in three years, Shriners Hospitals for Children has received the highest rating as the mosteffi- cient health charity in the United States. That rating, published in the December 2002 issue of Smart- Money, cameon theheels of a previous top ranking in 2000 when the publication conducted its annual survey on top charities in the nation. The magazine did not publish a survey on charitable giv- ing in 2001 because of events surrounding 9/11. SmartMoney is The Wall Street Journal’s magazine of personal finance. In the article titled “Make Your Donations Count,” Shriners Hos- pitals received the highest total score in the “health” category, garnering an 82.9 and, thus, edged out the Dana-Farber Cancer Insti- tute by a tenth of a point. Several of the other charitable health organizations surveyed were the National Mental Health Association, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, National Easter Seal Society, ALSAC-St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association. According to the 2002 survey, all of the participating charities were ranked based on program, fundraising and savings scores. Those who conducted the survey first looked at what percentage of the budget went to programs (65 points max); then, they looked at what percentage of each dollar raised was put back into fundrais- ing—less is better (25 points max); and finally, they looked at the savings score (10 points max); which shows the percentage of funding that was squirreled away. Shriners Hospitals tallied scores of 51.4, 22.7 and 8.8, respectively, in each of the three ratings areas. In the December 2000 issue of SmartMoney, the magazine also In 2002, SmartMoney ranked Shriners Hospitals as the nation’s leading charitable health organization. had Shriners Hospitals outdistancing all of the other health organizations with a total score of 83.1. In addition to being recognized by SmartMoney as the nation’s leading charitable health organization as far as efficiency of donations is concerned, Shriners Hos- pitals has received outstanding recognition by several other lead- ing publications in recent years. For more information on Shriners network of 22 hospitals that provide medical care and services totally free of charge to children with orthopaedic problems, burns and spinal cord injuries, write to: Shriners International Headquarters, Public Relations Dept., 2900 Rocky Point Dr., Tampa, FL 33607, or visit the Web site at www.shrinershq.org. Treatment is provided to children under age 18 regardless to race, religion or relationship to a Shriner. If you know a child Shriners can help, call 1-800-237-5055 in the United States or 1-800-3617256 in Canada.
