What is your ratings scale? Charity Navigator scores charities on a scale of 0 to 4 stars.
Our Ratings Tables contains more detailed information about the scales we use. Why do you use the Form 990? We use the Form 990 exclusively because it is the only financial statement that charities are required by law to make publicly available. The instructions for filling it out are straight-forward and universal, ensuring that our data is uniform, comparable, and allows for standardized growth measurements. How current is your data? Charity Navigator receives copies of the Form 990 directly from the IRS shortly after a charity files. Thus our ratings are based on the most current information made public by each charity. We publish the fiscal year ending (shown as ‘FYE’ followed by a month and year) on each charity’s rating page so you know the time period our rating covers. That said, charities are given 135 days following the end of their fiscal year to prepare and file their Form 990.
