Check out how your favorite charities and nonprofits spend their money.

By JANET MARSHALL
The Free Lance-Star

Date published: 12/22/2002

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The holiday spirit and desire for end-of-year tax write-offs make December a popular month for giving to charities. People donate generously, with trust that their money will be put to good use.

And, mostly, it is.

An analysis by The Free Lance-Star shows a large number of Fredericksburg-area agencies perform valuable services on well-balanced and thrifty budgets. The groups spend the majority of their money on services related directly to their programs. And those programs enrich the Fredericksburg area by enhancing public safety, helping the needy, expanding educational opportunities and preserving historical monuments, among other things.

Still, it's wise for prospective donors to be cautious before writing checks.

Some local agencies spent more on management and fund raising than on program services, a situation charity watchdogs frown on. And a few groups spent more money than they brought in, resulting in deficits, the newspaper's analysis shows.

The analysis, based on year 2000 tax returns, sheds light on the financial status of more than 150 area organizations. These include multimillion-dollar outfits such as Mary Washington Hospital and smaller nonprofits such as the Rappahannock Council on Domestic Violence.

Most of the agencies are charities, gathering and distributing money for the needy. But some are not. The agencies the newspaper studied include fraternal societies, trade associations, veterans organizations and other groups. All the agencies have tax-exempt status, meaning they do not pay federal income tax. But not all of them perform services for charity.

Some operate much like businesses, except they do not generate profits for shareholders. Most, though, are traditional nonprofits, raising money through donations, fund-raisers and government grants, and then spending the money to help the needy.

With the holiday season under way, the newspaper has posted key figures from each agency's tax return, known as Form 990, on the paper's Web site, fredericksburg .com.

The figures are from year 2000 forms because 2001 returns, which normally are completed in 2002, were not yet available from some agencies when the newspaper requested them earlier this year.

Among the findings:

The amount of revenue brought in by area agencies ranged from $25,423 for Dubs Etc. Inc., a Ruther Glen nonprofit that helps the disabled, to more than $204 million for Mary Washington Hospital Inc.

Date published: 12/22/2002