the conditions of autocracy, the nature and methods of cooperation between civil society and the authorities. The reasons for the development of charity in the Nizhny Novgorod province in the second half of the XIX century, the motives prompting various segments of the population to engage in it are revealed. The universalism of the work of organizations, in other words unification within the framework of one society of different areas of activity are emphasized in the article. The author comes to the conclusion that the second half of the 19th — the beginning of the 20th century was a period of activity of charitable societies and institutions, whose main obstacle in achieving their goals was a lack of funds.

TRACKS: Assessing the Quality of Not-For-Profit Efficiency Ratios: Do Donors Use Joint Cost Allocation Disclosures?

2005 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 287-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saleha B. Khumawala ◽  
Linda M. Parsons ◽  
Teresa P. Gordon
Keyword(s):  
Cost Allocation ◽  
Geographic Location ◽  
Fund Raising ◽  
Charitable Organizations ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Current Accounting ◽  
Not For Profit ◽  
Cost Allocations ◽  
Not For Profit Organizations ◽  
For Profit Organizations

We examine whether required disclosures regarding joint cost allocations raise concerns about the validity of efficiency ratios reported by not-for-profit organizations. An experimental design is used to hold constant the geographic location, size, and mission of competing charitable organizations. Participants include financial officers of not-for-profit organizations (preparers), foundation executives (expert donors), and students (novice donors). We find that preparers base contribution decisions almost entirely on the reported fund-raising cost and accept the validity of reported program ratios. Foundation executives, representing experienced users of not-for-profit financial statements, also appear to accept the joint cost allocations as reported. By contrast, novice users are the most attentive to the allocation disclosures and consider them more often when deciding on the amount of a hypothetical gift. Overall, there is little evidence that joint cost allocation disclosures are used to adjust reported expenditures for fund-raising costs. Based on our results, donors appear to ignore the effects of allocating joint costs. Although current accounting standards limit the availability of an accounting method commonly used to manage financial results, it appears that the opportunity for not-for-profit managers to use joint cost allocations to manage ratios and influence donors remains.

scholarly journals FDA launches public education effort to prevent youth e-cigarette use

Cancer ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 124 (7) ◽  
pp. 1313-1314
Author(s):  
Carrie Printz
Keyword(s):  
Public Education ◽  
Cigarette Use ◽  
Education Effort
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