Charity Navigator's Fall donor drive is in full swing. We've teamed up with the
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:
Rutgers Business School offers A Certificate Program for Senior Executives & Emerging Leaders of Nonprofit Organizations and Foundations
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.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.
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.
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% |
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.
Earlier today, Ken Berger (Charity Navigator's president & CEO), David Samuels (partner at Duval & Stachenfeld LLP and former Deputy Chief of the NY Attorney General's Charities Bureau) and Noelle Barton (Manager of Special Projects at The Chronicle of Philanthropy) participated in an online discussion about executive pay at nonprofits. Among other issues, the conversation touched on executive perks, deferred compensation, the appropriateness of revenue sharing programs, bonuses, compensation committees and the difference between what is technically legal and what adheres to best practice when it comes to charity CEO pay.
It must be October because along with Christmas and Halloween decorations, every store I enter also is adorned with pink colored products. If you plan to celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness month by going on a shopping spree, then we hope you'll watch our video on this topic and review ratings of several breast cancer charities.
Earlier this week, an earthquake and tsunami caused destruction and took the lives of more than 100 people in American Samoa, Western Samoa and Tonga. Since then, additional earthquakes in Indonesia have left thousands dead, injured and homeless. You can learn more about this disaster and how nonprofits are responding on Relief Web and on CNN's Impact Your World (Charity Navigator's partner).
An earthquake of magnitude around 8.0 occurred in the Pacific off of the island of American Samoa at dawn on Tuesday (local time). The earthquake triggered a tsunami that hit American Samoa, Western Samoa and the island of Niuatoputapu in Tonga. So far, at least 100 people are dead and tens of thousands more are in need of shelter, food and water. President Obama has declared a major disaster. FEMA reports that shelters are open and that they are housing several thousand displaced people.
Relief Web has lots of information about the tsunami/earthquake including maps of the affected region and reports from charities providing relief. CNN’s Impact Your World, one of Charity Navigator’s partners, also includes lists of charities, updated news and photos.
If you are touched by this tragedy and are considering making a donation, then we encourage you to review our Tips For Giving In Times Of Crisis before you support one of the charities involved in the relief efforts:
In August, Charity Navigator published the results of its annual CEO Compensation Study. Our report, which exmained CEO pay at over 5,400 charities, showed that the average CEO's compensation increased 6% over the previous year.
Pause to Support a Cause, an innovative new program created by the CMO Council, compensates consumers who take part in market research surveys by making a donation to the consumer's favorite charity. Charity Navigator is a partner in this program and also a charity eligible to receive funding.
