How we vet organizations

The 0–4 accountability score

The score is a weighted composite. It is recalculated when an organization files a new annual return with us, so it moves once a year for most listings.

Financial disclosure — 40%

Whether the two most recent annual returns are on file, whether they are complete, and whether an independent audit or review accompanies them. Organizations under the audit threshold are not penalized for the absence of one.

Program expense ratio — 25%

Share of total expenses that went to program work rather than management and fundraising. We show the raw figure on every listing. A low ratio is not automatically bad — a young organization buying its first vehicle will have one — which is why it is a quarter of the score and not all of it.

Governance — 20%

Board size and independence, a conflict-of-interest policy, and whether board minutes are kept. Taken from the organization’s own return.

Registration standing — 15%

Current registration in the states where the organization solicits, and no lapse in the last three years.

What “financials on file” means

That we hold the organization’s most recent annual return and, where one exists, its audit. It means the documents are in our hands and the numbers on the listing were read off them. It does not mean we have audited the organization ourselves. A listing without this badge has not filed with us yet; it can still take donations, and the score bar on it will read “Not yet rated.”

Where a listing comes from

Organizations write their own descriptions. Everything else on a listing — registration status, the financial figures, the accountability score — we compile from filed documents. We do not rank organizations by effectiveness and we take no position on which of two groups working the same coastline does more good.

If something on a listing looks wrong, send it to help@naturedonate.org with the organization name. We read those.