The organization claims by sending a few dollars and purchasing the Action Kit somehow the Ugandan warlord will be captured. My first experience with this organization was watching Kony After seeing the brokenness left by Kony, this film had me sold. The mission of Invisible Children directly fits with my heartbeat for humanity in undeveloped countries. It encouraged me to intensify my desires and make them actions. I went home eager to share about the charity with friends.
Instead, I was shocked to see so much controversy surrounding this organization-- criticisms about their leaders, purpose, and impact. This confusion left me to explore Invisible Children for myself. After months of researching their website, the form , and other sources, I found that the majority of claims are simply slander based on wrong assumptions, impossible to prove by evidence.
Now I am seriously considering supporting Invisible Children and encourage others to do the same. The political unrest can then be linked back to suffering people and an unstable government. Solve the other problems first like AIDS and hunger, by donating to organizations that focus on such causes- like Compassion International and World Vision. Once the media began saying how crooked the company was, I felt very betrayed. When Invisible Children came out with their new video, it brought back all those strong feelings I had.
I decided to do some thorough research on their finances. In my research I found that, for the most part, Invisible Children have a slightly lower than average financial standing. They are definitely not the monster that everybody makes them out to be. They are a newer company though, so it is only natural that they put a lot of money into advertising.
After having done this research, I feel somewhat renewed in my initial vigor to help Invisible Children. I am more than likely going to donate to this organization.
I was judging them based entirely on the video, and personally find their method of getting Kony famous absurd. But the video worked and achieved its target of making Kony famous. This popularity made me curious and I started doing my research on IC. This lead me to realize that my personal opinion was heavily influenced by all the negative comments on YouTube.
I found out that there are still children suffering because of Kony. The video was speaking the truth and it brought the crime of Kony to the whole world. I might not agree with their method but ultimately, I will still donate to help them. Over the past few months I have done a decent amount of research on Invisible Children. I have come to the conclusion that they aren't focused on the main issues in Uganda, and aren't providing much relief for the country or its citizens.
The people of Uganda are currently struggling with spreading disease, an unstable government, and many citizens who aren't specialized in any field of work. I believe IC is working for good reasons and could be helpful if Kony was the main problem, but as far as contributing to helping Uganda's actual issues, I would consider supporting a different organization that may be more beneficial to helping with their current issues. A common misconception is that IC spends too much on salaries and videos, when in reality And they are doing a phenomenal job.
If you are looking for a traditional nonprofit, then IC is not for you. They are pioneers in using social networking for social change of this scale, and while they have lots of room for improvement, I firmly believe they are worth our support.
Many people, myself included, have based their idea of IC solely on the "Kony " film. However, by only looking at the film, you get only a narrow understanding of the organization. Yes, the film skims over some details; yes, IC is not financially perfect; and yes, they were clearly underprepared for all of this attention.
But, none of this lessens the fact that they are working towards doing something good. Not to mention that they have done a more than adequate job answering their critics, both through a section on their website devoted to answering criticisms to the release of a new film, which openly acknowledges many of their shortcomings.
This shows some serious maturity and growth in a young organization, that has already made a huge impact. I am strongly considering supporting IC, and encourage others to get the whole picture of them before joining the "Kony " critics. Though the intentions seem genuine, Jason Russell and the Invisible Children charity fail to get past the basics.
Another problem with Invisible Children is that this campaign promotes slacktivism and laziness among the country. I sincerely wanted to believe that Kony executed everything perfectly; however, there were too many unaddressed flaws. Therefore, I would personally discourage anyone from investing in this campaign and charity. I feel as if the invisible children have their ups and downs they were once in my eyes a good organization by having there videos post and showing what their plans where for the future.
But after going through the other views and going on different websites like the Better Business Burial BBB they haven't registered their organization with them. Which in mind it makes me feel as a person who would be looking to donate more skeptical about donating to the Invisible Children because if your going to have an organization at least make it legal by registering through the BBB. If not then it makes me feel as if your trying to scam me, and others.
I myself was at first skeptical of the way they spent their donation money. However, after further research into their finances, I have found that IC is a pretty good non-profit organization when it comes to financial responsibility. IC is transparent with finances because they display all tax forms and annual financial reports from the last five years.
Overall, Invisible Children is not perfect, but they are pretty responsible with their finances. I would strongly consider supporting them. People think Invisible Children don't help Uganda and expend to much money in the own video. I agree that they expend too much money in the video. But, they still support Ugandan education. I n the past, men in Uganda have had more education than women. Invisible Children expends money to help men and women in Uganda to finish their education. For Invisible Children women and men was the same.
In October for this year Invisible Children a scholarships to college for Ugandan. I complete support Invisible Children and I encourage you to do the same. One of the most common critiques I have seen of Invisible Children is their financial responsibility. After doing research through articles about what a financially responsible nonprofit organization looks like as well as accounts such as former workers with Invisible Children, I discovered that this organization is much more financially responsible than I had once believed.
What most people do not see is that Invisible Children uses many different methods to achieve their goals including doing tours to raise awareness, producing a warning signal over the radio to prevent LRA kidnappings, and providing various recovery programs.
After doing extensive research, my views on Invisible Children have significantly changed and I am considering volunteering and possibly donating to Invisible Children. I have known IC since when I moved to Uganda. I have see several weaknesses in the organization: 1. They have bought the Uganda govt line about the conflict totally. There is blood on the hands on both sides and to side with the govt in this conflict puts IC in bad company.
They spend a lot of their money on salaries in the US and not directly helping the people of Central Africa. They send naive young people to Uganda for short stints to "do good".
Having lived in other cultures for many years I know that it takes at least 6 months just to begin to get a feel for the culture--at which time these young people come back to the US as "experts.
They advocate a military solution to the conflict with the LRA ignoring the fact that there are religious leaders in Uganda who have been working to establish dialogue between the Uganda govt and the LRA.
IC should be pressuring the Uganda govt to talk instead or just listening to one side of the issue--again blood on everyone's hands. The military option will only succeed in killing the children who had been abducted. This is a very short-sighted approach.
Invisible Children has been criticized through its viral campaigning video, Kony , as cheating and deceiving the public and donators out of their money. This seems reasonable that they spent money where intended, however, "[Their] game isn't who [ Untrustworthy and intentionally deceitful. They say it was an emotional breakdown.
Carmen T. I have been a donor for invisible Children since I did not receive my KONY kit when the video went viral, but I was called by a staff member after the fact Here's why, and I must warn you in advance Since , I have been fully aware of this organization's integrity and willingness to create peace to part of our world.
Before, I never donated. I just watched their films, was shocked as I heard about an ongoing war that was not being covered anywhere in U. I began writing research papers for school peer reviewed searches verified the crisis in dozens of articles , and I began spreading awareness. I attended their Dallas "Rescue Joseph Kony's Child Soldiers" event, where hundreds of us symbolically abducted ourselves and walked 7 miles to a park LRA camp and waited to be rescued by a political figure, someone from the media, and a celebrity.
I wrote letters many letters that day to members of Congress and political leaders, which led to a movement that got President Obama's attention. If you google search photos of Obama signing this act, you can see Laren Poole standing behind him in the oval office.
I am also a graduate student at the University of North Texas, where I personally met and have remained in contact with formerly abducted child soldiers and night commuters My efforts, as well as the efforts of thousands have helped end night commuting again, you can research this anywhere and eliminate displacement camps in Uganda research this too , where people were dying of hunger and illness every day.
The LRA had been destroying Uganda for over 20 years, and if it hadn't been for this organization spreading awareness about this crisis, if it hadn't been for these young filmmakers pushing so many people to help, there would not be peace and our U. Here's why so many people didn't get their kit and why I declined a refund : I personally knew this organization was run almost entirely by volunteers and "roadies" people traveling the country as well as Central Africa spreading awareness and helping.
A warehouse of volunteers were responsible for putting together DVDs, shipping packages of Bracelets created by former victims of war in Africa, as well as other shirts that were printed and sold by order. I ordered plenty of merchandise for events knowing every dollar would go straight to their cause, and it was shipped on time, every time.
On top of that, their servers crashed, and millions of orders were not submitted. To make things worse, the three passionate filmmakers whose only dream was to change the world were now being attacked by thousands of skeptics who accused them of scamming and lying to about a very real, ongoing WAR in Central Africa. This led to Jason Russell's very public mental breakdown. Imagine seeing all the hurtful comments and taking all of that abuse after spending your entire adult life fighting for a cause now everyone believes is a lie?
If you've read this much, I hope you realize I'm just a normal person I've read all of the reviews and am frankly tired of it. Invisible Children has nothing to hide, it has a 4 star rating, and is backed by international organizations all over the world. Take that into consideration before spouting off simply because you never got your kit, or because you've read comments mostly based on opinion, and read some statistics you don't fully understand because you've never taken a statistics or accounting class.
I have been researching charities and discovered Invisible Children is not even registered with the BBB!! I never did end up donating to this charity and feel their ratings are unbalanced with the facts??? Be the First to Know Get exclusive updates on our work and how you can help. Sign Up Today. You have a role to play Together, we can build a world where everyone has the safety they deserve.
Join us. Interconnection Our liberty is bound together. No person, community, or ecosystem exists in isolation, which means we need each other, and we need to learn from each other. Administrative Expenses Fundraising Expenses 1. Liabilities to Assets Ratio Working Capital Ratio 0. Program Expense Growth Governance Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the Form that the organization has these governance practices in place.
More The presence of an independent governing body is strongly recommended by many industry professionals to allow for full deliberation and diversity of thinking on governance and other organizational matters. Our analysts check the Form to determine if the independent Board members are a voting majority and also at least five in number.
Less No Material Diversion of Assets More A diversion of assets — any unauthorized conversion or use of the organization's assets other than for the organization's authorized purposes, including but not limited to embezzlement or theft — can seriously call into question a charity's financial integrity.
This metric will be assigned to one of the following categories: Full Credit: There has been no diversion of assets within the last two years. Partial Credit: There has been a diversion of assets within the last two years and the charity has used Schedule O on the Form to explain: the nature of the diversion, the amount of money or property involved and the corrective action taken to address the matter.
In this situation, we deduct 7 points from the charity's Accountability and Transparency score. No Credit: There has been a diversion of assets within the last two years and the charity's explanation on Schedule O is either non-existent or not sufficient.
In this case, we deduct 15 points from the charity's Accountability and Transparency score. More Audited financial statements provide important information about financial accountability and accuracy. Partial Credit: The charity's audited financials were prepared by an independent accountant, but it did not have an audit oversight committee.
In this case, we deduct 7 points from the charity's Accountability and Transparency score. No Credit: The charity did not have its audited financials prepared by an independent accountant. More Making loans to related parties such as key officers, staff, or Board members, is not standard practice in the sector as it may divert the charity's funds away from its charitable mission and can lead to real and perceived conflict-of-interest problems. This practice is discouraged by sector trade groups which point to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act when they call for charities to refrain from making loans to directors and executives.
And the IRS is concerned enough with the practice that it requires charities to disclose on their Form any loans to or from current and former officers, directors, trustees, key employees, and other "disqualified persons. Furthermore, it is problematic because it is an indicator that the organization is not financially secure. Less Documents Board Meeting Minutes More An official record of the events that take place during a board meeting ensures that a contemporaneous document exists for future reference.
Charities are not required to make their Board meeting minutes available to the public. As such, we are not able to review and critique their minutes. For this performance metric, we are checking to see if the charity reports on its Form that it does keep those minutes. In the future, we will also track and rate whether or not a charity keeps minutes for its committee meetings. Less Distributes to Board Before Filing More Providing copies of the Form to the governing body in advance of filing is considered a best practice, as it allows for thorough review by the individuals charged with overseeing the organization.
The Form asks the charity to disclose whether or not it has followed this best practice. If the charity has not distributed its Form to the board before filing, then we deduct 4 points from its Accountability and Transparency score. Less Compensates Board More The IRS requires that any compensation paid to members of the charity's governing body be listed on the Form Furthermore, all members of the governing body need to be listed whether or not they are compensated.
It is not unusual for some members of the board to have compensation listed. The executive director of the organization frequently has a seat on the board, for instance, and is compensated for being a full time staff member. However, it is rare for a charity to compensate individuals only for serving on its Board of Directors. Although this sort of board compensation is not illegal, it is not considered a best practice. Policies Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the Form , or for some metrics on the charity's website, that the organization has these policies in place.
More Such a policy protects the organization, and by extension those it serves, when it is considering entering into a transaction that may benefit the private interest of an officer or director of the organization. Charities are not required to share their conflict of interest policies with the public. Although we can not evaluate the substance of its policy, we can tell you if the charity has one in place based on the information it reports on its Form If the charity does not have a Conflict of Interest policy, then we deduct 4 points from its Accountability and Transparency score.
Less Whistleblower More This policy outlines procedures for handling employee complaints, as well as a confidential way for employees to report any financial mismanagement. Here we are reporting on the existence of a policy as reported by the charity on its Form Less Records Retention and Destruction More Such a policy establishes guidelines for handling, backing up, archiving and destruction of documents. These guidelines foster good record keeping procedures that promotes data integrity.
With your support, we are able to improve the lives of at-risk children by responding to critical issues affecting children in the most remote and difficult situations in the United States and around the world.
Your planned gift to Invisible Children will accelerate our work today, ensuring a better future for children tomorrow. If you have a will, please consider leaving a legacy gift to Kids at Risk Action.
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