Guide to Nonprofit Ratings
This guide to nonprofit rating systems can help inform your research when searching for high-quality, vetted nonprofit organizations. Find out about the various services each organization offers below.
Charity Navigator is a charity assessment organization that evaluates charitable organizations in the U.S, operating as a free 501(c)(3) organization, that accepts no advertising or donations from the organizations it evaluates.
-Blog
-Tips for donors
-Top 10 lists
-Tracking trends
-Giving Basket allows donors to donate to multiple organizations at once.
4 Star: Exceeds industry standards and outperforms most charities in its cause.
3 Star: Exceeds or meets industry standards and performs as well as or better than most charities in its cause.
2 Star: Meets or nearly meets industry standards but underperforms most charities in its cause.
1 Star: Fails to meet industry standards and performs well below most charities in its cause.
0 Stars: Performs far below industry standards and below nearly all charities in its cause.
CN Advisory: Serious concerns have been raised about this charity which prevents the issuance of a star rating.
Using data collected from IRS Form 990 and a review of an organization's website, Charity Navigator's rating system privileges accountability and transparency. Charity Navigator defines accountability as "an obligation or willingness by a charity to explain its actions to its stakeholders." It defines transparency as, "an obligation or willingness by a charity to publish and make available critical data about the organization." Using these sources, Charity Navigator assesses each charity according to a list of criteria and red flags. The final score is run through a formula to determine its place on the star rating system.
Pros
-Formulaic
-Clear Rating Criteria
-Good at catching major red flags
-Comprehensive database
Cons
-Places an emphasis on financials, but does not measure for impact
-Organizations might manage money well but still be ineffective
-Site layout is busy
Charity Navigator's methodical approach to scoring organizations based on financial data ensures a consistent, fair, and replicable rating system with clear standards.
GiveWell is an American nonprofit charity assessment and effective altruism-focused organization. GiveWell focuses primarily on the cost-effectiveness of the organizations that it evaluates, rather than traditional metrics such as the percentage of the organization's budget that is spent on overhead.
-Calculate Your Impact (calculator tool)
-Giving guides
-Original research
-Previous mistakes published
-Top charity list
In order to be eligible for "top charity" status, a charity must be explicitly focused on one or more GiveWell priority programs or conduct compelling evaluations of its own program. These programs represent, according to GiveWell's research, the most evidence-backed approaches to helping the global poor.
With an emphasis on empirical evidence, including conversations with a charity, a review of financial documents, and site visits, GiveWell privileges organizations where individual donors can have the greatest impact. In order to be a recommended charity, an organization must meet all four of GiveWell's vetting criteria including: Evidence of effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, room for more funding, transparency.
Pros
-Clear vetting criteria
-Commitment to accountability
-Prioritizes the impact of donation
-Well-vetted organizations
Cons
-Limited scope
-Narrow emphasis on international aid and global health
GiveWell prioritizes organizations where individual donors have the greatest impact. This means that GiveWell focuses on a small, curated, well-vetted list of trusted organizations as opposed to a broad database. Additionally, GiveWell's top recommended charities prioritize international aid and particularly global health.
Candid is an information service specializing in reporting on U.S. nonprofit companies. In 2016, its database provided information on 2.5 million organizations. In February 2019, GuideStar merged with Foundation Center to become Candid.
-Explore issues
-Find funding
-Improve your foundation
-Improve your nonprofit
-Nonprofit search
Guidestar collects IRS data on charities and organizes them by field of interest and location.
Guidestar aggregates IRS data into a succinct CharityCheck report.
Pros
-Array of tools for foundations
-Most expansive database of nonprofits in the U.S.
Cons
-Lack of vetting
-Geared toward people already working within the philanthropy sector
-Users must have an account to access information
Guidestar is able to amass the largest directory of nonprofits operating in the U.S. but does not vet for effectiveness or impact.
Animal Charity Evaluators, formerly known as Effective Animal Activism, is a U.S.-based nonprofit charity evaluator and effective altruism-focused organization founded in 2012, dedicated to finding and promoting the most effective ways to help animals.
-Advocacy and interventions
-Charity reviews
-Donation advice
-General research
-Tools for charities
Animal Charity Evaluators evaluate animal advocacy organizations in order to find those that are able to do the most good with additional donations. Animal Charity Evaluators aim to compare different types of success by the amount of animal suffering they can prevent or reduce. Its priority is to identify the most effective organizations, not to rate them all.
Animal Charity Evaluators lists organizations operating within the animal charity space and vet them for the following criteria:
-Adaptability
-Cost effectiveness
-Leadership and culture
-Programs
-Room for more funding
-Strategy
-Track record
Pros
-Clear focus on impact
-Niche focus
-Values outcomes -Weighs value of donation
Cons
-Limited database
-Strong bias towards U.S.-based organizations
Animal Charity Evaluators' niche focus on animal charities places them in a unique position to be experts within this space. Animal Charity Evaluators looks at both financial health, impact, and longevity and sustainability of an organization in order to maximize impact within animal philanthropy.
Charity Navigator is a charity assessment organization that evaluates charitable organizations in the U.S, operating as a free 501(c)(3) organization, that accepts no advertising or donations from the organizations it evaluates.
-Blog
-Tips for donors
-Top 10 lists
-Tracking trends
-Giving Basket allows donors to donate to multiple organizations at once.
4 Star: Exceeds industry standards and outperforms most charities in its cause.
3 Star: Exceeds or meets industry standards and performs as well as or better than most charities in its cause.
2 Star: Meets or nearly meets industry standards but underperforms most charities in its cause.
1 Star: Fails to meet industry standards and performs well below most charities in its cause.
0 Stars: Performs far below industry standards and below nearly all charities in its cause.
CN Advisory: Serious concerns have been raised about this charity which prevents the issuance of a star rating.
Using data collected from IRS Form 990 and a review of an organization's website, Charity Navigator's rating system privileges accountability and transparency. Charity Navigator defines accountability as "an obligation or willingness by a charity to explain its actions to its stakeholders." It defines transparency as, "an obligation or willingness by a charity to publish and make available critical data about the organization." Using these sources, Charity Navigator assesses each charity according to a list of criteria and red flags. The final score is run through a formula to determine its place on the star rating system.
Pros
-Formulaic
-Clear Rating Criteria
-Good at catching major red flags
-Comprehensive database
Cons
-Places an emphasis on financials, but does not measure for impact
-Organizations might manage money well but still be ineffective
-Site layout is busy
Charity Navigator's methodical approach to scoring organizations based on financial data ensures a consistent, fair, and replicable rating system with clear standards.
GiveWell is an American nonprofit charity assessment and effective altruism-focused organization. GiveWell focuses primarily on the cost-effectiveness of the organizations that it evaluates, rather than traditional metrics such as the percentage of the organization's budget that is spent on overhead.
-Calculate Your Impact (calculator tool)
-Giving guides
-Original research
-Previous mistakes published
-Top charity list
In order to be eligible for "top charity" status, a charity must be explicitly focused on one or more GiveWell priority programs or conduct compelling evaluations of its own program. These programs represent, according to GiveWell's research, the most evidence-backed approaches to helping the global poor.
With an emphasis on empirical evidence, including conversations with a charity, a review of financial documents, and site visits, GiveWell privileges organizations where individual donors can have the greatest impact. In order to be a recommended charity, an organization must meet all four of GiveWell's vetting criteria including: Evidence of effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, room for more funding, transparency.
Pros
-Clear vetting criteria
-Commitment to accountability
-Prioritizes the impact of donation
-Well-vetted organizations
Cons
-Limited scope
-Narrow emphasis on international aid and global health
GiveWell prioritizes organizations where individual donors have the greatest impact. This means that GiveWell focuses on a small, curated, well-vetted list of trusted organizations as opposed to a broad database. Additionally, GiveWell's top recommended charities prioritize international aid and particularly global health.
Candid is an information service specializing in reporting on U.S. nonprofit companies. In 2016, its database provided information on 2.5 million organizations. In February 2019, GuideStar merged with Foundation Center to become Candid.
-Explore issues
-Find funding
-Improve your foundation
-Improve your nonprofit
-Nonprofit search
Guidestar collects IRS data on charities and organizes them by field of interest and location.
Guidestar aggregates IRS data into a succinct CharityCheck report.
Pros
-Array of tools for foundations
-Most expansive database of nonprofits in the U.S.
Cons
-Lack of vetting
-Geared toward people already working within the philanthropy sector
-Users must have an account to access information
Guidestar is able to amass the largest directory of nonprofits operating in the U.S. but does not vet for effectiveness or impact.
Animal Charity Evaluators, formerly known as Effective Animal Activism, is a U.S.-based nonprofit charity evaluator and effective altruism-focused organization founded in 2012, dedicated to finding and promoting the most effective ways to help animals.
-Advocacy and interventions
-Charity reviews
-Donation advice
-General research
-Tools for charities
Animal Charity Evaluators evaluate animal advocacy organizations in order to find those that are able to do the most good with additional donations. Animal Charity Evaluators aim to compare different types of success by the amount of animal suffering they can prevent or reduce. Its priority is to identify the most effective organizations, not to rate them all.
Animal Charity Evaluators lists organizations operating within the animal charity space and vet them for the following criteria:
-Adaptability
-Cost effectiveness
-Leadership and culture
-Programs
-Room for more funding
-Strategy
-Track record
Pros
-Clear focus on impact
-Niche focus
-Values outcomes -Weighs value of donation
Cons
-Limited database
-Strong bias towards U.S.-based organizations
Animal Charity Evaluators' niche focus on animal charities places them in a unique position to be experts within this space. Animal Charity Evaluators looks at both financial health, impact, and longevity and sustainability of an organization in order to maximize impact within animal philanthropy.