"For 14 years now, The Boys and Girls Club of Metro Denver holds a raffle to give away a home. And in 14 years, The Boys and Girls Club of Metro Denver has never given away a home," according to 9News Denver.
“'This is why it's so important for people buying tickets to understand the history of the organization, and really what the fine print is,' said Laurie Styron, executive director of CharityWatch."
“'To expect the public to be able to really read through the fine print and understand it is not a reasonable expectation for a charity to have,' Styron said."
“'Raffles are very expensive for charities to run. They take marketing dollars, staff time, they take legal advice,' Styron said."
“'Ask yourself if it's really worth it? Or if maybe you should just make a donation to a particular charity that you want to support instead?' Styron said."
NOTE: CharityWatch's rating of Boy & Girls Clubs of America (National Office) is for the 501(c)(3) national organization, tax ID #13-5562976.
Not included in the rating are the subsidiary alliance organizations of Boys & Girls Clubs of America (the vast majority of which are 501(c)(4) tax-exempt, social welfare organizations) or the autonomously operated, chartered local member Boys & Girls Clubs.
According to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) consolidated audit of December 31, 2019 (Note 1 re: Organization):
"The accompanying [audited] consolidated financial statements include the financial position and operating results of BGCA's subsidiary alliance organizations located throughout the U.S. These alliance organizations are organized under either Section 501(c)(4) or Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and were formed primarily to meet certain state statutory reporting requirements. Certain members of BGCA's senior management serve as members of the governing boards for certain of these alliance organizations. Such subsidiary alliance organizations numbered 53 and 52 at December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.
"The accompanying [audited] consolidated financial statements do not include the financial position and operating results of local member clubs, each of which is an autonomous corporation organized under the laws of the jurisdiction in which it is located. Each local member club operates under a charter granted by BGCA and has its own independent board of directors, which controls the local Boys & Girls Club, its programs, and staff. BGCA, the national organization, does not exercise supervision, direction, or control of these chartered local member clubs."