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Rating Nonprofits
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Dgrie...@aol.com
Jan 23, 2003, 4:51:02 PM1/23/03
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<Is there a group or organization that monitors non-profits? Not necessarily the <Attorney General’s office, but a consumer type group?I’m thinking of a group who <would rate, or measure, the performance of a non-profit?
Hi,
Yes.
Is your nonprofit being RATED? Are you on the charity candid camera? As a nonprofit organization (NPO) are you being looked at? Are you in a fishbowl and you do not even know it? That is possible. There are a number of web-based rating guides available for charity donors to review certain factors about nonprofit organizations. All NPOs with annual receipt of $25,000.00 (with a few exceptions such as churches) are required to file Federal IRS form 990 or 990-EZ.
The 990s are available to the public through the web site called Guidestar. At least one rater, Charity Navigator, is using 990s as a guide to potential donors by rating charities. Whether you consider the 990 as a worthwhile document to review for rating NPOs (I do not) or not, it is happening. Those NPOs that are receiving good ratings from CN are now using that status for fundraising locally and regionally.
The raters have established certain standards by which they do the rating. Many national leaders in the nonprofit world have some difficulties with the standards because the NPOs were not asked to participate in the development of the standards. Nevertheless, the raters have arrived and are weekly adding more NPOs to the public database for the world to review. Most of the raters have also posted a donor's bill of rights and ethical standards for donors to read and understand before giving.
BBB Wise Giving Alliance is the Better Business Bureau online and is also called Give.Org relative to its study and rating of NPOs. This site has a comprehensive standards document, a giving guide and the results of a recent survey about donor expectations. There are portals for donors, businesses and charities. - http://www.give.org/
ePhilanthropy has online giving ideas, provides coaching to donors and looks at trends. There is a NPO self-audit kit to see how the NPO shapes up to the Federal Sarbanes-Oxley Act and accountability. The Act was passed by Congress in response to the Enron et al. debacle. You will remember that major corporations had to file forms last summer indicating their financial records were accurate. This exercise may help an NPO see itself in light of that Act. Take a look at the links, "Web Sites Worth Visiting".
http://www.philanthropynow.com/pn/
American Institute of Philanthropy is a nonprofit organization that calls itself a watchdog of charities and provides advice to potential donors. There is material about what to do about unwanted mailing and telephone solicitations. Over 400 national charities with budgets in excess of $500,000.00 are rated here and show whether their records are an open book or not. - http://www.charitywatch.org/
Charity Navigator has tips on what to look for in a charity before donating. There are excellent links. It supports the ethical statement used by ePhilanthropy - http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm/bay/content.view/catid/3/cpid/39.htm
Charity Navigator - http://www.charitynavigator.org/
and for tips about giving see -
http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm/bay/content.view/catid/3/cpid/39.htm
They also sell a financial analysis to larger contributors -
http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm/bay/content.view/catid/65/cpid/99.htm
Guidestar maintains copies of the 850,000 990s filed with the IRS. There is also an opportunity for NPOs to add information voluntarily to the site where 20,000 viewers land there. Your nonprofit's information will automatically be included in the charity searches at the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, Giving Capital, Just Give, Media Rights, Network for Good, the Schwab Fund for Charitable Giving, and the T. Rowe Price Program for Charitable Giving -
http://www.guidestar.org/
Wall Watchers (rates Christian ministries) operates with the idea about a Christian ministry aimed at bringing improved levels of disclosure and accountability to Christian ministries -
http://www.wallwatchers.org/ww/indexfsh.html
Wall Watchers has companion web sites at http://www.thegoodsteward.com/ and http://www.ministrywatch.com/mw2.1/H_Home.asp
The Philanthropy Group is one example of a number of companies that provide advice and counsel to major donors -
http://www.thephilanthropygroup.com/
On December 9, 2002, the Arizona Daily Star published an article about how these raters are acting at the local level (sorry, the link is gone). The lead is
"Tucson-area donors have a new source for information about local charities, and it's a familiar one.
In a yearlong effort, the Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona has added standardized reports on local charities to its database of local businesses, detailing each group's programs and finances based on information supplied by the charities.
The program is a local extension of the National Council of Better Business Bureaus' Wise Giving Alliance, which tracks national charities and rates them according to standards of financial practices, governance and other criteria.
Beginning in January, the BBB reports also will state whether a reviewed charity meets standards used by the BBB Wise Giving Alliance."
The article stated the Tucson BBB was placing the following statement for NPOs that did not volunteer information -
"Despite written Better Business Bureau requests in the past year, this organization has not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance."
Seems negative to me.
See the listing for the Community Food Bank -
http://www.tucson.bbb.org/commonreport.html?compid=23747
See the listing for Prepaid Legal Services - "The Bureau has twice requested basic information from this company. The Bureau has not received a response."
http://www.tucson.bbb.org/commonreport.html?compid=6000043
in both instances there were no complaints filed with BBB.
Nevertheless these are samples of groups who are rating and measuring nonprofits. Certain grantors such as United Way, foundations, government, corporate giving also have standards that are part of the measuring around specific grants.
Best,
Don
Donald A. Griesmann, Esq.
Ventnor NJ
Dgrie...@aol.com
Hi,
Yes.
Is your nonprofit being RATED? Are you on the charity candid camera? As a nonprofit organization (NPO) are you being looked at? Are you in a fishbowl and you do not even know it? That is possible. There are a number of web-based rating guides available for charity donors to review certain factors about nonprofit organizations. All NPOs with annual receipt of $25,000.00 (with a few exceptions such as churches) are required to file Federal IRS form 990 or 990-EZ.
The 990s are available to the public through the web site called Guidestar. At least one rater, Charity Navigator, is using 990s as a guide to potential donors by rating charities. Whether you consider the 990 as a worthwhile document to review for rating NPOs (I do not) or not, it is happening. Those NPOs that are receiving good ratings from CN are now using that status for fundraising locally and regionally.
The raters have established certain standards by which they do the rating. Many national leaders in the nonprofit world have some difficulties with the standards because the NPOs were not asked to participate in the development of the standards. Nevertheless, the raters have arrived and are weekly adding more NPOs to the public database for the world to review. Most of the raters have also posted a donor's bill of rights and ethical standards for donors to read and understand before giving.
BBB Wise Giving Alliance is the Better Business Bureau online and is also called Give.Org relative to its study and rating of NPOs. This site has a comprehensive standards document, a giving guide and the results of a recent survey about donor expectations. There are portals for donors, businesses and charities. - http://www.give.org/
ePhilanthropy has online giving ideas, provides coaching to donors and looks at trends. There is a NPO self-audit kit to see how the NPO shapes up to the Federal Sarbanes-Oxley Act and accountability. The Act was passed by Congress in response to the Enron et al. debacle. You will remember that major corporations had to file forms last summer indicating their financial records were accurate. This exercise may help an NPO see itself in light of that Act. Take a look at the links, "Web Sites Worth Visiting".
http://www.philanthropynow.com/pn/
American Institute of Philanthropy is a nonprofit organization that calls itself a watchdog of charities and provides advice to potential donors. There is material about what to do about unwanted mailing and telephone solicitations. Over 400 national charities with budgets in excess of $500,000.00 are rated here and show whether their records are an open book or not. - http://www.charitywatch.org/
Charity Navigator has tips on what to look for in a charity before donating. There are excellent links. It supports the ethical statement used by ePhilanthropy - http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm/bay/content.view/catid/3/cpid/39.htm
Charity Navigator - http://www.charitynavigator.org/
and for tips about giving see -
http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm/bay/content.view/catid/3/cpid/39.htm
They also sell a financial analysis to larger contributors -
http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm/bay/content.view/catid/65/cpid/99.htm
Guidestar maintains copies of the 850,000 990s filed with the IRS. There is also an opportunity for NPOs to add information voluntarily to the site where 20,000 viewers land there. Your nonprofit's information will automatically be included in the charity searches at the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, Giving Capital, Just Give, Media Rights, Network for Good, the Schwab Fund for Charitable Giving, and the T. Rowe Price Program for Charitable Giving -
http://www.guidestar.org/
Wall Watchers (rates Christian ministries) operates with the idea about a Christian ministry aimed at bringing improved levels of disclosure and accountability to Christian ministries -
http://www.wallwatchers.org/ww/indexfsh.html
Wall Watchers has companion web sites at http://www.thegoodsteward.com/ and http://www.ministrywatch.com/mw2.1/H_Home.asp
The Philanthropy Group is one example of a number of companies that provide advice and counsel to major donors -
http://www.thephilanthropygroup.com/
On December 9, 2002, the Arizona Daily Star published an article about how these raters are acting at the local level (sorry, the link is gone). The lead is
"Tucson-area donors have a new source for information about local charities, and it's a familiar one.
In a yearlong effort, the Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona has added standardized reports on local charities to its database of local businesses, detailing each group's programs and finances based on information supplied by the charities.
The program is a local extension of the National Council of Better Business Bureaus' Wise Giving Alliance, which tracks national charities and rates them according to standards of financial practices, governance and other criteria.
Beginning in January, the BBB reports also will state whether a reviewed charity meets standards used by the BBB Wise Giving Alliance."
The article stated the Tucson BBB was placing the following statement for NPOs that did not volunteer information -
"Despite written Better Business Bureau requests in the past year, this organization has not provided current information about its finances, programs, and governance."
Seems negative to me.
See the listing for the Community Food Bank -
http://www.tucson.bbb.org/commonreport.html?compid=23747
See the listing for Prepaid Legal Services - "The Bureau has twice requested basic information from this company. The Bureau has not received a response."
http://www.tucson.bbb.org/commonreport.html?compid=6000043
in both instances there were no complaints filed with BBB.
Nevertheless these are samples of groups who are rating and measuring nonprofits. Certain grantors such as United Way, foundations, government, corporate giving also have standards that are part of the measuring around specific grants.
Best,
Don
Donald A. Griesmann, Esq.
Ventnor NJ
Dgrie...@aol.com
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