Making The Case For Corporate Giving

Ken Berger, Charity Navigator's president & CEO, makes the case in NJBIZ for corporate philanthropy. He points out that in 2008 corporations gave $14.5 billion to charity and that New Jersey is home to some big time corporate givers. Just last year, NJ based Merck gave $821 million; Johnson & Johnson, $497 million; Prudential, $31 million; and Public Service Enterprise Group, $7.5 million. Ken ends his discussion with some advice on how firms can identify great charities to partner with.

scroogenomics - Wharton Professor Makes the Case for Charitable Giving During the Holidays

In his new book, scroogenomics, Wharton professor Joel Waldfogel advocates that we all donate to charity in someone's name, rather than give another dreaded fruit cake this holiday season. Both in the book, and in a recent interview where he argues that $13 billion is wasted on useless presents, he recommends Charity Navigator as a source of information about charities. And in the book, he even suggests the Good Card as a good solution to holiday gift giving.

Watch the video below to learn more about the professor's research.

Conference Call on International Capacity Building and Effectiveness

Ken Berger, president and CEO of Charity Navigator, along with Sam Worthington, president and CEO of InterAction, will discuss the best ways to assess the effectiveness of internationally-focused organizations via a conference call hosted by the Independent Sector. The title of the discussion is "Assessing Internationally-Focused Nonprofits -- Striking the Right Balance of Short-Term Efficiency and Long-Term Capacity" and it will take place on Tuesday, December 1, 2009, 2:30 - 3:30 p.m.

For more details and to register, click here.

Charity Leaders Discuss Fundraising in the Down Economy

This year's holiday giving guide includes a roundtable discussion with the leaders of 10 nonprofits. The participants were selected from our Advisory Panel and from the higher rated charities in our database. We've published the first part of that discussion which focuses on how these organizations are fairing in the recession.

Here are some quotes from Part 1:

We continue to be anxious about Foundation giving and the lack of multi-year commitments that new initiatives require. On individual giving, we remain optimistic.~Jeremy Kohomban, Ph.D., President and CEO, The Children’s Village



I believe that if an organization has a good mission and a good story to tell, then it will weather the storm. It takes aggressive planning and a dedicated staff now to position the organization for the future so it’s ready when the economy does rebound. ~Susan Paresky, Senior Vice President, Development, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute & The Jimmy Fund

We agree that it will take a couple of years to see people giving again as in the past. In fact, we believe there is a “new reality”, meaning that it won’t ever be as it once was. That due to actual losses and setbacks, or due to paralysis by fear, that the donor public will not be giving as they once did. Smaller gifts, designated purposes, and higher scrutiny will be the new rule.~Curtis Hail, President, e3 Partners Ministry


The second part of the conversation, which discuss the characteristics of a high performing charity, will be accessible on our site in December.

Creative Ways To Donate This Holiday Season

Users of Charity Navigator, and just about anyone opening their mailbox around now, know that requests for charitable donations soar at the end of the year. Why? There are three main reasons.

1. The religious nature of the holidays inspire people to help those who are less fortunate.
2. Taxpayers need to make their donations by December 31 to qualify for a tax deduction in this calendar year.
3. As the year comes to a close, people look at their personal budgets and determine how much money they have for their charitable interests.

Knowing this, charities step up their appeals for your support towards the end of the year. To help you make smart choices about where to invest your philanthropic dollars, we've published a holiday giving guide that is full of tips and information.

That said, we are fearful that giving will continue to be down this holiday season as it was last year. The recession has hindered many people's ability to support their favorite charities resulting in the biggest drop in charitable giving in the last fifty years. Even if the economy improves, it will likely take many months for charitable giving to rebound.

Thankfully, Shelly Banjo over at the Wall Street Journal has some smart ideas for how you can still afford to give in this down economy.

Car Donations & Your Taxes

Recent reports indicate that the IRS isn't doing enough to ensure that donors are properly documenting their deductions for car donations or to make sure that the charities are following the new laws. While that may be true, we still urge donors to be careful when claiming these deductions. For more information, check out our Guide To Donating Your Car.

Bob Dylan Releases Holiday Record to Benefit Charity

Christmas in the Heart, released earlier in October, is Bob Dylan’s first full-length holiday album. While some Dylan fans are skeptical of the singer’s transition to the Christmas music genre, the album has been met with positive reviews. Dylan shows his holiday spirit not only through the traditional tunes, but through his generous spirit – the royalties from sales of the album are going straight to charity. All proceeds will benefit four-star rated Feeding America, UK-based Crisis, and the UN World Food Programme. Interested in what causes other musicians are supporting? Check out or hot topic page of Celebrity-Charity associations.

Do Donors Care About A Charity's Impact?

As Ken Berger recently discussed in his blog entry, Why Should Donors Care About Outcomes and Impact?, we've had some surprising feedback regarding our intention to rate each charity's outcomes. Many experts in the field actually question whether donors even care about a charity's outcomes. So, when the folks over at Zoomerang offered us the chance to use their online survey software, we thought let's take this question to the donors.

That's right, we want to hear from you. Is it important to you as a donor to know that a charity has meaningful results? Let us know now by completing our 3 question survey.

Then check out how other donors are responding.

Veterans Day

Today, is a day that Americans pause to honor all our military veterans. This may inspire you to make a donation to one of these 4-star charities:

Special Operations Warrior Foundation
Fisher House Foundation
National Military Family Association
Homes for Our Troops

This Veterans Day you are probably also thinking about the recent outburst of violence at Ft. Hood. If so, then you may want to make a gift to the 4-star charity Operation Homefront which has established a fund to help the families impacted by the tragedy at Ft. Hood.

For more ratings for charities that Support Our Troops, please visit the Hot Topics portion of our site.

Drew Carey’s Twitter Challenge Raises Money for Charity

This holiday season, Twitter fans can help guarantee a $1 million donation for the LiveStrong Foundation from actor Drew Carey. What’s the catch? Drew Carey must reach 1,000,000 followers on his own Twitter account (@drewfromtv) by midnight on December 31st. This quirky fundraising scheme began with another Drew – cancer survivor Drew Olanoff - who happens to be the owner of an enviable twitter name, @drew. Drew Olanoff decided to auction this rare twitter user name and donate the profits. Drew Carey, host of “The Price is Right,” got wind of the good-willed auction and bid on the name. He eventually raised his donation challenge to a $1 million promise if he reaches the same number of followers on his own account. The donation will be prorated, so for every new follower, $1.00 will be donated to the LiveStrong Foundation, up to $1 million. Learn more about the story at CNN, or check on @drewfromTV’s progress here.

Rainn Wilson of “The Office” visits Haiti

Rainn Wilson, better known as quirky Dwight on NBC’s The Office recently travelled to Haiti to learn about the countries staggering poverty rates and troubled education systems. Wilson went with his wife and spent six days with two different charities, the Mona Foundation and Planting Peace according to a USA today article. The article includes blog entries that Wilson wrote while there, which he calls his “webary.” We’ve featured celebrities and their efforts to give back on this blog before. Do you share Rainn Wilson’s interest in international development and human services? Consider a donation to one of our top rated international charities. You can also find a list of four-star charities working in Haiti here.

Catch Charity Navigator's Videos on Starfish Television

Two of Charity Navigator's videos have made the jump from YouTube to your TV set. You'll be able to catch our videos on Starfish Television Network on the following dates:

• Saturday, November 07, 2009 - 11:48 AM EST
• Saturday, November 07, 2009 - 5:23 PM EST
• Sunday, November 15, 2009 - 1:20 AM EST
• Monday, November 16, 2009 - 9:11 AM EST
• Saturday, November 21, 2009 - 2:18 AM EST

There are 4 ways to view Starfish Television Network:

1. Dish Network 1000 platform, channels 296 & 9408
2. Coaxial Cable TV (Edinboro PA) channel 8
3. Visit www.StarfishTV.org, click “Watch Live”
   
4. Visit www.ZapMyTV.com

And you can find out when we'll be on TV again by visiting our page on the Starfish TV's website.

Appeal(ing) Rewards!

Charity Navigator's Fall donor drive is in full swing. We've teamed up with the
New Jersey Nets to say a resounding thanks to one lucky donor. Everyone who donates $50 or more between now and December 10 will automatically be entered to win 4 tickets (valued at $700!) to a New Jersey Nets game (click here for details). Tough times demand smarter giving--that's why Charity Navigator is more important than ever and why we're asking for your support. Thank You!

Charity Navigator Holiday Giving Tips

For those of you planning end-of-year charitable giving, we offer our annual Charity Navigator Holiday Giving Guide. Reading this online guide before you give will ensure that your holiday donations best reach a good cause.

Explore the Giving Guide:

• Charity Navigator's Holiday Giving Tips
• Roundtable Discussion with Nonprofit Professionals
  Part 1: How charities are coping in these challenging times
• Highest and Lowest Rated Charity in Each Cause
• Holiday Giving Factoids

Volunteer Center of Bergen County, NJ - Executive Director's Roundtable

Next week, Charity Navigator's president & CEO, Ken Berger, will lead a roundtable discussion at The Volunteer Center of Bergen County. Executive Directors in Northern NJ are invited to spend the morning with him and other nonprofit leaders to develop strategies that maintain organizational integrity in the face of prolonged challenges to fiscal stability.

Discussion topics may include:

• educating our Boards about realistic fundraising expectations in this economic climate


• developing budget contingencies for the long haul


• using the combined, proactive power of nonprofits to leverage joint purchasing


• figuring out how to combine resources for "back office" operations


• other topics of your choice

Date/Time: Thursday, November 12, 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Course Leader: Ken Berger, Charity Navigator
Registration Fee: Free
Level: Intermediate, Advanced
For more information contact The Volunteer Center of Bergen County's Non-Profit Training and Resource Center: 64 Passaic Street, Hackensack, NJ 07601 201-489-9454, training@bergenvolunteers.org, www.bergenvolunteers.org.

November Update

We know that many of you are starting to think about your end-of-year charitable giving plans. With that in mind, we've just published 356 updated ratings, several top 10 lists, and articles.

Charitable Giving, Wealth, and Happiness

A new book reveals that those who are wealthy and donate 10% or more of their income build a higher net worth and are happier than other wealthy people. The book was written by Thomas J. Stanley based on a survey of over 900 millionaires. A recent article about the book, explains that Mr. Stanley says the most generous wealthy donors "are the least enamored with status. They have a small house and a big heart." It seems that the sample of the most wealthy who give, get more out of acquiring wealth and donating a good portion of that wealth rather than just spending their money on luxury items. So it seems donating and helping other does make one feel good!

Happy Halloween

Here are some charities that are clearly a Treat and not a Trick when it comes to financial efficiency, and their names truly fit today's occasion:

• The Midnight Mission
• Erie Community Foundation
• Graywolf Press
• Alley Cat Rescue
• United States Fund for UNICEF
  

Each day, based on a particular holiday (like Halloween) or current event, Charity Navigator’s experts select 4-5 highly-rated charities to highlight. Subscribe now.

Nonprofit Executive Leadership Certificate Program

Rutgers Business School offers A Certificate Program for Senior Executives & Emerging Leaders of Nonprofit Organizations and Foundations

November 3-5; 8:30 am to 5:00 pm

Are you a nonprofit executive in the NJ area? Then consider signing up for this Rutgers Business School certificate program. It is designed to help you advance your career, gain credentials for enhancing your future, and provides an opportunity for you to network with experts, professionals and colleagues. Led by nationally recognized practitioners, the program covers a wide range of topics including:

Emotional Intelligence and Leadership
A personal Model for Life and Career Planning
Ethics and Accountability: Challenges for Nonprofit and Foundation Leaders
Nonprofit Financial Management
Leading through Communication
The Strategic Board
Best Practices in Executive
Compensation
Relevance and Sustainability

Charity Navigator's own Ken Berger will present "Nonprofit Accountability and Transparency" in the afternoon on the 4th. Learn more and register now.

Qdoba's Qmmunity Project

Qdoba Mexican Grill has teamed up with the 4-star Starlight Children’s Foundation to uncover community stars all over the country. The person with the most votes will earn $5,000 for his/her charity and have a Starlight Fun Center mobile entertainment unit donated in their name to a hospital in their area.

What does this have to do with Charity Navigator? Qdoba is using our list of highly rated charities. So what are you waiting for? Nominate a star now and be confident that when you select a charity it will be one that Charity Navigator has vetted.

New Top Ten Lists RSS Feed

Last week we added an RSS feed for our Hot Topics section. This week we're happy to announce that we've just started publishing an RSS feed for one of our most popular features...the Top Ten Lists. Access the feed here.

Community Foundations Lost Value Last Year

The Council on Foundations recently reported that assets held by community foundations decreased in value by 27% in 2008. This is a significant shift for these grant makers, as the previous five years showed positive returns. This is certainly not surprising in light of the economic downturn; on a positive note, many foundations are already reporting gains of at least 15% in 2009. The findings come from a survey of 200 community foundations with assets of at least $5 million, representing more than half of such grant makers in the country.

To view the ratings of community foundations evaluated by Charity Navigator, click here.

Be the Star You Are

Last night, Charity Navigator's president & CEO, Ken Berger, did a radio interview to discuss the new book, Spirit of Service (Ken is a contributor to the book). The radio show, Starstyle-Be the Star You Are! is actually produced by a charity, Be the Star You Are!®, which aims to improve literacy and advance positive media. You can listen to the Cynthia Brian, the show's host, interview Ken online.

IRS Raising Tax-Exempt Application Fees

The IRS has announced that they will be raising the fees for organizations applying for tax-exempt status. The main fee will be increased to $850 up from $750, the first increase since 2006. The IRS announced that by law they must review and adjust application fees at least once every two years. The review takes into account the average time it takes to review applications. The bright side is that the IRS expects to soon make available Cyber Assistant. Cyber Assistant is a web-based program that will help applicants prepare the application form and so when organization use this program they will only have to pay a fee of $200. For more information about the increase you can go here.

Charity Navigator's Leader Contributes to New Book - Spirit of Service

Charity Navigator's own Ken Berger is a contributor to the new book Spirit of Service: Your Daily Stimulus for Making a Difference. The book is a daily guide that explores the many ways we can get involved in service to others. With 365 specific suggestions, and an interactive website featuring opportunities around the nation, there is a calling for everyone.

Arranged in a daily format, each week of Spirit of Service offers seven different ways to serve:

• MONEY: Donate—find ways your money can make a difference (the section to which Ken lent his expertise)
  
• ENERGY: Volunteer—put intention into action
• FOCUS: Create interest in a cause to bring about change
• INFLUENCE: Use your personal equity to help others
• COMPASSION: Open your heart to the needs of others
• SUPPORT: Get involved—stand up for those without a voice
• PASSAGE: Join someone on their journey as a guide or mentor
  

Test out the cool widget below to learn more and become a fan of Spirit of Service on Facebook.

New Feed From Charity Navigator

The Hot Topic portion of our site includes a series of articles with lists of associated charities. Some of the topics we've covered include global warming, the crisis in Sudan, school choice and Hurricane Katrina. The following Hot Topics are currently featured on our site:

• Celebrities Put Star-Power to Good Use
• Eight Year Anniversary of 9/11 Terrorist Attacks
• Charities Working to Prevent and Cure Breast Cancer
• Help Those Hurt by the Economic Slump
• Support Our Troops

We've received many requests to make this format easy to integrate into other websites --- including from our friends at Network for Good. So, we've created a live feed so you can quickly add our Hot Topics to your site. We hope you'll make use of this and our other feeds.

Idol Giving Back a Third Time

American Idol has announced its Idol Gives Back benefit concert is returning for a third year. A concert to benefit the Children’s Health Fund, Feeding America, Malaria No More, Save the Children, and the United Nations Foundation will air during the top seven results show on April 21st of next year. The first two specials generated over $140 million for related causes.

Many former Idol contestants have become involved in charity work individually. Adam Lambert, the popular runner-up in the 2009 competition recently raised $229,000 for public schools by partnering with Donors Choose. Clay Aiken founded the Bubel/Aiken Foundation (now known as the National Inclusion Project), which bridges the gap that exists between young people with special needs and the world around them. Curious about other charities with celebrity ties? Be sure to visit our star-power hot topic page here.

United Way Ratings Declining

According to figures released by United Way Worldwide, 57 percent of local chapters reported a decrease in contributions in 2008 when compared to the previous year. Only 32 percent of chapters reported an increase in donations, down sharply from the previously reported 55 percent.

Charity Navigator publishes ratings for over almost 140 local chapters, as well as for the United Way of America, the national organization dedicated to leading the United Way movement. Based on the most recent tax returns filed with the organizations on our site, we noticed the following:

	Based on 2008 (99)	Based on 2007 (42)
4 Star	13.1%	35.7%
3 Star	43.4%	38.1%
2 Star	32.3%	23.8%
1 Star	11.1%	2.4%
0 Star	0.0%	0.0%

Even though our ratings take into account much more than just the amount of contributions, it is very telling to see the drop in the number of United Ways that have achieved our highest 4 star rating. You can review more in-depth information about any of the United Way organizations that are rated on our website by clicking here.

Charity Navigator Participating in Blog Action Day

Along with thousands of other writers around the world, Charity Navigator is participating in Blog Action Day 2009. Today, blogs that typically cover topics ranging from celebrities to stocks will converge on a single subject: climate change. By involving millions of readers, Blog Action Day aims to raise awareness start a global conversation about the growing implications of climate change. You can find out more about this event here.

Charity Navigator is among the many blogs supporting this event. Want to learn more about climate change? Four-star rated charity The Nature Conservancy offers a comprehensive web guide on the issue. We also list dozens of charities on our site that are actively involved with climate change action. You can find a list here.

Pink Product Fever

This fall, the long-running, mutually beneficial relationship between breast cancer charities and corporate sponsors is in full swing. In an impressive range of cause-related marketing promotions, customers can “Shop for the cure” with a variety of pink products. October, nationally recognized as breast cancer awareness month, is meant to raise awareness and money to fight and cure breast cancer and support patients everywhere. Many top rated charities listed on our site, such as the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and Susan G. Komen for the Cure, will be running events during the month.



New this year, Cybex has introduced the first-ever pink treadmill. The company will donate $0.10 for every mile run during the month of October to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF). Yoplait has teamed up with Susan G. Komen for the Cure in its Save Lids to Save Lives campaign, offering a minimum donation of $500,000. Other notable products include the pink Snuggie ($50,000 will be donated to BCRF in connection with the sales), pink Bowing 757 Delta airplane ($1.5 million has been raised to date), and even pink…romaine hearts? Andy Boy, producer of the lettuce, will donate $75,000 annually to BCRF. While these corporate sponsors are generously sharing their profits, you should always check carefully before buying a pink product as donations to the individual charities can vary.

Food Prices Affecting Farmers

A recent article shows that a decline in food prices is taking a toll on farmers. As prices lower, margins are rising and as a result Farmers are ending up with a smaller share of the final sale. In addition, the recession led to a drop in demand, which then led to an overage of stock on hand. The article also states that "agricultural exports are down 21% so far in 2009." Adding to all the other issues, is the fact that the regular costs farmers incur is 16% higher than it was in 2007. With this new data out, now more than ever is an important time to think about America's Farmers. Consider supporting charities that assist Farmers like Farm Aid. For some more farm related charities go here.

Charities on Twitter

I stumbled across a posting on The Huffington Post highlighting the charitable interests of some tweeters including TV news anchor Lily Jang and author Carolyn Rubenstein. Below is a list of some of the charities they support with links to their Charity Navigator ratings and twitter accounts.

• 4-star Ashoka, @AshokaTweets
• 3-star Alzheimer’s Association, @alzassociation
• 3-star American Cancer Society, @AmericanCancer
• 4-star Greenpeace Fund, @Greenpeace
• 3-star Lance Armstrong Foundation, @LIVESTRONG
• 4-star Compassion International, @compassion
• 4-star Save the Children, @savethechildren

Want to find more charities on Twitter? Check out Charity Navigator @CharityNav and our president & CEO, Ken Berger @kenscommentary. Along with donors, many charities follow our Tweets.