Charity Navigator

[drwex]

Miss Chance (miss_chance) linked this in her blog: http://www.charitynavigator.org/
This seems like something I should've known about before and I'm really glad to get this info. I'm blogging it myself mostly for record purposes, but I'm also interested in hearing my readers' comments.

It claims to be an independent organization and their Web site has a lot of good detailed information on who they are and how they operate. For example, here's their page on how they rate charities: http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=35

For people who just want suggestions, or things to avoid, they have simple top 10 lists, like "10 Slam-Dunk Charities" and "10 Inefficient Fundraisers".

My top charities (other than MIT) are:
MSF, 4 stars
AIDS Action (National gets 4 stars, but AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts gets 1?! WTF, must read more)
DonorsChoose, 4 stars
Kiva isn't per se a charity and isn't rated

Must do more research later...

Comments

[desiringsubject.livejournal.com]

I don't know how they're rated, but I just met someone who works here. Just a thought.

[keyne.livejournal.com]

MSF, 4 stars

Motorcycle Safety Foundation?

[drwex]

Sorry, Medecins Sans Frontieres. I can't figure out an easy way to make the accented characters. "Doctors Without Borders" is really just MSF, USA :)

[awfief.livejournal.com]

Charity Navigator is indeed independent, and it's a goal of not-for-profits to get higher ratings. I believe they use the public 990 tax forms that charities fill out.

[hammercock.livejournal.com]

Charity Navigator is one of the big charity evaluation sites out there (Give.org/BBB Wise Giving Alliance, CharityWatch.org, and GuideStar.org are the other major ones) and having a 4-star rating is a big deal. A lot of people use those ratings to help them decide how to allocate their charitable giving. As awfief notes, the info comes from the publicly-filed IRS 990 forms, though charities may also add info about programs and such to their own profiles.

The ratings can be a bit problematic at times. Still, they're a pretty good guide, and a rating indicating administrative and fundraising expenses in excess of 25% is pretty much the kiss of death.

ETA: I would expect to see the ratings fall for a number of charities in the coming year or so because of decreased revenues.