Charities Review Council

Contents

Charities Review Council The Charities Review Council is an American nonprofit organization based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, that provides evaluation, accreditation, and guidance for charitable organizations, funders, and donors. It operates within a landscape that includes Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance, Charity Navigator, GuideStar (Candid), Independent Sector, and Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, engaging with philanthropic networks such as Council on Foundations, United Way, Giving USA Foundation, and Philanthropy Roundtable.

History

Founded in 1946 amid post‑World War II civic mobilization, the organization emerged alongside institutions like United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, American Red Cross, Community Chest, and National Conference on Charities and Corrections to respond to growing public concern about charitable accountability. During the 1960s and 1970s it intersected with reform movements represented by Public Interest Research Group, Common Cause, National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, and regulatory shifts influenced by Internal Revenue Service, Federal Trade Commission, and state attorneys general in states including Minnesota. In the 1990s and 2000s it collaborated with technology and data initiatives such as GuideStar (Candid), Independent Sector, Urban Institute, and academic partners at University of Minnesota, Harvard Kennedy School, and Yale School of Management to modernize evaluation tools. Recent decades saw connections to advocacy and transparency campaigns from groups like ProPublica, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, and Tides Foundation.

The organization's mission centers on improving nonprofit accountability, effectiveness, and donor trust, working with stakeholders such as foundations, corporate philanthropy, family foundations, community foundations, faith-based organizations, and municipal partners including City of Minneapolis and State of Minnesota. Core activities include consulting and capacity building with nonprofits like Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Planned Parenthood, Habitat for Humanity, and regional charities; offering training with partners such as Minnesota Council of Nonprofits and United Way; and publishing tools and guidelines informed by research from The Brookings Institution, Urban Institute, RAND Corporation, and Center for Effective Philanthropy.

Evaluation methodology integrates standards drawn from auditing norms like Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, legal frameworks administered by the Internal Revenue Service, and best practices promoted by Independent Sector, Council on Foundations, and Association of Fundraising Professionals. Assessments examine financial health, governance, transparency, program impact, and donor communications, referencing metrics from Charity Navigator, GuideStar (Candid), and academic studies by Harvard Kennedy School, Stanford Social Innovation Review, and Yale School of Management. The process involves document review, interviews with executive leadership and board members, and site visits, often comparing organizations against benchmarks established by entities such as CharityWatch, National Council of Nonprofits, Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, and Center for Nonprofit Excellence.

Rather than a universal rating system, the organization offers accreditation, advisory services, and publishable reports that can complement ratings from Charity Navigator, BBB Wise Giving Alliance, and CharityWatch. Accreditation criteria reference governance standards from Council on Foundations and evaluation frameworks used by Center for Effective Philanthropy and Social Value International. Accredited organizations often include regional nonprofits that collaborate with United Way, Community Foundation networks, and state associations like Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, aligning with donor expectations shaped by publications such as Giving USA and investigative reporting by ProPublica and The New York Times.

Advocates credit the organization with enhancing transparency for donors, improving board governance for nonprofits, and influencing philanthropic practice alongside actors like Independent Sector, Council on Foundations, and Center for Effective Philanthropy. Studies by Urban Institute, Brookings Institution, and RAND Corporation cite the value of third‑party assessment in improving nonprofit performance, while journalists from MinnPost, Star Tribune (Minneapolis) , and national outlets like The New York Times and The Washington Post have covered its role in regional accountability ecosystems. Criticisms parallel those faced by similar evaluators such as Charity Navigator and GuideStar (Candid): debates over methodological transparency, potential biases toward larger organizations referenced by Ford Foundation and MacArthur Foundation, and concerns about standardization raised in scholarship from Stanford Social Innovation Review, Harvard Business School, and Yale School of Management.

Governance comprises a volunteer board of directors drawn from nonprofit leaders, philanthropists, legal experts, and academics affiliated with institutions such as University of Minnesota, Hamline University, Macalester College, Bush Foundation, and regional foundations like Bush Foundation and unnamed local funders; executive leadership interacts with networks including Independent Sector and Council on Foundations. Funding sources include grants from private foundations such as McKnight Foundation, Bush Foundation, Gates Foundation, and project support from corporate partners and individual donors, supplemented by fee‑for‑service contracts with nonprofits and foundations; oversight mechanisms mirror standards advocated by Council on Foundations, Independent Sector, and state charitable regulators including various statewide attorneys general.

Category:Nonprofit organizations based in Minnesota