Who Watches the Charity Watchdogs? - NonProfit PRO

Who Watches the Charity Watchdogs? - NonProfit PRO:



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Who Will Watch the Charities? - NYTimes.com

Who Will Watch the Charities? - NYTimes.com: "LAST week federal authorities disclosed that four cancer charities had bilked tens of millions of dollars from donors. Questions continue to surface about the lack of transparency at the Clinton Foundation. Philanthropy, we’re learning, is a world with too much secrecy and too little oversight. Despite its increasing role in American society, from education to the arts to the media, perhaps no sector is less accountable to outsiders."



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Calif. Nonprofit Association Urges Charity Navigator to Make 2 Big Changes - The Chronicle of Philanthropy

Calif. Nonprofit Association Urges Charity Navigator to Make 2 Big Changes - The Chronicle of Philanthropy: "The California Association of Nonprofits, taking advantage of a change of leadership at Charity Navigator, has sent a letter urging the prominent watchdog to make two changes to the way it evaluates charity finances and to spread the message that charities can suffer if they don’t spend enough on overhead costs.

It also asked the group to select a new head who has e"



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Beyond the bucket challenge: 6 tips to vet a charity - MarketWatch

Beyond the bucket challenge: 6 tips to vet a charity - MarketWatch

As the ALS bucket challenge winds down, we can now return to our regular programming of cat videos and political rants in our Facebook feeds.But let’s take a minute to think about how this viral phenomenon introduced legions of new donors to charitable giving. 

Charity Navigator Goes To 100-Point Ratings System | The NonProfit TimesThe NonProfit Times

Charity Navigator Goes To 100-Point Ratings System | The NonProfit Times

It might be time to dig out that retainer and tuba from your high school yearbook picture. Charity watchdog Charity Navigator changed in Augustthe way it issues its ratings. While the organization has no plans to
move to a letter grade system, the new system is based on 100 points, similar to the school system and is more recognizable to users.

Wounded Warrior CEO Rips Rating Systems as ‘Ineffective and Misinformed’ - News - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Wounded Warrior CEO Rips Rating Systems as ‘Ineffective and Misinformed’ - News - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: Working against the prevailing view that overhead is bad and spending money on fundraising signals inefficiency or fraud, the Wounded Warrior Project made significant investments in its fundraising operation, he said. It has grown revenue by about 65 percent each year since and is on track to bring in more than $300-million this year, he said.

Mr. Nardizzi made the comments Thursday at the Bridge to Integrated Marketing and Fundraising Conference in Maryland.

Charity Navigator 3.0: The Empirical Empire’s Death Star? - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly

Charity Navigator 3.0: The Empirical Empire’s Death Star? - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly: Editor’s Note: The following essay, written by William Schambra, the director of the Hudson Institute’s Bradley Center for Philanthropy and Civic Renewal, is one part of a two-part point/counterpoint series. The other essay in this series, by Charity Navigator President and CEO Ken Berger, is available here.



The empire of empiricism – the kingdom of counting, the sultanate of statistics – continues its relentless march from conquest to conquest. Thanks to Charity Navigator, metrics is now poised to seize the commanding heights of the nonprofit sector, having long ago conquered and thoroughly colonized the land of philanthropy.

What Is The Watchdog Watching? | The Agitator - Fundraising, Direct Marketing and Advocacy Strategies for Nonprofits

What Is The Watchdog Watching? | The Agitator - Fundraising, Direct Marketing and Advocacy Strategies for Nonprofits: This week the Chronicle of Philanthropy reported that members of the Direct Marketing Association are working on an official protest against the watchdog Charity Navigator.

At issue is Charity Navigator’s decision to challenge a longstanding accounting practice to count some of the money nonprofits spend in the course of fundraising as ‘program costs’ rather than ‘fundraising costs’.

Charity-rating service rebuts article: Objections

Charity-rating service rebuts article: Objections: In reference to the article "BBB's charity ratings, seal of approval under fire" we strongly disagree with the article's innuendo of wrongdoing.

Charity accreditation cannot be bought. We rigorously evaluate charities at no charge. More than one-third fail to meet one or more of our charity standards. Only accredited charities (ones meeting all 20 standards) may license our seal for a fee. Thirty percent of the accredited charities choose not to license the seal, a decision having no bearing on accreditation.

Administrative costs: The worst way to judge a charity - latimes.com

Administrative costs: The worst way to judge a charity - latimes.com: Op-Ed
The worst way to judge a charity
Although low administrative costs could indicate prudence and sound judgment at a charity, but it could just as easily indicate inadequate staffing, insufficient salaries or, shall we say, fudging.

Kindness: Charity, Philanthropy, & Social Responsibility - USATODAY.com

Kindness: Charity, Philanthropy, & Social Responsibility - USATODAY.com: How to get the most bang for your charitable buck
By Christie Garton, USA TODAY
12/20/2011 1:54 PM


Bell ringers. Year-end donation requests. Newsletters that pull at your heartstrings.

It's that time of year again when non-profits both large and small are reaching out in hopes of finding support before curtain closes on another year.

And it makes good sense. A recent poll conducted by the American Red Cross found that 57% of Americans plan to donate to charity at some point during the holidays.

To ensure that you get the most bang for your charitable buck during the holidays and year-round, Dr. Michal Strahilevitz, Golden Gate University professor and charitable giving expert, provides five giving tips, exclusively for Kindness readers:

Watchdog Group Adopts Change in Rating System - News - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Watchdog Group Adopts Change in Rating System - News - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: Watchdog Group Adopts Change in Rating System

By Caroline Preston

The watchdog group Charity Navigator revamped its ratings system this week as part of a plan to move beyond evaluating charities based solely on their financial performance.

The Web site now places equal weight on a charity’s governance and openness about its operation sas it does on financial information.

Donors beware – new due diligence guide offers philanthropists insight on giving well | Philanthropy UK

Donors beware – new due diligence guide offers philanthropists insight on giving well | Philanthropy UK: A 10-point guide to due diligence has been published on the Stanford Social Innovation Review’s website. It may help philanthropists to make strategic decisions about their funding.

Salvatore LaSpada, chief executive of the Institute for Philanthropy has written the guide, Looking Beyond the Surface: Ten Pieces of Practical Advice on Due Diligence. He urges philanthropists to examine the leadership of an organisation and not to be “dazzled by a chief executive’s charisma”.

Donors Need a Better Way to Rate Charities - World View - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Donors Need a Better Way to Rate Charities - World View - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: "The Three Cups of Tea scandal has highlighted many of the problems that face the nonprofit world. More than 160 posts and articles have been written about the scandal.

Even so, one topic has received far too little attention: the wildly different scores that the Central Asia Institute, the nonprofit founded by the book’s author, Greg Mortenson, received from charity rating sites. Those big swings suggest that the rating systems we have in place today are much too weak to protect donors"

Our view: Keep on giving, but be careful

Our view: Keep on giving, but be careful: "Generous giving is part of our region's culture as well. Whether it's agencies such as the Great Rivers United Way, The Salvation Army, La Crosse Community Foundation, La Crosse Area Boys & Girls Club or the dozens of other worthy charities, groups or foundations in the area, we dig deep when it comes to supporting worthy causes. It's that benevolent spirit that is a cornerstone to building our high quality of life."

Saundra Schimmelpfennig: Do's and Don'ts of Holiday Charitable Giving

Saundra Schimmelpfennig: Do's and Don'ts of Holiday Charitable Giving: "The holidays are prime fundraising time for nonprofits. Throughout the month there will be numerous requests donations or volunteer help. The following advice will you use your time and money wisely."

Nine Tips For Tax-Smart Charitable Giving - Forbes.com

Nine Tips For Tax-Smart Charitable Giving - Forbes.com: "Of course, as with anything tax related, there are rules. Here are some key guidelines for making and reporting charitable contributions:"

Tough Choices for Givers - WSJ.com

Tough Choices for Givers - WSJ.com: "When you sit down to consider your charitable contributions this year, you may want to bring your heart along with your budget.

Many of us, facing pay cuts, job worries and uncertainty about what's ahead, may not feel able to give as much this year as we have in the past, forcing us to make difficult decisions beyond dollars and cents. A recent American Red Cross poll found that 20% of givers planned to reduce their contributions this year, though 62% were hoping to give about the same amount."

Lorraine Roe: The Six W's Of Charitable Giving This Season

Lorraine Roe: The Six W's Of Charitable Giving This Season: "It all started in my journalism training about writing a complete news story. We were taught to ask the five 'w's' which are: who, what, when, where and why. When you're about to give, make sure you answer the who first. Are they a tax-deductible organization? Being tax deductible has two advantages. The first is that, of course, you can deduct it on your income tax. The second is that the organization has their accounting on file in a public place. The document is the IRS Form 990. Checking this form can provide some delicious details when you're a reporter or a civilian giver. That's where you can often find out that the non-profit spent 85% on administration, with only 15% of their money going to actual people who are supposedly helped by the cause. Of course there are countless charities devoted to helping people that actually do that. But it's important to check their non-profit's 990, just to make sure. Many non-profits post their Form 990 on their websites. But, if they don't, you can often find those forms in the offices of the State Attorney General in many states across the country. And if you don't have the time you can visit a charity watchdog website, that does a lot of the checking for you."

State officials promote wise charitable giving - Journal Advocate

State officials promote wise charitable giving - Journal Advocate: "DENVER — Amid the upcoming holiday season, Colorado Attorney General John Suthers and Secretary of State Bernie Buescher appealed to residents to consider charitable giving but also to give wisely.
“Undoubtedly, these are tough economic times,” Buescher said. “However, for those traditional donors or people wanting to give for the first time, my office has developed a user-friendly site that helps people maximize their donations by highlighting charities' financials. In this season of giving, we want Coloradans to be seasoned-givers.”
In Colorado, charitable organizations and paid solicitors that ask for contributions must file registration documents with the Secretary of State's Office. That information is then made available on the Secretary of State's web site through a searchable database. Residents can use the system to learn about an organization's charitable purposes, see who governs the charity and review the charity's financial information. The information enables potential donors to determine at a glance how much a charity is spending on its core programs in comparison to its spending on administration and fundraising."