4-Star Rating for Mahoning Valley United Way
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — The United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley earned a four-star rating from Charity Navigator,. The rating is the highest awarded by the independent charity evaluation agency.
“It’s important our donors trust that we’re using their donations wisely to accomplish our mission to positively impact the lives of children and families in need,” said Bob Hannon, president of United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley, in announcing the rating. “Our four-star Charity Navigator rating demonstrates to our donors our good governance and financial accountability.”
Charity Navigator awards only the most fiscally responsible organizations a four-star rating, according to Hannon. In 2011, the organization added 17 metrics, focused on governance and ethical practices as well as measures of openness, to its ratings methodology.
These accountability and transparency metrics, which account for 50% of a charity’s overall rating, reveal what charities operate in accordance with industry best practices and whether they are open with their donors and stakeholders.
The rating sets the local United Way “apart from its peers and demonstrates its trustworthiness to the public,” according to Michael Thatcher, president and CEO of Charity Navigator.
“Only a quarter of charities rated by Charity Navigator receive the distinction of our four-star rating,” he said. “This adds the United Way of Youngstown 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 United Way.”
The United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley’s rating and other information about charitable giving are available free of charge at the Charity Navigator website. More-detailed information about United Way’s rating is available to Charity Navigator site visitors who become registered users, another free service.
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
