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Nonprofit Leaders Meet to Discuss Driving More Funds to High-Performing Organizations
GuideStar, BBB Wise Giving Alliance, Charity Navigator Discuss New Approaches to Identifying High-Performing Nonprofits
| Source: Alliance for Effective Social Investing
WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwire - April 14, 2009) - The Alliance for Effective Social Investing,
a network of nonprofit leaders, which includes the CEOs of GuideStar,
Charity Navigator, BBB Wise Giving Alliance and Network For Good met in
Washington, D.C. and agreed to work together to drive more funds to
high-performing nonprofits.
Organized by Social Solutions, the Alliance for Effective Social Investing
is an international effort to identify promising new metrics of
organizations' social impact and promote the development of a more robust
environment for effective social investing -- replacing financial measures
as the sole barometer of an organization's performance. The Alliance,
representing over 25 leading U.S. and European social sector organizations,
is committed to supporting each other and working together to strengthen
the evolving social capital market.
Individual donors give over $250 billion to nonprofit organizations each
year. The information provided by GuideStar, Charity Navigator, BBB Wise
Giving Alliance and Network for Good assist millions of these donors each
year in deciding which nonprofits to support. They represent the main
vehicles by which individual donors compare charitable organizations.
"Throughout the sector, it is almost universally agreed that financial
measures alone do not lead to wise giving decisions or good nonprofit
performance," said Jeff Mason, the Chair of the Alliance. "The Alliance is
determined to support these and other intermediaries as they seek to
improve their rating methodologies and evolve to better identify
high-performing nonprofit organizations."
At the recent gathering (the Alliance's second meeting) the group received
updates from the Urban Institute, GuideStar and Charity Navigator about how
each was moving to improve their websites and rating methodologies as well
as develop new tools to support a more impactful nonprofit sector.
Alliance member Paul Brest, president of the Hewlett Foundation, commented,
"I am very pleased that the Alliance has committed to ambitious targets for
integrating outcome-oriented measures into the work and reports of
nonprofit organizations and information intermediaries. This holds the
promise of enabling donors to direct funds to high performing
organizations, something especially needed at a time when charitable
resources are tight."
Alliance member Ken Berger, CEO, Charity Navigator, said, "We at Charity
Navigator believe that wise giving decisions rest on considering three
components -- financial strength, accountability and outcomes. We are happy
to collaborate with our Alliance colleagues in striving to develop a
charity evaluation system which encompasses all of these elements."
"At GuideStar, helping donors make better decisions and nonprofits be more
effective is core to our mission. It is gratifying to work together with
other nonprofit leaders which share our commitment to create meaningful
metrics to improve philanthropic performance," said Alliance member Bob
Ottenhoff, CEO, GuideStar.
About the Alliance for Effective Social Investing
The Alliance for Effective Social Investing is an international network of
nonprofit leaders working together to drive more funds to high-performing
nonprofits. The Alliance works to support leading nonprofit intermediaries
in implementing measures of social value as an integral part of their
metrics and in driving more donors to utilize these measures to make
informed social investments. For more information, please visit:
www.alleffective.org.