Customized Partnership Screening Reports are commissioned from EthicScan by third parties such as suppliers, donors and partners for companies on which they wish to receive information. These reports are also commissioned by not-for-profit agencies or organizations that companies are investigating as a community-based partner. The following is a sample of a recently completed Partnership Screening Report, prepared exclusively for the use of <IDENTITY CONCEALED>.

FINAL

Screen Topic	Concern
	Major	Minor	None Apparent
Ethical Management	X
Employment Equity		X
Environmental Responsibility		X
Progressive Management	X
Governance		X
Community Responsibilities		X
Public Health		X
Human Rights		X
Ethical Sourcing & Trading			X

Calgary-based Xentel DM Inc is in the business services market. It uses a proprietary database to raise money for public service associations like local law enforcement, firefighters, and other cause-related service groups (like Shrine Circus, Missing Children, Big Brothers, and Crime Stoppers) largely through telemarketing solicitation and the production and marketing of entertainment event tickets. Xentel describes itself as a leader in profile enhancement for community-based organizations, through the use of relationship-based integrated databases and direct marketing services. The company, which operates in Canada and the United States, has an estimated 350-450 clients, and works out of 30 offices, changed from 35 offices in 2003 and 22 offices in 2002. It was founded in 1979 as Great West Entertainment by Geoff Pickering. Major acquisitions include The Gehl Corporation (in 1999) and American Trade Publications Group (in 2003). The company is publicly traded on the TSX venture exchange (CDNX) — ticker symbol XDM. Revenues in 2003 were $102 million — a year when it had a net loss of $2.9 million.

This is a Major Concern area as Xentel has no written corporate code of ethics, has elicited a number of marketplace complaints in many jurisdictions, uses a business model that is highly self-centred, and has settled a number of government-initiated consumer rights complaints.

Xentel has a one page plaque, called the PRIDE statement, which addresses the company’s good name and consumer interests, but makes no explicit mention of integrity. For at least ten years Xentel has been a member of the Canadian Marketing Association which has a voluntary business practices and privacy code. It has been a member of the Direct Marketing Association in the U.S. for at least six years. Termination of a prospective buyout of Xentel in 2004 by Schroder Ventures resulted in a $50 million lawsuit by Xentel against SV and a $3 million countersuit that is still before the courts, as mediation thusfar has failed.

In none of its Annual Reports goes the company disclose several government suits, actions and consumer penalties. Often these involve cases where the company retains 75-95% of all monies it raises through telemarketing. For example, in 2004, the state of Iowa initiated a suit against the American Deputy Sheriffs Association which used Xentel to raise funds, including the promise of a decal which could be seen to influence issuing of speeding or parking tickets. In that campaign, 88% of funds raised went to Xentel, Inc. In 2003, the state of Iowa launched a lawsuit in which the company allegedly used misleading telemarketing pitches— it kept $448,000 of $590,000 raised. Ron Brammer of the Iowa AG’s office reports on November 17th that the “matter remains pending.” The corporate spokesperson said that a “consent decree was signed on or around November 21st”. In 2003, Xentel was penalized $75.000 under a consent order by the Attorney General of Missouri in a case where the company made calls to people who specifically had asked not to be called. In 1997, the Gehl Group (Xentel acquired it in 1999; and Mr Gehl is a former president of Xentel) was served with an injunction for consumer fraud.