How Accountable is HRC?

Not so much:

Despite written BBB Wise Giving Alliance requests in the past year, this organization [the Human Rights Campaign] either has not responded to Alliance requests for information or has declined to be evaluated in relation to the Alliance's Standards for Charity Accountability. While participation in the Alliance's charity review efforts is voluntary, the Alliance believes that this lack of cooperation may demonstrate a lack of commitment to transparency and accountability.

The BBB Wise Giving Alliance reports on national charities and determines if they meet 20 voluntary standards on matters such as charity finances, appeals, and governance. Without the requested information, it cannot verify if the charity meets these standards. The Alliance does not evaluate the worthiness of the charitable program.

A reader comments:

My partner and I joined HRC's "Federal Club," for major donors, after the 2000 presidential election.  After contributing several thousand dollars to this organization, I realized that all we were getting in return were more solicitations for donations and solicitations to purchase merchandise - along with the occasional token bumper sticker as a sign of HRC's appreciation.  We were receiving so many solicitations for money that I had to make sure we had joined "The Federal Club" and not Pat Robertson's "The 700 Club."  But unlike "The 700 Club," which seemed to have been effective in lobbying Washington and the state houses, it seemed that HRC did little else than throw parties and sell t-shirts.  We soon cancelled our Federal Club membership, albeit several thousand dollars poorer.

We may not have a lot of pro-gay legislation on the books, but we do have a nice collection of pretty bumper stickers.

Maybe if gay people knew how much of the Human Rights Campaign's budget goes to staff, building and fundraising, and how much actually goes to lobbying or activism, they'd stop giving. But slowly, the sheer scale of the scam is being revealed.