CharityWatch is providing a "?" rating for Boy Scouts of America (National Office) at this time due to concerns related to its February 17, 2020 Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. Under Chapter 11, Boy Scouts of America (BSA) will be able to continue operating as it reorganizes its finances. Reportedly, the organization is facing hundreds of millions of dollars in child sexual abuse allegation claims. As part of the bankruptcy process, a Victims Compensation Trust will be created to "provide equitable compensation to victims," per BSA. According to a March 18, 2022 article in the Associated Press: "A committee representing several Catholic entities in the Boy Scouts of America bankruptcy has reached a settlement with the BSA and is withdrawing its objections to its proposed reorganization plan, attorneys told a judge on Friday. "The announcement came on the fifth day of a trial to determine whether the Delaware judge will approve the BSA's reorganization plan. "Under the settlement, virtually every Roman Catholic entity nationwide, including parishes, schools, dioceses and archdioceses, that was involved with Scouting would be considered a 'participating chartered organization' in the bankruptcy. "That would release them from liability for all Scouting-related child sex abuse claims against them from 1976 to the present, and for all pre-1976 claims subject to coverage by insurance companies that have reached their own settlements in the BSA bankruptcy. They also would be granted 12 months to negotiate financial contributions to a settlement fund for abuse victims in exchange for a full release from liability for all Scouting-related claims." As of March 21, 2022, CharityWatch has been unable to obtain a copy of the Boy Scouts of America fiscal 2018, 2019, or 2020 audited consolidated financial statements. A memo dated October 29, 2021 from the Controller of the Boy Scouts of America National Council that was included with BSA's State of New York filing for fiscal 2020 (posted on 03/16/2022) states: "As you are aware, Boy Scouts of America ('BSA') is delinquent in filing its 2018 and 2019 audited financial statements. We regret this delay; however, due to several factors that are beyond our control, our auditor, PricewaterhouseCooper[s] ('PWC') has not yet completed the 2018 audit which is necessary for us to file our audited consolidated financial statements for 2018, 2019 and 2020. "The audit has been further delayed by the Boy Scouts of America Chapter 11 Bankruptcy filing on February 17, 2020, as well as the on-going disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. At this time, BSA anticipates an expected completion date of December 31, 2021 for the 2018 audit which will allow us to move forward with the completion of the 2019 and 2020 audits..." If BSA is able to complete and publish its fiscal 2020 audited consolidated financial statements in the future, CharityWatch will reassess our rating of the organization at that time.
For more information related to the BSA bankruptcy filing, please see the news links under Related External Articles in the Articles & Alerts section, below. |