MY SPECIALTIES:
Which nonprofits earned the Excellence in Giving Seal of Transparency? Find out in this article. Why does it matter? Because transparency certification distinguishes a new breed of nonprofits committed to a higher standard of open and accountable relationships with donors.
Which nonprofits have experienced the greatest growth in individual donors?
A healthy donor base is essential to executing a nonprofit’s mission, but growing this base year after year can be challenging. Donor growth can indicate confidence in the capabilities of an organization to carry out its mission, making it an important metric to keep an eye on when evaluating nonprofits.
Is it important for a nonprofit board to contribute financially to the organization they provide leadership to? We think so. View our newest top 10 list for the most invested nonprofit Boards.
Which nonprofits with incomes above $10M had the highest income growth over the last 4 years? Find out in this top ten list.
Which nonprofits had the greatest donor retention rates? Every nonprofit needs to find donors to support its mission, but keeping those donors is the challenge. Donors who stay involved with a nonprofit are the dream every nonprofit should work towards and tracking donor retention is key to knowing how many donors remain committed from year to year.
The best charity evaluation platform just got better, deeper, simpler, and automated. But what’s really changed? Starting in September 2019, subscribers now have 5 NEW FEATURES:
Why give money to support good intentions when our nonprofit strategy, finance, leadership, and impact data can show you who’s really making a difference? Set up one-click access on your mobile device today to search our nonprofit database and select which charities you want to get notified about new performance updates on your Member Dashboard. Monitoring and evaluating charities just got so much easier!
With increased competition, the pressure on nonprofits to invest more in fundraising has brought about better marketing materials, more development staff, and stronger donor pitches. This trend has made it harder for even the smartest donors to tell the difference between hearing a good story and identifying the right place to make a big gift.
Guidestar announced in January 2018, “Around 50 percent of the nation’s nonprofits are operating with less than one month’s cash reserves.” That headline makes it sound like a half million charities could close if people stopped giving for a month. Oliver Wyman and SeaChange Capital Partners analyzed Guidestar’s archived 990s from 2010-2014 to make this claim. Suzanne Coffman, Guidestar’s editorial director, summarized the data from this study of nonprofit financials in a simple article (admittedly designed to market a Nonprofit Quarterly webiner): “Half of U.S. Nonprofits on Financial Precipice, New Report Finds.” That’s scary news. The good news is that Guidestar’s information is both old and incorrect.
“The kingdom path links success to obedience rather than outcomes.” That is the mantra from ECFA’s new book The Choice: The Christ-Centered Pursuit of Kingdom Outcomes. Hoag, Rodin & Willmer have been publishing articles in multiple outlets (like OUTCOMES magazine) to push this message to faith-based nonprofits. Since Excellence in Giving clients fund many faith-based nonprofits, we care about the accuracy and consequences of this message. Unfortunately, the baby is being thrown out the door with the bath water.
High performing nonprofits develop careful strategies for creating consistent revenue to sustain operations. Donors do not want to support an organization one year and see its programs collapse the next year from insufficient funding. Great organizations with bold visions and effective programs understand that sustainable revenue streams are mission-critical. Finding out if organizations you support will sustain themselves is step 3 in our 6-step process for evaluating nonprofit performance.