Feedback on The Charity Rater

First, people are happy that it's not a simplistic number, but instead tries to accommodate the complexity of aid processes.

Second, unfortunately it may be too long. I plan to remove three questions - sources of income, one of the two questions on local partners, and location of organization headquarters. I'm open to suggestions of other questions to remove or simplify.

Third, users need to be walked through the rating system more. This includes more detailed instructions at each step of the way as well as providing a sample rating so users can see how questions are answered. I am open to suggestions on the best way to do this.

Fourth, some of the questions and/or answers are a little confusing. I would be interested in receiving feedback as to which questions were confusing and how they might be worded better.

Fifth, closely related to the second item. People have asked for some organizations to be rated and their scores available on the website. Users would like to understand what the final score looks like, and what average scores are. I will rate organizations once all the feedback has been received and changes in the system have been completed. I am open to suggestions on which organizations users are most interested in seeing rated.

Sixth, it can be difficult to choose the appropriate categories of activities for an organization. Too many activities don't seem to fit well with the given choices.

Seventh, several people have suggested working with college classes to rate organizations. This would increase the number of organizations with a rating as well be a training tool for students studying international development or public administration.

Eighth, organizations are interested in a self-check tool. It has been suggested that The Charity Rater develop a handbook for boards and nonprofit managers to help them evaluate and improve their transparency and professional practices.

Ninth, the system needs to be able to branch off into three sets of questions. One set for national or local nonprofits, one for small international aid organizations, and one for large multinational organizations. I'm open to feedback on which questions needed to be changed, added, or removed to make the system more appropriate for each level of organization.

Tenth, people love the quiz. Most individual donors are scoring really low on it but find it to be an eye opener.

Do you agree with the feedback received thus far? What are your suggestions for making The Charity Rater as practical and useful a tool as possible?