Before You Give: Lessons From a ‘Bibles for Iran’ Campaign
What one ministry’s appeal can teach donors about vetting nonprofits and avoiding misleading fundraising.
English-Arabic Bible / Photo by Sara Calado / Unsplash
“Spiritual Vacuum in Iran – Bibles Needed Now,” pleaded a recent press release on Christian Newswire.
The release linked the current war in Iran to an upcoming need for Bibles. The war will result in freedom for worship for Iranian Christians in the country, the release claims. When that happens, they will need Bibles in their own language. Translated print Bibles cost only a few dollars, it says, and audio Bibles cost $20. The press release was provided by Cubinero Inc., an Arizona nonprofit, and linked to a donation entry form connected to a Cubinero Inc. PayPal account.
But Cubinero Inc. isn’t personally distributing Bibles to Iran.
Instead, Cubinero Inc. plans to send the raised donations to other organizations involved in Bible distribution, like Vision Beyond Borders and Galcom—something not disclosed in the press release.
Current news events — particularly ones with high impact and emotional import — often create opportunities for ministry. For example, when wild fires hit California, nonprofits and ministries immediately jumped in to help, and those organizations needed financial support, supplies and volunteers.
But news events also create openings for misleading donation requests. It is helpful for donors to know what questions to ask as they consider donating. Many websites suggest questions to ask nonprofits—or, at least, questions nonprofits should be able to answer about their work.
The MinistryWatch 1000 Database also provides a deeper look at ministries’ financial efficiency, transparency, and goals.
After receiving the “Bibles for Iran” email, MinistryWatch set out to ask these questions—where is the money going, and how will it be used to get Bibles into the hands of Iranians who need them? Using this process as an example, here are steps donors can take to vet a ministry’s fundraising promotion:
First, be curious. The press release raised more questions than it answers, prompting a MinistryWatch editor to seek out Cubinero’s Form 990. He was unable to locate one. A Form 990 lays out important information such as annual revenue, salaries of key employees, names of board members and large contractors, and the amount of money the organization spends on its core mission. It also details an organization’s administrative and fundraising expenses. This information is valuable to donors wanting to assess the effectiveness of a ministry
Next, look for an online presence. MinistryWatch found a few associated websites but they contained minimal information. A simple Google search, particularly with a “news” filter can tell you if the ministry has been in the news lately, and social media accounts can provide updates on current projects and events. These searches can also tell you what other ministries or churches a nonprofit partners with.
Then, ask around. MinistryWatch had connections with ministry leaders who work in Iran, so we reached out to one to ask if they had heard of Cubinero Inc. In this instance, our contact had heard of and even met with a team from Cubinero before—but said they didn’t have a clear vision of what they were doing. If a ministry claims to have boots on the ground in a geographical area or ministry sphere, it’s likely other ministries in that same landscape have heard of or even worked with them. If they haven’t, it could raise red flags.
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The next step was to contact the ministry itself. The press release included contact information for Robert Dobyns. He was willing to talk with MinistryWatch via a phone call, during which we asked questions used throughout this article.
It was during this call that MinistryWatch learned Dobyns was not planning to deliver the Bibles to Iran himself. Instead, he planned to send any donations he received to other organizations that deliver Bibles.
“I haven’t seen a lot of chatter out there about getting Bibles into Iran when the regime change happens. So I just sent it out as an awareness thing,” he said. “There’s just so many opportunities [for ministry] coming up, and people need to be aware of it and plan for it and find out who’s doing [the ministry work] and support them.”
MinistryWatch pointed out that his press release did not disclose that his ministry would not be directly delivering Bibles nor any other specifics on how he planned to fulfill the promises his fundraising email made.
After talking with MinistryWatch, Dobyns edited his website to include direct links to Vision Beyond Borders and Galcom USA rather than the Cubinero PayPal account. Dobyns said he is now pointing interested donors to Vision Beyond Borders’ website, because they are actively working to provide Bibles for Iran. Galcom USA produces portable, handheld radios and audio Bibles.
“I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel here. I’m just looking at who’s doing what and doing it efficiently and trying to support them,” Dobyns said.
We always recommend being generous as God allows. But take a few minutes to do your homework. MinistryWatch gives ministries a Donor Confidence Score, a Financial Efficiency Rating, and a Transparency Grade. (You can search a ministry and check its scores here.) Do not give money to poorly rated ministries, or to ministries that do share enough information to produce a rating.
Both ministries Cubinero recommends for Bible distribution in Iran are highly rated in the MinistryWatch database. Vision Beyond Borders earns a a 4-Star Financial Efficiency Rating, a C Transparency Grade, and a Donor Confidence Score of 96. Galcom USA earns 5 Stars, an A Transparency Grade and a Donor Confidence Score of 98.
Asking questions can result in good both for donors and for ministries. In this case, reaching out to Cubinero Inc. resulted in a positive change—the nonprofit redirected its donation links to ministries with the capacity to distribute Bibles in Iran. We consider this a win.
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