Charity watchdog organizations tend to focus on financial measures rather than program results, and the criteria and methods they use to rate nonprofits aren't always clear, a new report from the National Human Services Assembly and the National Council of Nonprofit Associations finds.

The report, Rating the Raters: An Assessment of Organizations and Publications That Rate/Rank Charitable Nonprofit Organizations, assessed rating, ranking, and standards-setting entities that are national in scope and focus on diverse charitable organizations rather than specialized groups, such as religious charities or children's agencies. The groups that were studied included the American Institute of Philanthropy, the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance, Charity Navigator, Standards for Excellence Institute, and the Combined Federal Campaign. The report also looked at the Chronicle of Philanthropy, Forbes, the Nonprofit Times, and Smart Money magazine, all of which publish rankings of nonprofit organizations.

"It is not sufficient to know what percentage an agency spends on overhead or how much money it raises but not how well it is managed or how effectively it delivers services," said NHSA president and CEO Irv Katz. "Efficiency is important but efficiency combined with effectiveness is what the public has a right to expect and what we should be looking for in reviewing ratings and ranking of nonprofit organizations."

To view the complete report (34 pages, PDF), visit: http://www.nassembly.org/nassembly/documents/
Rating_the_Raters_Final_3%20.pdf.