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    Culture & Community

    We assess charities' overall culture and connectedness to the constituents and community they serve.

    Donors can use the Culture & Community beacon to understand how organizations listen to their constituents, use feedback to enhance programs and services and maintain a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace culture.

     

    The significance of practices that enhance an organization’s culture—both internally and in community engagement — has drawn much attention from donors, experts, and sector leaders, highlighting its importance for a charity's overall health and mission success. Positive organizational health and strong engagement with constituents are vital for implementing high-quality, impactful programs.

    How We Assess Charities' Engagement with Their Constituents

    The Culture & Community beacon features two assessments: the Equity Strategies™ Checklist, developed by Equity in the Center®, which evaluates data, policies, and processes promoting racial equity in operations and programs, and the Constituent Feedback Assessment, which evaluates how a charity gathers feedback from beneficiaries to improve program outcomes.

    Charities can complete the Culture & Community beacon by logging into the Charity Navigator Nonprofit Portal and providing the necessary data.

    Constituent Feedback

    Asks the charity whether it collects feedback from its beneficiaries.

    Asks how the charity uses feedback to improve services, guide program development, and strengthen relationships.

    Asks which feedback practices the charity routinely implements, such as annual collection, engaging marginalized groups, ensuring comfort for honest responses, and acting on feedback.

    Asks the charity to identify challenges in collecting feedback, including difficulties obtaining responses, lack of technology, funding issues, time constraints, and formulating effective questions.

    Equity Strategies™ Checklist

    This assessment evaluates a charity’s commitment to racial equity by reviewing compensation data for disparities, soliciting team feedback, and analyzing disaggregated data to address root causes affecting programs and communities. It emphasizes inclusive leadership, diverse board representation, and ensuring all staff understand their roles in fostering a culture where race identity does not influence outcomes.

    Find Charities With Strong Equity and Feedback Practices

    Discover charities rated on Culture & Community. Find an exciting and new giving opportunity.

     

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