Community Foundation Earns 4-Star Rating on Charity Navigator

America’s largest independent charity evaluator

The Community Foundation for Northern Virginia’s strong financial health and commitment to accountability and transparency have earned it a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, America’s largest independent charity evaluator.

Since 2002, using objective analysis, Charity Navigator has awarded only the most fiscally responsible organizations a 4-star rating. In 2011, Charity Navigator added 17 metrics, focused on governance and ethical practices as well as measures of openness, to its ratings methodology. These Accountability & Transparency metrics, which account for 50 percent of a charity’s overall rating, reveal which charities operate in accordance with industry best practices and whether they are open with their donors and stakeholders. On June 1, 2016, Charity Navigator upgraded its methodology for rating each charity’s’ financial health. These enhancements further substantiate the financial health of its four-star charities.

“The Community Foundation for Northern Virginia’s exceptional 4-star rating sets it apart from its peers and demonstrates its trustworthiness to the public,” according to Michael Thatcher, President & CEO of Charity Navigator. “Only a quarter of charities rated by Charity Navigator receive the distinction of our 4-star rating. This adds the Community Foundation to a preeminent group of charities working to overcome our world’s most pressing challenges. Based on its 4-star rating, people can trust that their donations are going to a financially responsible and ethical charity when they decide to support the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia.”

“It’s important our donors trust that we’re using their donations wisely to accomplish our mission to grow philanthropy to respond to critical need and seed innovation in the region,” said Eileen Ellsworth, President and CEO of the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia. “Our 4-star Charity Navigator rating demonstrates to our supporters our good governance and financial accountability.”

The Community Foundation for Northern Virginia’s rating and other information about charitable giving are available free of charge on www.charitynavigator.org. More-detailed information about the Community Foundation’s rating is available to Charity Navigator site visitors who become registered users, another free service.