Fewer than 17 percent of charities evaluated have received the coveted 4-Star rating for two consecutive years, indicating that The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library outperforms the majority of nonprofits in America with respect to financial health, accountability and transparency.
April 2, 2013 – As the nonprofit sector grows, donors demand more accountability, transparency and quantifiable results from the charities they choose to support. In this competitive philanthropic marketplace, Charity Navigator, America’s premier charity evaluator, highlights the work of efficient charities such as The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library, and provides donors with essential information needed to give them greater confidence in the charitable choices they make.
Based on the most recent financial information, Charity Navigator has calculated a 4-Star rating for The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library for the second consecutive year for its ability to efficiently manage and grow its finances. Fewer than 17 percent of the charities evaluated receive this “exceptional” designation from Charity Navigator for two consecutive years, a classification that differentiates The Friends from its peers, and demonstrates to the public it is worthy of their trust. Receiving four out of a possible four stars indicates that The Friends adheres to good governance and other best practices that minimize the chance of unethical activities and consistently executes its mission in a fiscally responsible way.
“In the current economic environment, it’s important that our donors trust that we’re using our funding wisely to accomplish The Friends’ mission,” said Peter Pearson, Friends President. “Our 4-Star Charity Navigator rating demonstrates to our supporters that we take our fiduciary and governance responsibilities very seriously.”
The New York Times, NPR and The Chronicle of Philanthropy, among others, have profiled and celebrated Charity Navigator’s unique method of applying data-driven analysis to the charitable sector. They evaluate ten times more charities than their nearest competitor, and attract more visitors to their website (www.charitynavigator.org) than all other charity rating groups combined, making them the leading charity evaluator in America, influencing billions of dollars of charitable gifts annually.
Since its founding in 2002, Charity Navigator’s professional analysts have examined tens of thousands of non-profit financial documents and have used this knowledge to develop an unbiased, objective, numbers-based rating system to assess the financial health of over 5,500 of America’s best-known charities. In 2011, Charity Navigator added a second dimension of Accountability and Transparency (A&T) to its rating methodology, and now reviews 17 governance and ethical practices as well as measures of openness, providing information on its web site for each of the charities it evaluates. The A&T metrics, which account for 50 percent of a charity’s overall rating, reveal which charities have “best practices” that minimize the chance of unethical activities. Each charity is awarded an overall rating, ranging from zero to four stars. Charity Navigator accepts no funding from the charities they evaluate, ensuring that ratings remain objective.
The mission of Charity Navigator, a nonprofit itself, is to be a “guide to intelligent giving,” and its impact on American giving cannot be overstated. Millions of donors visit the site annually with the vast majority indicating that Charity Navigator is the sole or primary resource they use to make their charitable giving decisions.