Franciscan Charities earns Charity Navigator recognition

Franciscan Charities is proud to announce that it has earned a 100/100 rating from Charity Navigator, America’s largest and most-utilized independent charity evaluator, as a result of our organization’s strong financial health and ongoing accountability and transparency. This score designates Franciscan Charities as an official “Give with Confidence” charity, indicating that our organization is using its donations effectively based on Charity Navigator’s criteria.

Since 2001, Charity Navigator has been an unbiased and trusted source of information for more than 8.5 million users annually.

This year, in an effort to increase the number of nonprofits it evaluates, Charity Navigator launched its Encompass Rating System. In order to be more inclusive of smaller and more recently established nonprofits, the system uses technology-supported automation to analyze electronic tax forms filed annually by 501(c)(3) organizations.

The Encompass Rating System is a comprehensive evaluation tool that analyzes nonprofit performance based on four key indicators. In July 2020, Charity Navigator released the first indicator, Finance & Accountability, to highlight nonprofit organizations demonstrating fiscal responsibility. This is determined by five metrics: Program Expense Ratio, Independent Audit or Financial Review, Board Composition, Liabilities to Assets, and Website Listing.  The additional indicators, to be rolled out in the next 18-24 months, are Impact & Results, Leadership & Adaptability, and Culture & Community.

“Our Charity Navigator rating of 100 out of 100 through their Encompass RatingSystem is further validation that our supporters can trust our commitment to good governance and financial accountability,” said Franciscan Charities Board President Greg Langan. “We hope that it will introduce our work to new supporters who can help us advance our mission to tend to the critical needs of the poor and underserved in Newark."

Founded in 2004, Franciscan Charities has worked with more than a thousand volunteers to help our neighbors in Newark-- serving over one million meals; distributing more than 20 thousand coats, hats, gloves, scarves hats, and toys; supplying school supplies and backpacks to more than a thousand Newark students; providing countless packs of personal hygiene products and diapers; and resolving thousands of social service and welfare issues.