Boosting your visibility and funding by listening to the people you serve

People are paying more attention to how nonprofits listen to the people they serve. Leading foundations increasingly value nonprofits that have strong feedback practices. They want to support organizations that actively solicit—and act on—feedback.  Information about how specific nonprofits gather and respond to feedback is also becoming more visible to individual donors every day. What does this emphasis on feedback mean for your nonprofit?

Donor Perspective: Leveraging Charity Navigator to Benchmark deserving nonprofits

This is a follow up to the blog posted on December 8, 2020: "Donor Perspective: Leveraging Charity Navigator to find and support deserving nonprofits.”  

Charity Navigator has played an important role in my philanthropic planning -- my wife and I use their ratings to surface fiscally responsible and effective charities for consideration. With so many different organizations to consider supporting, we’ve found benchmarking an important step in selecting the right charity to make an investment in.

The Battle to be Heard: Preserving the Native American Vote

The civil unrest of 2020 has emboldened Charity Navigator’s commitment to promoting a more equitable social sector by encouraging both organizations
 and donors to consider aspects of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
in their decision-making. 

Our multifaceted approach includes evolving our ratings to assess key measures of equity, generating Hot Topics to help you Give with Confidence to organizations that are founded by diverse leaders who are dedicated to bridging inequities, and partnering with leading foundations to better tell the story of the unmet and often misunderstood needs that uniquely impact underserved communities. 

Today, we are honored to share a post from the Native American Rights Fund (NARF), an organization that for over 50 years has been providing specialized legal
assistance to Native American tribes, organizations, and individuals nationwide.

Last year, the nation was focused on voting and election integrity. A dramatic election, during a worldwide pandemic, raised a host of novel issues. We also know from history that civil rights often come under threat during times of crisis. The most vulnerable populations being the first to suffer. For all of these reasons, we at the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) were especially focused on protecting Native voting rights during the 2020 elections. However, fighting for Native enfranchisement and equity is in no way new. Native peoples have always faced obstacles to participating in non-tribal politics. NARF is committed to making sure their voices are heard. 

#LoveACharity: Giving Nonprofits a Little Valentine’s Day Love

Another year means another Valentine’s Day is on its way. No matter how you celebrate the holiday, whether you’re exchanging sweets and greeting cards or simple “I love yous”, it’s a time to show the important ones in your life a little extra love.

In Challenging Times, Channeling Negative Emotions into Impactful Giving

What drives someone to give? While it’s safe to say that many associate the primary force behind donating comes from a positive place, that may not always be true. Many times, the initial spark of desire to donate originates from somewhere else. Maybe we read something or saw something online that angered, scared, or made us feel overwhelming sadness. These feelings are what forces us to realize that something must change. It’s these emotions that deeply impact us and sometimes propels us to act.

Why Give Black?

Americans gave away more money in 2019 than ever before: $450 billion to causes they believe in. That’s a wonderful thing. 2020 looks good too. $11.4 billion was donated to the fight against COVID-19, for instance, and $7.6 billion went toward racial equity. A recent survey reports that 25 percent of donors say they’ll give even more this year.