Donors be wary of nonprofit ranking

Donors be wary of nonprofit ranking: "my view: James J. Vento
Donors be wary of nonprofit ranking


In response to the June 22 story, 'Indiana charities fare poorly in study,' I fear that our donor community, the lifeblood of Indianapolis nonprofit organizations, could be severely misled.
The Charity Navigator report ranks Indianapolis charities at number 23 out of 25, and the immediate mind's-eye image this statistic produces is not a pretty one. However, upon further examination, the following becomes apparent:
1.) The Charity Navigator's scale scores up to 70 points; 2.) The top-ranking city, San Diego, achieved a score of 56.68, which roughly translates to the 80th percentile; and 3.) The Indianapolis score of 48.34 puts it a hair short of the 70 percent percentile. To me, that really is not much of a point spread.
In addition, the Charity Navigator report encompasses 51 Indiana charities. When queried, its Indianapolis database shows a total of 31 nonprofits. Yet, with closer review one is able to discern that some of the earmarked charities, in reality, have donor roots throughout the state, the nation and even the world.
Furthermore, according to the 2002 database of The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, there were more than 16,000 nonprofits in the Indianapolis metro area. So how can one realistically declare the Top 5 and Bottom 5 Indianapolis charities from a sample of 31 nonprofits?
The Charity Navigator mission states that it works to guide intelligent giving. However, in an attempt to compare apples to apples, Charity Navigator adjusts its scores according to the type of charity being reviewed. In order to obtain the same comparable Charity Navigator score in the category of Administrative Expense, museums can have up to 45 p"