Charity Navigator

Recent tweets from folks you should be following.

Tis the season for giving and this holiday season the USO is offering Americans a unique way to spread cheer and give gifts that matter, with the launch of its first-ever alternative giving website, the USO Wishbook.

America's charities, which receive a significant portion of their annual contributions during the holiday giving season, will be heartened to know that donors who gave last year-end plan to give again this year-end. The recent survey about year-end giving by Charity Navigator, the nation's largest and most-utilized evaluator of charities, also found that the majority of donors expect to give at the same level as they did last year.

Check out recent posts from Charity Navigator and Junta42.

The watchdog group Charity Navigator revamped its ratings system this week as part of a plan to move beyond evaluating charities based solely on their financial performance.

The website now places equal weight on a charity’s governance and openness about its operations as it does on financial information.

Ken Berger, Charity Navigator’s president, said the new system would give donors a clearer picture of how charities are managed and nudge nonprofits toward improving their governance practices.

Four fundraising experts discussed donor giving trends and what they mean for fundraisers at the Association of Fundraising Professionals Greater New York Chapter's Fund Raising Day in New York. Margaret Holman, president of Holman Consulting, tackled individual giving.

Sometimes even the best donors give money to bad organizations, Jacob Harold, a program officer at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, told a meeting Monday of nonprofit officials held at New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. In some cases, Harold says, these donors focus on the wrong type of information when making decisions about their giving, often looking only at organizations’ overhead and not at whether they are effective in fulfilling their missions.

The Children’s Aid Society is pleased to announce that it has received its 11th consecutive four-star rating from Charity Navigator, the nation’s largest independent charity evaluator.

Grassroots nonprofits now find themselves under intense scrutiny because of the Mortenson scandal. Many are considering going to new lengths to demonstrate to potential donors that they're on the up-and-up. All are bracing for an impact on giving. Many foundations and wealthy donors now are cautious because of "reputational risk" if they give to organizations that falter.

The scandal is the talk of the nonprofit community. More extensive auditing is likely to result, according to Jim Zoiklowski, founder/president of nonprofit BuildOn, which runs afterschool programs in America and builds schools abroad.

Competition is stiff — new mail solicitations arrive every day. Through the mailbox or the inbox, organizations must build a connection with their donors right from the start to begin long and fruitful relationships. Here are seven ways to improve your welcome package ... and ultimately improve retention.