Rate the Charity Rater

Transparency and accountability are key to improved aid practices. The Charity Rater is committed to transparency as well. Although The Charity Rater is a limited liability corporation and not a nonprofit, we are com is the same information evaluated in the rating system.

Mission Statement
Our mission is to provide donors with the knowledge and tools they need to make educated funding decisions. 

Individual donor decisions do matter. The organizations donors choose to fund and the pressure placed upon these organizations impact the type and quality of assistance the organizations provide. The more informed donors become, the better aid will become.

The Charity Rater's current activities include this rating system and the blog Good Intentions are Not Enough. The blog provides advice and information to donors. Funding and support is currently being sought for both a a weekly call-in radio show providing donors with information and giving advice and a documentary looking at the Haiti recovery efforts and what donors can learn from it.

Financial Information
The Charity Rater, LLC, was established in October of 2009, and as such it does not have a Gross Annual Budget for the previous year, nor has there been a financial review or audit. The organization has been entirely funded by the director’s personal funds. Thus far money has been spent on registration costs, supplies and registration/subscription fees, and the development of the database and website. In the future it is anticipated that The Charity Rater will be funded through subscription fees, fees for services, and contributions from users. Personal information of users will NOT be shared or sold, nor will any individual ratings be shared.

Evaluations
In developing the rating system aid workers, donors, nonprofit board members, and the Utah Consumer Protection Office have all provided feedback on the system. The system will continue to be adapted as feedback is received in the first few weeks after the launch. Experienced aid workers have been asked to rate what they consider to be a good aid organization and a bad aid organization to determine whether the scores are reflective of what they know as professionals. 

Once there are at least 500 users or at the one year mark, whichever come first, The Charity Rater will poll users on the quality and usability of the system and whether the system influenced their final funding decisions. Results of those evaluations will be made available on this website and will be used to improve the system. 

For a summary of feedback received thus far, click here.

Needs Assessment and project design
In developing the charity rater a variety of people were consulted, including the following:

• Feedback and discussions with individual donors
  
• Information and feedback from the Utah Consumer Protection Office
  
• Discussions with members of the Utah Nonprofit Association
  
• Discussion and feedback from experienced international aid workers
  

In addition to these conversations, a survey was conducted of all current rating systems in the US to looking at the breadth and depth of their information and the factors used in determining their ratings. From this it was found that there was a need for a charity rating system that could be used to rate any organization, regardless of size. There was also the need for more rating systems that did not base their scores on the percentage spent on administration costs.

Donors felt to have a system that helped them evaluate charities. In addition there was also a need expressed from nonprofits for a tool that helped them evaluate their own organizational practices. It was felt that this system would be useful for both small and large organizations to use for charity checkups.

Throughout the process of developing the rating system, research, standards, and best practices were sought from a variety of sources. This included InterAction, Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance in Humanitarian Action (ALNAP), Overseas Development Institute (ODI), Humanitarian Practice Network (HPN), Reliefweb, Management and Accounting for Nongovernmental Organizations (MANGO), and Blue Avocado. Most questions in the rating system are based on the specific standards and best practices listed below.

• Principles in Partnership (Guidelines for national or international aid agencies when working with local aid agencies)
• Sphere Standards (Minimum standards for disaster relief)
• The Good Enough Guide (Guidelines for basic needs assessment)
• Who Counts? (Guidelines for sharing financial information with aid recipients)
• Humanitarian Accountability Partnership – International (HAP-I) (Certification program to ensure aid agency is accountable to aid recipients)
• People in Aid (Standards for aid personnel)
• World Health Organization Guidelines for Drug Donations
• World Health Organization Guidelines for Health Care Equipment Donations
  
• Center for International Disaster Information (CIDI) Guidelines for Appropriate International Disaster Donations
  
• AERDO (Association of Evangelical Relief and Development Organizations) Gifts in-kind standards
• UN draft Guidelines for the alternative care for children (Guidelines for ensuring that children separated from their parents - such as orphans - are adequately cared for)
• Good Practice Guidelines for Funders of Microfinance
  
• InterAction Private Voluntary Organization Standards
  
• Colorado Nonprofit Association Principles and Practices
  

Accountability:
Currently the website is only available in English; however, there are plans to include a translation feature that will allow it to be read and used in many different languages. There is also no current way to submit anonymous complaints; however, that is on the list of future upgrades as well.

Legal Registration:
The Charity Rater, LLC, is registered as a limited liability corporation with the Utah Department of Commerce, registration number 7472766-0160.

Governing Board:
Currently the Board of Directors consists of only one person. This is the same person that is the managing director. Whether this will change in the future remains to be seen.
Director bio

Advertising:
We have made every effort to ensure that our advertising accurately reflects what we do. If you feel we are not clearly representing our work, please let us know. One concern is that the word "donate" on the PayPal button will cause people to think The Charity Rater is a nonprofit, which it is not. Effort has been made to clarify that this is a non-tax deductible contribution.