Do Guidestar and Charity Navigator Matter?

Donors come to our organizations in all kinds of ways – through connections to the mission, word of mouth from other supporters, and people just looking for ways to impact their community.

One way to make your organization attractive to new donors is through your Candid’s Guidestar and Charity Navigator listings. These two sites rate nonprofit organizations and help donors get a better sense of how their donations would be spent and the impact they can have.

Guidestar rates charities using their own rating system: not rated, bronze, silver, gold, and platinum. The ratings are primarily based on financial transparency. To score well on Guidestar, you’ll want to ensure that your 990s are accessible, with a complete listing of all the necessary policies and procedures to protect the organization and its employees. They’ll be looking at organizational spending habits and how well you’re meeting your stated goals and objectives. To find out how to get your organization listed on Guidestar, click here.

Charity Navigator’s rating is from 1 to 4 stars and is based on four areas: impact and measurement, accountability and finance, culture and community, and leadership and adaptability. Each category receives its own score and they are then compiled for an overall score. You can learn more about how Charity Navigator rates charities (and how to make sure you’re listed!) here.

Not being listed on these sites or being poorly ranked can turn away potential donors, so we encourage all nonprofits to take a look at how they score and work to keep their scores high! Here at Serenity NCG, we encourage everyone to start with Candid’s Guidestar ratings and then move on to Charity Navigator’s process. 

The time your organization invests in building out its listings to obtain higher ratings can have a huge benefit to your organization in the long run.