- What Does PAS Do?
PAS collects and distributes information on hundreds of nonprofit organizations that solicit nationally or have national or
international program services. It routinely asks such organizations for information about their programs, governance, fund
raising practices, and finances when the charities have been the subject of inquiries.
Most of the organizations about which PAS develops information are charitable organizations tax-exempt under section
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC). However, PAS develops and distributes information on some lobbying and
social welfare organizations tax-exempt under section 501(c)(4) of the IRC and business membership groups tax-exempt
under section 501(c)(6) of the IRC.
PAS relies on 138 local Better Business Bureaus in the United States to help disseminate its educational materials and to
report on organizations whose fund raising efforts are local in scope. Local Better Business Bureaus are supported by local
businesses.
When PAS receives inquiries about a national charitable organization, basic background information is requested from that
charity. If the volume of inquires warrants, the materials voluntarily provided by the organization are reviewed in relation to the
CBBB Standards for Charitable Solicitations. In addition, PAS issues detailed reports summarizing the current
operations of many nonprofit organizations.
PAS counsels and provides educational materials to charitable organizations and offers suggestions on how to comply with the
CBBB Standards.
PAS operates a service for CBBB corporate members, enabling corporations to get prompt answers to their questions about
groups soliciting their support and other contributions issues.
The work for which PAS is best known is public education: encouraging potential donors to make wise giving decisions.
Whom Does PAS Serve?
PAS handles inquiries from a variety of sources including:
PAS responds to thousands of letters and telephone calls each year and keeps careful records of the subjects of inquiry. It
uses these records to determine which charities to report on and which topics to cover in its publications. That way, the work
PAS does is timely and addresses the questions asked by the contributing public.
Public Inquiries Serve as a Gauge for Action
The volume of public inquiries helps identify which national charities will be the subject of a PAS Report. If you
have a question about a specific national charity, check the Index of PAS Reports page on this server, or contact the
CBBB for a free copy of the latest written PAS evaluation. Even if PAS does not have information on the organization, the
request will help alert PAS to national charities that should be the subject of a future review.
| 
