Review our financial documents
About Our Methodology
Since MAP International was founded more than sixty-four years ago, we have been known as an organization that delivers quality medicines to those in need with remarkably low overhead. In 2019, MAP impacted the lives of 13.3 million people by providing millions of healing doses of medicines as well as much-needed health supplies to 98 countries around the globe. We did this all with a staff of fewer than 50 people in the US and 110 people internationally.
MAP is able to deliver so much medicine at low cost because pharmaceutical companies donate many of the products we send overseas. These are new, unexpired medicines that are desperately needed by people in many parts of the world. MAP also purchases medicines when necessary to meet specific needs.
MAP carefully procures these medicines and makes sure they meet the highest quality standards. In addition, we use standards set by ECFA (the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability), ACCORD network, PQMD (Partnership for Quality Medical Donations), and other organizations, and we comply with all generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).
MAP has used an outside accounting firm to audit its books and valuation practices for more than two decades and has consistently received clean audits and high praise for our financial accountability and our transparency.
We care deeply about those whose lives we are able to improve through our mission. And we also care deeply about our donors, who often give sacrificially to this mission. We do not take their trust for granted.
MAP International’s California Victory and Appeal of Regulatory Ruling
Over the last several months, MAP has responded to persistent and aggressive attempts by California state regulators to change the accounting methods that we use to report the benefits MAP provides.
We use the industry standard for this process, and our financial statements are audited every year by a national accounting firm. Thankfully, a recent administrative law judge ruling was in our favor on this point, which confirms our accounting methods fully comply with the law.
However, we face another challenge from California.
When you donate money to MAP, your contributions are joined together with the medicine and health supplies that generous corporations give to us. Your cash and those other resources, lifted by your prayers and the volunteer work of so many, help people in desperate need around the globe.
Unfortunately, the California regulators are also attempting to dictate how and what we say to our donors.
We work hard to ensure that everything we tell our donors is true. These government administrators claim, however, that certain statements that we’ve made about how efficiently we use all of our resources, while true, could be misinterpreted by someone and thus are potentially misleading.
They are attempting to force us to change how we communicate with you and to punish us for what we’ve said.
When we’ve said what percentage of these total donated resources helps the needy, we’ve spoken truthfully. Many other charities, as well as other states’ regulators, also consider cash contributions and medical resource donations together when describing the charity’s work. California officials say this is wrong. We disagree.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that it’s up to the charity to decide how to communicate its messages. To prevail on this point, we’re appealing the recent administrative law decision that attempts to limit how we speak truthfully to our donors.
Because we are actively appealing this decision, Charity Navigator shows an advisory on our listing, indicating we are involved in this administrative process.
While we are still a top-rated, four-star charity, Charity Navigator has chosen to flag this issue and we want all our donors and others who share our mission of providing medicines for the world to understand what this means and why we have chosen to fight this legal battle.
Should you have any questions about this situation, please do not hesitate to contact us by clicking here.
