Charity Navigator 2024 Methodology
We are excited to share the details of our 2024 Rating Methodology Enhancement. As part of our commitment to increase the depth and breadth of our ratings, we’re rolling out modifications to our ratings methodology to improve comprehensiveness and ease. These changes were informed by feedback from nonprofits, donors, and industry experts, all in service of providing the most accurate and complete nonprofit rating.
Here’s what you can expect:
Universal Eligibility: All nonprofits will now be eligible to complete all beacons, including Impact & Measurement.
Simplification: The Leadership & Adaptability beacon assessment has been simplified and now takes approximately 15 minutes to complete.
Predictable Cadence: In 2024, there will be a single update to our methodology and a predictable cadence for standard rating releases, using newly available Forms 990 and nonprofit-submitted data.
Impact & Measurement Beacon
Some exciting changes are coming your way in our Impact & Results beacon.
Beacon Name Change: Impact & Results will now be called Impact & Measurement.
- New Measurement Assessment: All nonprofits can earn the Impact & Measurement beacon by completing the new Measurement assessment. This assessment determines how well-positioned nonprofits are to measure their progress toward their mission.
Why did we include outcomes measurement as part of our Encompass Rating System?
As you know, creating impact doesn’t happen overnight. To be a truly impactful organization, you must know your objectives, plan, and track how well you meet them over time. Impact is about learning and iterating to do better. The Measurement assessment captures your nonprofit’s capacity to measure impact.
At Charity Navigator, we firmly believe that identifying outcomes and measuring success is foundational to achieving impact. By completing the Measurement assessment, you have the opportunity to showcase the steps that you are taking to be an organization that drives impact! Sign up or sign in to the Nonprofit Portal to complete your assessment on or after April 8, 2024.
How to complete the Assessment?
When you open the assessment, you’ll be guided through 15 to 17 questions (depending on your organization’s revenue size) with yes/no and drop-down responses. The questions cover topics such as how your organization creates and tracks programmatic goals. We recommend that the person responsible for tracking progress (monitoring and evaluation) at your organization complete the assessment to ensure accuracy. Once you complete the assessment, your Impact & Measurement score will update at the next rating release, which occurs about every two months. You can find the assessment in our Nonprofit Portal.
Changes to the Leadership & Adaptability Beacon
Based on user feedback, we are clarifying and streamlining the Leadership & Adaptability assessment to make it easier for you to share your nonprofit’s leadership story.
Streamlined Assessment: We've restructured the assessment to reduce the time and effort required for completion. Instead of laborious text boxes, we're leveraging multiple-choice questions to facilitate easier completion.
- Enhanced Guidance: We're introducing hover-over text explanations for various selections. This feature provides additional context and clarifications, ensuring organizations can accurately and effectively showcase their efforts and achievements.
We value the importance of the information provided through the assessment, highlighting how it benefits not just the organizations but also the donors, funders, and stakeholders interested in the nonprofit's impact and operations.
These updates reflect our ongoing commitment to support nonprofits by making data submission more straightforward and less time-consuming. By enhancing the Leadership and Adaptability Beacon, we aim to encourage broader participation, enabling us to capture a more comprehensive view of the nonprofit sector's capabilities and achievements. You can find the assessment in our Nonprofit Portal.
Changes to the Encompass Scoring System
With the addition of the new Impact & Measurement assessment, we’ve slightly changed how each beacon and its assessments are weighted in the overall Encompass score. This change reflects the latest evidence on the relative contribution of each of our beacons to nonprofit effectiveness. While most organizations’ scores will not be impacted on April 8, 2024, a few organizations may see a change in overall score or star rating.
Take Action Now to Complete Your Rating
Visit Charitynavigator.org/portal on or after April 8, 2024 to see and interact with these exciting changes and complete your beacons! Having more complete beacons gives your organization search priority, eligibility to be on our curated lists, and—most importantly—provides the information your donors and funders want to see when making their giving decisions!