A Comparative Study of Charity Rating Metrics across Europe and America

Donors are increasingly invited to give wisely, and a range of charity rating systems have emerged to help donors make better giving choices. Yet, reliability of charity ratings and prudence in their use should also be highlighted. Study of the charity raters’ performance, especially outside the US, is largely missing in the nonprofit literature and this paper strives to make a contribution to filling this gap. Via qualitative research, eight case studies are explored, and the metrics they use to rate charities are compared. The mostly used metrics as well as the advantages and challenges of each are underlined. The findings indicate the metrics are diverse, yet not exhaustive. Some metrics for future consideration are suggested. The concluding point is that donors should not rely on charity ratings as an indicator of overall performance of charities in all aspects. They should use them vigilantly in light of the selected metrics.

Keywords:

nonprofit/NGO/charity raters , charity watchdogs , evaluative metrics , rating and ranking