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Which organization to contribute to? Good question - there are sure plenty of options. i'd suggest checking out the organizations' web sites, read their publications, call them and chat a few minutes to see how responsive they are about answering questions. There are MANY parkinson's organizations, and most have a special focus, and unique strengths, but there is also a lot of overlap of some services and programs. An important question i would ask is what are they doing to further cooperation with other PD organizations? Also what type of input and involvement do PWP have in the organization ? Two good web sites for objective financial info. on U.S. non-profit organizations Guidestar: National Database of non profits: Gives fiinancial data reported to IRS. search under "parkinson" - many PD organizations are listed http://www.guidestar.org/index.jsp Give.org (from Better Business Bureau) http://www.give.org/ --- gives more detailed and evaluative info. including percentage of income used for administration and fund raising, but covers fewer orgs. . According to their criteria: "Reasonable use of funds requires that a) at least 50% of total income from all sources be spent on programs and activities directly related to the organization's purposes; b) at least 50% of public contributions be spent on the programs and activities described in solicitations, in accordance with donor expectations; c) fund raising costs not exceed 35% of related contributions; and d) total fund raising and administrative costs not exceed 50% of total income." APDA and PDF - both fall well within these guidelines. MJFox Foundation fell within guidelines for new organizations (somewhat different criteria) NPF's report was being worked on, and not yet available online. Linda ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn