Ronald McDonald House Charities (National Office)

CharityWatch's rating of Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) is for the National Office and does not include the financial activities of the independent RMHC Local Chapters.

According to the RMHC audit of December 31, 2019 (Note 1 re: Organization):

"...RMHC fulfills its mission by creating programs that address targeted needs and by supporting these programs and other activities conducted by its RMHC Local Chapters (Chapters) worldwide...

"Ronald McDonald House Charities is a system of independent, separately registered public benefit organizations, referred to as 'Chapters' by RMHC. Each Chapter is licensed by McDonald's Corporation and RMHC to use RMHC related trademarks in conjunction with fundraising activities and the operation of its programs; the license agreement also sets standards of operations for programs, governance, finance, branding, and reporting..."

According to the Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) audit of December 31, 2019 (Note 9, Donated Goods and Services):

"RMHC received total donated goods and services of $5,217,000 and $5,832,000, for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively. ... Donated goods and services include support from McDonald's Corporation consisting of the free use of its facilities, equipment, materials, and employee services, which totaled $4,924,000 and $5,168,000, for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively."

[Note: CharityWatch generally excludes the value of in-kind (non-cash) donations of goods and services from its calculations of Program % and Cost to Raise $100. More information on how grades are calculated and the treatment of in-kind donations can be found on the Our Process page.]

According to the Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) audit of December 31, 2019 (Note 10, Related Party Transactions):

"RMHC provides ongoing program grants to all of its Chapters around the world. These program grants are pre-authorized by the board of RMHC for the benefit of all Chapters. The grants are available to all Chapters that meet the program parameters; as such, the individual grants do not require any additional board action. Grants totaling $1,949,000 and $4,731,000, during the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively, were provided to Chapters where certain members of the RMHC board also serve as officers and/or directors of the Chapter."

According to the Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) audit of December 31, 2019 (Note 2, Significant Contribution):

"AbbVie, a research-based global biopharmaceutical company, provided a historic donation of $100 million to RMHC in 2018. Of this donation, $96,276,000 was designated to provide grants to 32 chapters to build family-centered spaces and to add 674 new guest sleeping rooms in 26 states and at 32 Ronald McDonald Houses. This will allow for approximately 246,000 additional night stays for pediatric patients and their families each year, helping RMHC Chapters to meet increasing demand and serve more families. Additionally, $3,724,000 was designated to fund Chapter capacity building programs."

According to the Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) audit of December 31, 2019 (Note 11, Concentrations):

"McDonald's Corporation provides support to RMHC through donated goods and services (see Note 9 [cited separately, above]), direct contributions, and facilitation of fundraisers at its company-owned and franchised restaurants, of which the proceeds collected are remitted to RMHC. Contributions from these efforts totaled $38,015,000 and $38,413,000, during the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively. This represents 64% and 25% of total revenues...

"During the year ended December 31, 2018, RMHC received contributions totaling $100,000,000 from Abbvie, Inc. [sic], which represents 66% of total revenues. All funds were received as of December 31, 2018."

According to the Ronald McDonald House Charities audit of December 31, 2019 (Note 12, Subsequent Event Disclosures):

"Subsequent to year-end, the World Health Organization declared the spread of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) a worldwide pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic is having significant effects on global markets, supply chains, businesses, and communities. Specific to the Organization, COVID-19 may impact various parts of its 2020 operations and financial results, including the receipt of contributions and collections on outstanding pledges receivable. In addition, investment markets have experienced significant declines since December 31, 2019. Management believes the Organization is taking appropriate actions to mitigate the negative impact. However, the full impact of COVID-19 is unknown and cannot be reasonably estimated as these events occurred subsequent to year-end [and] are still developing."