Charity Navigator Review

www.charitynavigator.org

Overall 4.00 of 5 view all 2 reviews

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awlafon
Big Island, VA

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Charity Navigator: Open your eyes before you open your wallet.

trying to be a smart giver, blessed, wanting to share, doing the research

Pros

research thousands of charities, helps you be a smart donor, Well-organized, easy to use, very educational

Cons

All data may not be quickly updated, Some charities may not be listed

OCT

2008

Charity Navigator
Charitynavigator.org

Whether you are moved to give by the Christmas spirit, a tragedy, a natural disaster, a financial windfall, a tax break or a new or consistent commitment to help others,
Charity Navigator can help you become a smart donor.

Charity Navigator is an independent charity evaluator that “works to advance a more efficient and responsive philanthropic marketplace by evaluating the financial health of over 5,300 of America's largest charities.”

I stumbled onto Charity Navigator while researching some specific information for an article and found it to a very educational and helpful site. Charity Navigator earned a bookmark on my screen and I have revisited it many times.

At CharityNavigator.org you can research charities by name, topic, state, city, or rating.
Charities are rated on a four star system, ranging from 0 to 4 stars.

In addition to checking out a charity you already donate to or one that has contacted you asking for a donation, Charity Navigator has many helpful tips and resources.

Here are some examples of very helpful articles on Charity Navigator:

Top 10 Best Practices of Savvy Donors

6 Questions To Ask Charities Before Donating

Tips For Older Donors

What To Do When A Charity Calls

How To Stop Solicitations By Mail

Protecting Yourself From Online Scams

Tips For Giving In Times Of Crisis

Evaluating Charities Not Currently Rated by Charity Navigator

Tax Benefits of Giving

Guide To Donating Your Car

Guide to Donating Noncash Items

Charity Navigator also offers top ten lists on topics such as:

10 Charities Overpaying their For-Profit Fundraisers

10 Highly Rated Charities Relying on Private Contributions

10 Charities Routinely in the Red

10 Most Frequently Reviewed Charities

10 Highly Paid CEO's at Low-Rated Charities

10 Charities in Deep Financial Trouble

I checked out the 10 Charities Overpaying their For-Profit Fundraisers and it was very disturbing. To make this lists, a charity had to be spending at least 50 % of their funds on fund-raising. I won’t list them all but I it was very sad to see the phrases disabled veterans, missing children and leukemia on this list.

You’ll also find very well done articles on Hot Topics such “Charities Working to Prevent and Cure Breast Cancer” and “Hurricane Ike: How to Help the Victims” and interesting Featured Articles like “Weak Economy Leads to Increase in Shoppers, Decrease in Donations for Thrift Stores.”

Our family has been sponsoring a child in Nicaragua for the past two years through World Hope. Although I personally knew and trusted several World Hope volunteers and did read the financial information they provided, I must admit that I did not check out this charity independently until I discovered CharityNavigator.org. I was pleased to find that World Hope International has earned an overall four star rating that comes from four star ratings in both efficiency and capacity.

One of the great features of Charity Navigator is the Donate Now Through The Network of Good button. Giving on line is convenient for givers and more efficient for the charity as well but many people are understandable hesitant to give on-line due to fear of identify theft through malicious links or look like sites. On Charity Navigator you can look up a charity and give to them safely on line through their link.

While there are over 5,000 charities rated on Charity Navigator, you may come across some that are not listed. If it is not listed, that doesn’t automatically mean that it is not legit but it should certainly warrant further investigation and they have articles on just how to do that.

My Viewpoint:

Charity Navigator has given me a good education on giving. The web site is well-organized and very easy to use with timely and topical articles. I have been both pleased and disappointed when I have researched charities that I have or that I am considering giving to. When I give, I really want to help others and with Charity Navigator I can give more confidently.