Other media sources looking at Breast Cancer Society

I did a quick search on the ‘net before starting to research the 990s of Breast Cancer Society of Mesa, Arizona. Found out that a few researchers have been looking at their finances in addition to the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

If you are following the GIK meds issue, you might be interested in these reports:

First, ABC15 in Phoenix, Arizona has a print article in May 2012 – Questions about Valley Breast cancer charity, where donation money is really used. They also have an on-air segment that doesn’t go into as much detail. There is an on-camera interview with the CEO in the video report.

Mr. Ducey and Ms. Gilger have a good review of the finances. The most interesting part for me is the GIKs. The CEO of the organization provided a list of the shipments, which can be found here. He declined to provide details of the specific meds and valuation.

The organization indicates in the interview they follow the AERDO/Accord standards for valuing GIK.  A cursory review of the web site does not otherwise suggest they are an evangelical organization.  The Accord website does not list them as a member.

Check out the full article.

Second, a blogger at The Stopped Clock, Aaron Larson, looked at the organization’s finances and fundraising strategies back in May 2010 – Is “The Breast Cancer Society” a Worthy Charity.

Mr. Larson also focused on the links with two other cancer organizations.

Surprisingly, the discussions on the post have stayed active. There has been a steady stream of comments over the last two years from people complaining about the high pressure sales calls. 

Perhaps the most interesting part of the post is that a representative of the organization and Mr. Larson have been exchanging comments for quite some time.  There isn’t a lot of weighty substance in the discussions, but it is interesting to follow.  Of particular note is a legal threat on 7-18-11 over deleted comments.

I have a friendly observation for charities:  Threatening legal action on someone else’s blog when you are in a dialogue on that blog yet repeatedly avoid direct questions is not a particularly savvy PR move.

Check out the post and discussion thread.

I wouldn’t otherwise be looking at one of the breast cancer charities, because that is outside the sectors I usually work with.  However, a number of comments in the public discussion suggest to me the current questions about GIK issues we are seeing in the evangelical community might be worth asking of organizations in that sector.