Petrelis Files

NYT Neediest Cases Site Now Links to IRS 990s

(What the site said at the start of last week.)

My request a few days ago to the New York Times to provide transparency on its Neediest Cases Fund site has produced a step forward and I'm pleased, even though it's not the fullest voluntary transparency possible.

I wanted the Times to provide at least three years' of IRS 990 filings and annual financial reports on the fund's homepage and here's what the paper's spokeswoman Eileen Murphy said about their transparency:

Thank you for your email. Our Forms 990 are available online on the website www.guidestar.org., a website which gathers and displays Forms 990 for most not-for-profit organizations. Registration on Guidestar is free and so anyone can see our Forms 990 online if they wish. As you note, we now provide a link directly to that site. We are satisfied with this level of transparency.

(At the end of the week, a link was added.)

Sure wish I knew what the reasons are for not simply posting the tax filings, instead of making folks register at GuideStar to view them, and requiring a written request for copies of the annuals financial reports.

So, polite applause for the link to GuideStar but no standing ovation since the filings and reports are still omitted from the New York Times Neediest Cases Fund's site.