Charity Navigator's Release Notes
View the improvements made to Charity Navigator's website, rating criteria, and methodology.
Version 12 - Fall 2023 Methodology Update
*Ratings updated 9/18/2023 with a methodology update
- All eligible organizations are given a size classification based on their e-filed 990 data
- Size classifications are based on annual revenue
- Micro: <$500k
- Small: $500k - $2m
- Medium: $2m - $25m
- Large: $25m - $50m
- Super: $50m+
- Size classifications are based on annual revenue
- All eligible organizations are assigned additional properties based on their e-filed 990 data
- Additional properties include:
- Donor-funded: donations / total revenue > 40%
- Noncash: noncash contributions amount / total contributions amount > 50%
- Grantmaking: (grants to domestic orgs+grants to foreign entities) / Program Expenses > 50%
- Grants payable: above, plus Grants Payable / (grants to domestic orgs+grants to foreign entities) > 25%
- Museum: identified by analyst
- Additional properties include:
- All eligible organizations are scored on a new methodology based on their size and assigned properties
- ~9000 organizations whose Accountability & Finance scores were harmed due to an abnormal financial year in 2020 or 2021 had the detrimental 990 dropped from the 3-year average.
- Released 332 Impact & Results scores based on data submitted to Impact Genome.
- Updated 135 existing scores, making adjustments for inflation and new research.
- Released 274 new Impact & Results scores
- Launched test version of the Capacity for Impact Measurement assessment
- Charities can enter data but will not be scored
- Expanding criteria to include 1 & 2 practices as eligible scores (e.g. all charities that submit an Equity Strategies checklist)
- Restructured Equity Strategies Checklist Scoring scale from 80-100 to 73-100 linear scale.
- Scores are awarded as follows
- 1 practice = 73 points
- 2 practices = 75 points
- 3 practices = 77 points
- 4 practices = 79 points
- 5 practices = 81 points
- 6 practices = 83 points
- 7 practices = 85 points
- 8 practices = 87 points
- 9 practices = 89 points
- 10 practices = 91 points
- 11 practices = 93 points
- 12 practices = 95 points
- 13 practices = 97 points
- 14 practices =100 points