America has many churches, many denominations, and many charitable organizations. This is, for the most part, a very good thing, since church organizations are known for providing both monetary as well as logistical aid to those in their community as well as abroad, while also quite importantly providing spiritual aid and guidance for the faithful. Unfortunately, when living in a country as wealthy as America, sometimes the mission of churches can become compromised so that rather than being about the giving and the loving of neighbor as guided by God's hand, there is a propensity to better the insiders first, before taking care of the flock in general.
While public corporations are subject to all sorts of laws as well as to public disclosure and the publication of their financial operations, this is not typically the case with church organizations, so that it is fair to state, that the less transparent a church is in regards to what it does with the monies donated, materials provided, labor offered, tax benefits given, and the like, the more likely that pertinent and important information about the church is being withheld from those that provide its assistance. A church has a moral obligation to be held accountable for its actions and the usage of money that it has been furnished with, so that as a matter of course, a good church should disclose such information, not because it is required to do so by law, but because it is required to demonstrate that it is a good steward of the gifts that the church has received.
Anytime that a church is requesting or imploring its congregation to donate time, money, or the like to the church, the church must do its part to substantiate that this contribution is being put to good use, in one way or another, and not instead being wasted or finding its way into insider's hands to do what they want to do with it, as contrasted to what they ought to do. Each congregant has a right to know how their contributions are spent, or utilized, not just because the gift came from their hands, but also because devotees too have an obligation to demonstrate to their Lord that they are also good stewards of their money and that their gifts, to which they must not just take it on faith, have been well spent, and further that they can honestly verify in their heart via due diligence that this indeed is so.
It is the church members, themselves, that rather than accepting the truism that "father knows best", should instead, if necessary, be that "doubting Thomas", willing to hold the leaders of their faith feet to the proverbial fire. It is isn't enough to assume that your work and that your labor has been put to good use, just because that is what you hope for or assume, the church should make it clear, where monies and materials have been earmarked and what they have accomplished to date, and further they should declare their mission to you, the congregant, for the future.
A good church should be a community of people, united in one faith, their God should be God, and mammon should ideally be a tool used for the betterment of those less fortunate, rather than an opportunity for some to get rich or reap benefits taken from those that have honestly labored for it.