Food for the Poor Nourishing Souls

As the third largest international relief and development organization in the U.S., Food For The Poor  feeds 2 million people every day. The Christian-based nonprofit helps children and the poorest of the poor by providing food, housing, health care, education, water projects, emergency relief and micro-enterprise assistance in the Caribbean and Latin America.

Praise from Charity Navigator:

“We are proud to announce that Food For The Poor has earned our tenth consecutive 4-star rating for its ability to efficiently manage and grow its finances. Less than 1% of the charities we rate have received at least 10 consecutive 4-star evaluations, indicating that Food For The Poor consistently executes its mission in a fiscally responsible way, and outperforms most other charities in America."

Food For The Poor makes sure nutritious food, clean drinking water, sturdy housing, necessary medical care, educational materials is at the disposal of people in desperate need.   Support for orphans and the elderly and self-sustaining projects are part of their on-going mission. Please visit their projects page to find out how you can join the effort.

Vetting Charities and The Virtue of Small Nonprofits

Craig Newmark discusses the world of nonprofits.

Craig Newmark of Craigslist (dot) org now lives outside his comfort zone as he's emerged himself in the world of philanthropy.  In a conference sponsored by The Guardian, Newmark praised the work he's seen done by smaller nonprofits and wants the world to be able to easily access the best nonprofit organizations so that charitable giving can be done responsibly.  He is empowering donors, journalists, and featured organizations.

Currently, Newmark's website, Craigconnects (dot) org, relies on three organizations that provide details about the effectiveness of thousands of nonprofits.

• Guide Star (dot) org
• Charity Navigator (dot) org
• Great Nonprofits (dot) org

Newmark invites the world to become involved.  Find ways to communicate your charity's awesomeness.  Champion a cause you believe in.  Responsible giving means effective empowerment.

(See Newmark's presentation at The Guardian Activate conference here.)

Charity Navigator: Doing Your Donation Homework

Charity Navigator helps donors give intelligently.  The 501 (c)(3) nonprofit has evaluated thousands of charitable organizations to determine their financial health.  Anyone in the world can sign on to the website and freely access financial evaluations that show how much actual giving is done in an organization versus overhead like administrative costs.  Even singer Elton John uses Charity Navigator to see how well is own charity is doing.  From the site:

"By guiding intelligent giving, we aim to advance a more efficient and responsive philanthropic marketplace, in which givers and the charities they support work in tandem to overcome our nation's most persistent challenges."

The Charity Navigator blog is currently spotlighting vetted charities helping with the tornado disaster in the Southeastern U.S.