The American Association of Equine Practitioner’s (AAEP) Foundation is demonstrating its commitment to using gifts effectively through a new online resource. As one of the early adopters of GoodGiving.net, the AAEP Foundation has partnered with the Kentucky-based Blue Grass Community Foundation to provide free information to help donors research and invest charitable dollars wisely.
The Blue Grass Community Foundation works with Guidestar, an internationally-recognized non-profit watchdog organization based in Washington, D.C. to validate information on charitable organizations. GoodGiving.net is a unique online resource that informs, empowers and enriches charitable giving.
The AAEP Foundation joins with other nonprofits in this effort to demonstrate a commitment to effective use of gifts, transparency and financial accountability. GoodGiving.net provides donors with useful knowledge so they can give with confidence. Many donors have specific causes they care about, like education, community building and health, but may not know where they want to give. GoodGiving.net is the place to go to learn more. The user-friendly website lists charitable organizations by name, program area or geographic location.
"A lot of people have heartfelt charitable intent, but they want to know they're giving to a solid organization," said Lisa Adkins, executive director of the Blue Grass Community Foundation. "People give more when they have confidence, and the key to having confidence is having knowledge."
Once viewers click on the organization's name on the site, they can see yearly revenues and expenses, along with pie charts to show what percentage of the group's budget goes to its programs versus administrative costs. The site also shows the board's governance structure, the members of its board of directors, the programs it offers and financial information for the previous three years. For those people who want even more details, the site links directly to the group's 990 tax form, which shows individual salaries and other more specific information. GoodGiving.net allows for online donations to a specific organization directly from this site.
Adkins said the technology works through Guidestar, the Washington, D.C., organization that compiles nearly all the 990 forms turned into the IRS.
Joining GoodGiving.net lets donors and potential donors to the AAEP Foundation understand how their gifts are being used to make a difference for horses.
"We want donors to the AAEP Foundation to feel confident about the gifts they can give," said Wayne McIlwraith, BVSc, Ph.D, Diplomate ACVS, AAEP Foundation Chairman. "This helps showcase the Foundation’s mission to a very broad audience and it reinforces the fact that this Foundation is a good steward of gifts intended to help horses."
The AAEP Foundation profile can be found at http://goodgiving.guidestar.org/ by typing in “AAEP Foundation” in the search field that asks for the organization’s name.
The AAEP Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization, was created in 1994 as the charitable arm of the American Association of Equine Practitioners. The AAEP Foundation’s mission is to improve the health and welfare of the horse through support of research, education, benevolence and the equine community. Since its inception, the Foundation has allocated more than $1.8 million to support its mission.