Alzheimer's Association Named One of America's Best Charites

Alzheimer's Association
Wednesday, 19 December 2001

Chicago — Worth magazine has named the Alzheimer's Association one of the "100 Best Charities" in America based on the Association's expressed goals and the success of its mission. The Alzheimer's Association is included in the category "Best Health Charity," and it is the only Alzheimer's disease-related charity listed.

"To produce our list of the top 100, we drew from compendiums of the nation's largest charities," said Worth Editor Reshema Memon Yaqub. Dozens of philanthropy experts were enlisted to review the entries and arrive at the 100 best, explained Yaqub. The experts grouped the charities into five areas (health, human services, relief and development, the environment and education) and judged each organization by its success in working toward its mission with the most skill, innovation, effectiveness and strategic insight.

While the December 2001 article reveals how each charity spends its money, Yaqub said that the magazine did not simply go by the numbers. "The hard numbers do not tell the whole story. Few of these best-charity lists ever get around to saying what the charities actually do and whether or not they are making a real impact," Yaqub said.

Worth investigated how much money the charity directs to programs, fundraising, administration and future reserves. "In the end, a charity made our list only after it had convinced us of the worthiness of its goal and the success of its mission," said Yaqub. "Readers can feel comfortable giving money to any of the 100 exceptional organizations that did."

The Alzheimer's Association is the premier source of information and support for the 4 million Americans with Alzheimer's disease. Through its national network of chapters, it offers a broad range of programs and services for people with the disease, their families and caregivers and represents their interests on Alzheimer-related issues before federal, state and local government and with health and long-term care providers.

The largest private funder of Alzheimer research, the Alzheimer's Association has committed nearly $120 million toward research into the causes, treatment, prevention and cure of Alzheimer's.

For more information on Alzheimer's disease or the Alzheimer's Association, please call (800) 272-3900.

For more information, or to contact Alzheimer's Association, see their website at: www.alz.org