While reading the World Vision website, I came across the Charity Navigator link and decided to know more about how charities are evaluated and rated. I took note of those I found most interesting and posted them here with links. There are of course many other charity evaluators, and as much as we should be careful about what charities to donate to and support, we should also be able to determine how much we can rely on the charity evaluator's information.
The Charity Navigator is an independent charity evaluator that aims to "advance a more efficient and responsive philanthropic marketplace by evaluating the financial health of over 5,300 of America's largest charities." Estbalished in 2001, it has come up with tips and guidelines on how one can determine reliable charities.
How to choose a reliable Charity:
When choosing the charities to donate to, one should consider several factors. Ask yourself these questions before donating:
1. Can your charity clearly communicate who they are and what they do?
If a charity struggles in articulating its mission and its programs, it will probably struggle in delivering those programs. If a charity can't explain who it is and what it does, and why it is needed, find one that can. Many good organizations exist who know exactly who they are, what they do, and why they are needed.
2. Can your charity define their short-term and long-term goals?
Organizations without quantifiable goals have no way to measure success. Be sure your charity can tell you what it is trying to do.
Can your charity tell you the progress it has made (or is making) toward its goal?
Ask your organization what it has done to make the issue it confronts better. What are its results? Find out.
3. Do your charity's programs make sense to you?
If you support the mission of an organization, ask yourself if its programs also make sense. If you know you want to support the outcome the charity aims to deliver, ask yourself if its method of arriving at that outcome makes sense to you.
4. Can you trust your charity?
Don't support a charity until you feel comfortable with it. Ask the questions you need answered from the organizers before you can be assured this is a good use of your money. Do whatever it takes to put your mind at ease.
5. Are you willing to make a long-term commitment to your organization?
Ask yourself if your charity is the type of organization to which you're willing to make a long-term commitment.
The Charity Navigator has also come up with the top 10 charities based on set criteria and methodology. In rating these charities, they evaluated the organization's financial health, their organizational efficiency and their organizational capacity. Based on financial ratios or performance categories to rate each of these two areas, the Navigator issues an overall rating that combines the charity's performance in both areas. It guides donors on how efficiently a charity will use their support today, and to what extent the charities are growing their programs and services over time .
The TOP 10 CHARITIES (source: Charity Navigator)
10 Celebrity-Related Charities
No comments:
Post a Comment