For the sixth consecutive year, the University has been recognized by Charity Navigator — America’s premier charity evaluator — as one of its top-rated, four-star institutions, according to David T. Blasingame, executive vice chancellor for Alumni & Development Programs.
“Certainly, it is gratifying to see that Charity Navigator continues to give Washington University its highest mark for fiscal responsibility and sound management practices,” Blasingame said.
“To consistently be rated among the very best of the more than 5,000 non-profits and charities this independent service evaluates today sends a strong message to the many alumni, friends and parents who support the University with their gifts each year,” he continued.
“This rating publicly recognizes the exceptional quality of the University’s leadership and its commitment to best serve both its students and faculty and society,” Blasingame added. “In essence, this affirms what our donors already know, namely, that Washington University is a very special place that looks hard to be a good steward of the resources given to it.”
Charity Navigator’s stated mission is to help individuals make intelligent giving decisions by providing information on more than 5,000 charities and evaluating the financial health of each of those charities.
By doing so, it hopes to foster a philanthropic environment in which the more than four million donors who use the online site and the charities they support work together to meet some of America’s most persistent challenges.
Charity Navigator evaluates two broad areas of an organization’s financial health: organizational effectiveness and organizational capacity. Using a set of financial ratios, it determines current and future institutional strengths by evaluating seven key performance categories, including expenses for programs, administration, and fund raising.
It also measures growth both in primary revenue and program expense, as well as determining fund-raising efficiency. A seventh performance category analyzes a charity’s working capital ratio, determining how long an institution can sustain its current programs without generating income.
As a spokesperson for Charity Navigator says, “Our ratings show givers how efficiently we believe a charity will use their support today and to what extent the charities are growing their programs and services over time.”
Since its inception in 2001, Charity Navigator has recognized the University with its highest rating each year. The University is one of only 45 charities — and one of just 18 institutions of higher education — to have been accorded the four-star rating each year. For more information, visit charitynavigator.org.