Web smarts

www.charitynavigator.org

What: A good place to start if you're concerned about whether your charitable donations are reaching those who need them.

The best parts: Site assigns a zero to four-star rating to more than 1,100 charities, based on their effectiveness and financial health. Learn how much money a charity spends to raise $1, and the percentage of revenue it devotes to fundraising, administration, and program expenses.

You can also evaluate a nonprofit's long-term sustainability based on the historical growth of its revenues and expenses. That can come in handy. Several charities not related to last year's Sept. 11 tragedy had to close their doors because of a lack of funds.

Charity Navigator also lists salary information of the person most responsible for carrying out a nonprofit's mission, and compares nonprofits with others involved in similar causes.

What you should know: The site is free to use and bases its data on the 990 forms that nonprofits file with the IRS each year. It aims to add 50 new evaluations each month, with a goal of eventually rating 5,000 nonprofits.

You've read 3 of 3 free articles. Subscribe to continue.
QR Code to Web smarts
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0422/p14s04-wmgn.html
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe
CSM logo

Why is Christian Science in our name?

Our name is about honesty. The Monitor is owned by The Christian Science Church, and we’ve always been transparent about that.

The Church publishes the Monitor because it sees good journalism as vital to progress in the world. Since 1908, we’ve aimed “to injure no man, but to bless all mankind,” as our founder, Mary Baker Eddy, put it.

Here, you’ll find award-winning journalism not driven by commercial influences – a news organization that takes seriously its mission to uplift the world by seeking solutions and finding reasons for credible hope.

Explore values journalism About us