Registered charities in Bermuda are angry that their names have not been removed from an online report issued by the Centre on Philanthropy for not having filed their financial reports for 1999 to 2000.

The charities say they have filed reports and are up to date with the Registrar General?s office.

According to the report on registered charities completed in November, 2002, of the 349 charities registered with the Registrar General, only 276, or 79 percent, of all charities, had filed a financial report for any year.

Charities mentioned in yesterday?s article said they feared the negative publicity could impact on their organisations.

?It?s so damaging to us, especially now when we?re trying to raise funds,? PALS president Ann Smith Gordon said.

Centre On Philanthropy chairman Cummings Zuill took aim at forthe ?old? story and said it damaged the credibility of the charities.

?When financial data were recently collected to update the first study, there were reports from almost all charities, about 330 of them, a vast improvement from just two and half years ago. Government co-operation was good and the files at the Registrar General are much more complete and easier for the public and the researchers to access,? he said.

He said donors and the entire charitable sector can be confident that over 90 percent of Bermuda?s registered charities are filing their financial information in accordance with the law.

Ms Smith Gordon added that PALS, the sole provider of care to cancer patients in Bermuda, depended entirely on donations from the public ? more than $700,000 a year.

?We have some major fundraisers coming up and I?d hate to think what this can do to our efforts,? she said.

She said PALS, and others mentioned in the Centre on Philanthropy report, had problems with the Registrar General, which continued to send out reminders about financial reports even though they had them.

?I?ve resorted to hand delivering them and getting them to sign a receipt now,? she said.

Tony Knap of the Bermuda Biological Station for Research echoed the comments from Ms Smith Gordon.

Dr. Knap said BBSR spent a huge amount of money on getting annual reports done, but what happened to them once they arrived with the Registrar General was anyone?s guess.

?Frankly the 2002 report was wrong,? he said, referring to the Centre?s ?A Portrait of Charities in Bermuda?.

This concern was voiced by other charities, including The Salvation Army, The Allan Vincent Smith Foundation, Bermuda Diabetes Association, Bermuda Hospice Trust, The Bank of Bermuda Foundation, Teen Haven, St. John Ambulance Brigade, Eliza Dolittle Society, YouthNet, The Coalition for the Protection of Children, Bermuda Feline Assistance Bureau and Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute.

Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute director Alan Paris said annual accounts are hand delivered to the Registrar General each May.

?BUEI is not responsible for the inaccurate reporting that was done in this document, as noted after the initial publication and subsequent recanting by the Registrar General, who I assume provided the data,? he said.

He added that when the report first came out in 2002, he had complained to the Registrar General about the organisation?s name being on the list as not having filed a financial report and demanded a retraction, which was never done.

St. John?s Ambulance chairman Tony Goodfellow admitted his organisation was occasionally late with filings, but they were always sent out soon after the deadline.

Clare Mello said late submissions by YouthNet were always updated.

A Bank of Bermuda Foundation spokesman said his group ?had always been in compliance with The Charities Act 1978.?

Sheelagh Cooper of The Coalition for the Protection of Children said the Registrar could not find its 1999 financial reports even though they had been filed on time.

She said the Registrar never reported back to her.

?I wonder why the Centre on Philanthropy is policing us when they are supposed to be assisting us?? she asked.

Major Lindsay Rowe said the Salvation Army have been filing financial reports since 1974 and when he called the Registrar yesterday morning was assured by that all financial records were on file.

?We receive Government grants and need to submit financial reports for this reason,? he said.

Registrar General Marlene Christopher said yesterday that most charitable organisations filed their financial statements annually and are in good order.

?Registered charitable organisations are required to file their financial statements within six months of the financial year-end in respect of the previous year?s financial operation. Financial statements are received in duplicate by the Registry General and forwarded to the Charity Commissioners for approval. The Charity Commissioners will review them and request any additional information or clarification either directly from the charitable organisations themselves or will require the Registrar General to contact them for the required information,? she said.

She said that financial statements are occasionally filed incorrectly or went missing in the mail.

Centre On Philanthropy chairman Cummings Zuill said donors and the entire charitable sector can be confident that over 90 percent of Bermuda?s registered charities are filing their financial information in accordance with the law.