How do you evaluate charities?
Two objectives drive our approach to rating charities: helping donors and celebrating the work of charities. Drawing from a knowledge base of research, analysis, and constituent feedback, our team develops ratings that are both analytical and responsive to the data needs of our site users.
Our rating system provides a comprehensive analysis of charity performance across four key domains, which we call "beacons."
For more about our rating methodology please refer to this page - https://www.charitynavigator.org/about-us/our-methodology/
How does Charity Navigator calculate a charity's overall score?
The overall score and star rating depends on which of the four beacons the charity is scored on and the scores per beacon. There are beacon weights that change depending on which beacons any given charity has scores for. For more about our methodology please see this page on our website - https://www.charitynavigator.org/about-us/our-methodology/
Where does the data come from?
We base our evaluations on a review of the charity's website for specific items (such as the charity's donor privacy policy), data it provides to us or our data partner directly and the information each charity provides annually to the IRS in its informational tax returns, or IRS Forms 990.
The Form 990 is a document created from the charity's professionally audited books and is signed by an executive at the organization affirming it to be factual. Charities submit it under oath to the IRS as the truth and also deliver it to their state attorney general as required by law. In addition, we use data that the charity provides to us directly or to our data partners.
What is your ratings scale?
We base our evaluations on a review of the charity's website for specific items (such as the charity's donor privacy policy), data it provides to us or our data partner directly and the information each charity provides annually to the IRS in its informational tax returns, or IRS Forms 990.
The Form 990 is a document created from the charity's professionally audited books and is signed by an executive at the organization affirming it to be factual. Charities submit it under oath to the IRS as the truth and also deliver it to their state attorney general as required by law. In addition, we use data that the charity provides to us directly or to our data partners.
Why do you use the IRS Form 990?
We use the Form 990 because it is the only financial statement that charities are required by law to make publicly available. The document also includes information about the charity's policies and procedures. Furthermore, the instructions for filling it out are straightforward and universal, ensuring that our data is uniform, and comparable, and allows for standardized growth measurements.
How current is your data?
In terms of the data under the Accountability & Finance beacon, Charity Navigator receives copies of the IRS Form 990 directly from the IRS about 3-4 months after a charity files. Thus our ratings are based on the most current information made public by each charity.
We publish the fiscal year ending (shown as 'FYE' followed by a month and year) on each charity's rating page so you know the time period our rating covers. The IRS has been delayed as of late in processing Forms 990. In some cases that may mean our Accountability & Finance beacon score is outdated and that rating may not be representative of current operations.
Charities are given 135 days following the end of their fiscal year to prepare and file their Form 990. Beyond that time limit, many charities request extensions. As a result, organizations often file their 990 eight to ten months after their fiscal year ends — a lifetime in financial sectors.
When do you publish new and updated ratings?
We publish new and updated ratings for which we've received newer data about every other month as part of our release cycle.
Does Charity Navigator charge for its evaluations?
No. Charity Navigator charges neither the user, for the data, nor the charity, to be listed. Our sole goal is to guide intelligent giving and serve as a resource for the educated giver.
Does the CEO Salary impact a charity's rating?
No. Charity Navigator charges neither the user, for the data, nor the charity, to be listed. Our sole goal is to guide intelligent giving and serve as a resource for the educated giver.
Why is the CEO's salary greater than the amount the charity spends on administrative expenses?
Salaries, including that of the CEO, are allocated to the various expense categories (program, administration and fundraising) depending on the specific responsibilities of each employee. For example, a museum curator might spend 60% of their time creating exhibits and the remaining 40% writing grants to fund the exhibits. If this curator has an annual salary of $50,000, then $30,000 would be allocated to program expenses and $20,000 to fundraising expenses.
While this is a rather simplistic example, this type of scenario holds true for CEOs. Most CEOs spend at least part of their time raising funds for their charities and not all their time dealing with administrative issues. Some even participate in the charity's programs and services. Therefore the CEO's salary will be allocated to the different expense categories based on the percentage of time spent on each activity. That is why total administration expenses may be less than the CEO's salary.