Coptic Orphans received a real shot in the arm recently when America’s leading evaluator, Charity Navigator, awarded it a four star rating—the highest possible.
Charity Navigator helps donors make intelligent giving decisions by providing in-depth, objective ratings and analysis of the financial health and transparency of America’s largest charities. The four-star rating means that Coptic Orphans’ staff and board of directors consistently execute their mission of supporting Egypt’s fatherless children in a way that is financially sound.
Charity Navigator defines financial soundness as how well the charity manages its finances on a day to day basis. That means that Coptic Orphans spends less money to raise more. Its fundraising efforts stay in line with the scope of the programs and services they provide, and they keep administrative costs within reasonable limits. Coptic Orphans also devotes the majority of its spending to its programs and services. Moreover, Coptic Orphans has made a personal commitment to support each child (even if that child were to lose their sponsor) and their educational aspirations through college and even graduate school.
Coptic Orphans was also rated highly for its transparency, the free and easy public access to corporate and financial information. Transparency is particularly important for a charity like Coptic Orphans because of its responsibilities to its donors, sponsors and, most importantly, the children it serves.
According to Charity Navigator, they evaluate ten times more charities than their nearest competitor and attract more visitors to their website than all other charity rating groups combined. It is an independent organization, so unlike others they do not evaluate on request or accept money from organizations.
About one-quarter of all charities that are evaluated by Charity Navigator receive the highest four-star rating. This means that Coptic Orphans outperforms most other charities in America. This exceptional rating from Charity Navigator differentiates Coptic Orphans from its peers and demonstrates to supporters and potential donors that it is worthy of their trust. Coptic Orphans, which has assisted 27,000 children in Egypt over its 20 plus year history, is managed by a professional staff and headed by an Executive Director, who answers to a Board of Directors. The staff develops plans, manages operations and provides donors with financial accountability for its operations in Egypt. However, the true mark of Coptic Orphans’ financial and programming effectiveness is the fact that 90% of its total workforce is made up of volunteers.
The favorable review of Coptic Orphans by Charity Navigator will be visible on the Coptic Orphans web site (www.copticorphans.org).