About us Smile Train is an international children’s charity with a sustainable approach to a single, solvable problem: cleft lip and palate. A board member has just asked you to send out an email encouraging people to use Amazon Smile to support your charity. Cleft repair surgery is simple, and the transformation is immediate. Is Smile Train Legit? Since 1999, Smile Train has been committed to efficiently and effectively helping children with clefts and providing transparency into our financials. The IRS NTEE classification code is Q300, International Development, Relief Services within the International, Foreign Affairs and National Security category. Smile Train's "pestering" is irksome enough that it makes no damned difference to me how well it carries out its primary mission (assuming that's not to solicit money, which I wonder). ©2019 Smile Train UK Registered Charity No. How Smile Train UK ended up in court. In this case operation smile also claims to … Another charity to piggybank of the good name of the Make a Wish foundation is the far less reputable Kids Wish Network. In early 1998, with much fanfare, Operation Smile announced a program called the Smile Train, to provide training and equipment to Chinese doctors. To donate to Smile Train this Christmas, please visit: smiletrain.org.uk/donation. Lv 7. I don't know by what you mean as 'good'. A night with Smile Train convinced me that this is one of the … CharityWatch, founded 25 years ago as the American Institute of Philanthropy (AIP), is America's most independent, assertive charity watchdog.CharityWatch does not merely repeat what a charity reports using simplistic or automated formulas. Charity Wins Donors With Promise Never to Ask for Another Gift I know CBS had a paid advertisement for them the other night, and it seems to be a good cause. 2 Answers. Smile Train is an international children’s charity that supports 100%-free cleft repair surgery and comprehensive cleft care for children globally. Operation Smile's administrative costs are 11% of revenues and fundraising costs are 35% of donations. (a dentist and plastic and craniofacial surgeon) who serves as the organization's Chief… Smile Train was the very first cleft charity to realize local surgeons in developing countries could be empowered to deliver much safer, less expensive and higher quality surgery year round – and not just two weeks a year. For children born with a cleft around the world, the gift of a forever smile is a Christmas gift that truly keeps on giving. Smile Train is an international children’s charity with a sustainable approach to a single, solvable problem: cleft lip and palate. Many children with clefts around the world live in isolation, but more importantly, have difficulty eating, breathing, hearing, and speaking. Smile Train has provided cleft care to children in need in 85 plus countries around the world. and that seemed like an awfully good way to spend $250. 1114748 Registered Company No. Smile Train is committed to providing free cleft treatment around the world and is dependent on voluntary donations to make that happen. Smile Train’s vision is to give every child with a cleft the opportunity for a healthy, productive life. Operation Smile Canada is a Large charity, receiving total donations of $12.6m in F2019. But it's those positive feelings that programs like AmazonSmile are now tapping into as people can buy products, feel good about giving to charity and move on with their lives when in reality only 0.5 percent of their purchase is being given to their cause. 1 … 05738962 The statistics and information included on this site regarding Smile Train’s work represent aggregate data compiled from Smile Train Inc. and all of its affiliated entities worldwide. Smile Train, a group that provides free cleft-palate surgery to poor kids overseas, has found a direct-mail piece that does a good job of winning new donors. Give Thoughtfully. Operation Smile is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) that provides corrective surgery to children and young adults in developing countries who are born with cleft lip, cleft palate or other facial deformities. Smile Train is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit recognized by the IRS, and all donations to Smile Train are tax-deductible in accordance with IRS regulations. Smile Train empowers local medical professionals with training, funding, and resources to provide free cleft surgery and comprehensive cleft care to children globally. The rest goes to the corrupt running it and makes them richer than most people in the nations where they operate. ©2019 Smile Train, Inc. Mission. This included $499k from the US Operation Smile ($900k in F2018) to grow the Canadian donor base and offset the high fundraising costs. Cons. Smile Train is an international children’s charity with a sustainable approach to a single, solvable problem: cleft lip and palate. In November 2011, Forbes magazine ranked Operation Smile the tenth “least efficient” large U.S. charity, out of 200. So I don't care whether it's a "legitimate" charity. Smile Train is an international children’s charity with a sustainable approach to a single, solvable problem: cleft lip and palate. Or does the money mostly go to the smile train company? Yes. Cleft repair surgery is simple, and the transformation is immediate. 5. Andy Hillier charts the story of the cleft lip and palate charity, which has been involved in lawsuits after disagreement between its founders. Relevance. So is it legit? Favorite Answer. So if you wanted to give $50 to a charity you'd have to spend $10,000 through AmazonSmile. Donations are tax-deductible. Smile Train consistently receives independent and unbiased high ratings from supporters, charity watchers, and publishers around the world. Many children with clefts around the world live in isolation, but more importantly, have difficulty eating, breathing, hearing, and speaking. The legitimacy of a charity, in my book, heavily depends on its manifested behavior. Ann. Even a Smile is Charity The Prophet Muhammad -peace be upon him- said: “Charity is prescribed for each descendant of Adam every day the sun rises.” He was then asked: “From what do we give charity every day?” The Prophet answered: “The doors of goodness are many…enjoining good, forbidding evil, removing harm from the road,… Smile Train is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit recognized by the IRS, and all donations to Smile Train are tax-deductible in accordance with IRS regulations. Operation Smile Inc. is headquartered in Virginia Bch, VA, and is a 501(c)(3) organization.EIN: 54-1460147.. Operation Smile is a traditional mission group that sends American doctors and nurses on 2 week missions. (You can read about this little girl Shiva’s story here.) Smile Train is a wonderful working environment where everyone is friendly, helpful and professional. Is "Operation Smile" a good charity? Our sustainable model empowers local medical professionals to provide cleft care in their own communities. I had never thought at all about how Smile Train managed to make this happen. ©2019 Smile Train, Inc. Answer Save. @SmileTrain has a true sustainability model - providing training, funding, and resources to local medical professionals in 90+ countries so they can offer 100%-free cleft repair surgery and comprehensive cleft care in their communities. So I called Brian Dearth, Smile Train's chief marketing officer, to find out how the charity came up with its unusual approach—and more to the point, whether it … THE GIFT OF A SMILE IS IRREPLACEABLE . Mission: Smile Train is an international children’s charity with a sustainable approach to a single, solvable problem: cleft lip and palate. And the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance issued a report in 2016 that found Operation Smile does not meet its standards for charities because two of its nine board members are compensated directly or indirectly. They put on a good show, but usually, only a tiny portion goes to the actual charity work to put on the show and pay expenses. According to Heavy.com , only 2.5 cents for every dollar raised goes towards the sick kids it claims to help- the majority of the rest, as you’d expect, is funneled back into the accounts of its fundraising solicitors. Many children with clefts around the world live in isolation, but more importantly, have difficulty eating, breathing, hearing, and speaking. The IRS ruling year for tax exemption was 1992. 1 decade ago. I've been wanting to donate some money to them for a while now so they can help kids in need but i don't want to donate unless i know that all the money goes to the kids. Below are just a few recognitions from leading authorities. We dive deep to let you know how efficiently a charity will use your donation to fund the programs you want to support. Former trustee Brian Mullaney was ordered to repay more than £633,000 to Smile Train UK. Established in 1982, Operation Smile was founded by Dr. William Magee,Jr. Smile Train Breaks Away From Formulaic Charity Advertising In New Campaign. The charity glowed with a … I'm especially impressed with how much they emphasize the importance of a good work-life balance. Smile Train is a nonprofit organization and charity providing corrective surgery for children with cleft lips and palates.. 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