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Focusing on Impact and Encouraging Transparency:

GuideStar's New Nonprofit Report Pages

February 23, 2012

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Your GuideStar Speakers

José Fernández, Director, GuideStar Exchange;

Bernard Palin, Product Manager

Suzanne Coffman, Editorial Director

Erinn Andrews, Director of Data, Research, and Partner Relationships

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1. Introduction

2. Overview of Money For Good I & II

3. Money For Good II Findings

4. Market Test Findings & Conclusions

5. New Nonprofit Report Pages

6. Legitimacy, Financials and 990s

7. GuideStar Exchange

8. Charting Impact

9. Expert and Individual Nonprofit Reviews

10. Questions & Comments

Agenda

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Money For Good

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Most donors say they care, but few actually research.85% state performance is “very important”, but only 35% do any research

For the 35% that do research, it is often to validate their gift, not to choose between nonprofits.63% - To determine whether they would make a gift to the organization24% - To help decide how much to give12% - To help choose between multiple orgs

There is a huge gap between those that say they care, and those who are trying to find the best nonprofit.

9 out of 10 donors say that nonprofit performance is important But only 3 out of 100 research to find the “most effective” nonprofit

Money For Good I: Goal – to seek the ‘voice of the customer’ behind charitable giving; understand the demand for charitable gifts and identify how we can meet their needs

What we learned…

What we concluded…

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Goal: Dive deeper and determine what can get individual donors, advisors, and foundation grantmakers to drive more dollars to high-performing nonprofits (HPNP’s)

1. Existing Research Over 25 Studies

2. Qualitative Research 7 focus groups, n=67

3. Quantitative Research 5,075 Indiv. Donors, HH in>50k | 875 advisors to donors 725 foundation grantmakers

4. Market Testing 6 tests with 4 partners

5. Dissemination Articles, interviews, webinars

Purpose of Money for Good II: Build upon initial MFGI findings, further our understanding of charitable giving, and look at ways we could influence giving behaviors

Execution Plan – Five Phases:

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What we learned from MFG II: Individual donors rarely research, whereas advisors & foundations research almost every grant and organization

COMPARERESEARCHACTION

Went to any source of information before

donating

Self described as doing ‘research’ before donating

Researched to compare nonprofits

69% 33% 6%

97% 80% 27%

98% 89% 38%

Individual Donors

Advisors

Foundations

Note: Individual donor behavior varies significantly based on (1)their familiarity with the nonprofit, (2)what sector the nonprofit is in, and (3)the type of donor

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FoundationsAdvisorsIndividual Donors

More findings: Despite different motivations and research behaviors, each group wants similar information on nonprofits

80%

68%

64%

62%

49%

42%

41%

0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

Financials

Effectiveness

Basic org info (mission, leaders)

Legal status and legitimacy

Cause

Reviews or Endorsements

Info to compare orgs

74%

71%

71%

66%

65%

35%

34%

0% 25% 50% 75%100%

Financials

Effectiveness

Legal status and legitimacy

Cause

Basic org info (mission, leaders)

Reviews or Endorsements

Info to compare orgs

90%

73%

71%

70%

69%

67%

32%

30%

29%

0% 25% 50% 75%100%

Expected Impact

Org's Past Performance

Financials

Cause

Basic org info (mission, leaders)

Legal status and legitimacy

Info on Program Funders

Info to compare orgs

Endorsements or opinions

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Money For Good Market Testing

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Old Report Page

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MFG II Market Test: Goal – To test MFG findings in live environments for additional insight into ‘donation behavior’ and the ‘propensity to donate’

GuideStar tested four treatments of the report page, utilizing a five question pop-up survey to measure the ‘propensity to donate’ and a website optimizer tool to track engagement

A control in the original GuideStar layout (d)

An abbreviated detailed view in which additional info is available, but not all was shown (b)

A more comprehensive detailed view in which all info about the nonprofit is shown (a)

A ‘charity facts’ style view, which contains a detailed graphical summary (c)

These four treatments consisted of:

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Treatment (a) is most likely to indicate the level of performance of the nonprofit, which is a key indicator for driving the shift of money to the highest nonprofits – a key objective of GuideStar

When asked if the treatment viewed helped them determine the performance of the nonprofit, Donors and Advisors answered ‘Yes’ most for (a) while Foundation said ‘Yes’ for (c) then (d)

Looking at engagement (triggers when visitor click on any link on the page), treatment (a) generate the most activity from visitors to the report pages, followed by (c).

What We Learned: Users prefer a comprehensive detailed view in which all information is shown – treatment (a)

Recommendation: GuideStar public report pages should feature a derivation of treatment (a)

going forward

Note: Test resulted in 3,689 survey responses from the various segments

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The Right Actions

Lead to More Giving to High-

Performing Nonprofits

+ More awareness of current solutions

More research on causes and charities

More demand for information, creating a positive cycle

Changed giving behaviors

1. Better information, focused on impact2. In a format that provides enough detail3. Available through appropriate channels

The Right Focus

4. Focused on key causes5. And target audiences

The Right Process

6. Adapting constantly, by being Agile

+

Final Conclusion: Donors, advisors, and foundations are most interested in information on financials, legitimacy, & effectiveness data –in a comprehensive detailed format

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New Nonprofit Report Pages

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New Nonprofit Report Page: Provides users what they want, how they want it, with the types of information they desire most

Types of Information Individual Donors Want Most

74%

71%

71%

66%

65%

35%

34%

0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

Financials

Legal status and legitimacy

Effectiveness

Cause

Basic info on org (e.g., mission, leadership)

Endorsements or opinions

Info that enables comparisons between orgs

Information Now Available on the Public Report Page

− Form 990’s− Annual Revenue & Expenses− IRS Registration Status (Revoked, FTF, No

longer in BMF) − OFAC Watch List− GuideStar Seal for Transparency− TakeAction Expert Review Data on Impact− Impact Statement− Mission − Program Descriptions− Physical Address/Contact Info− GreatNonprofit User Reviews− Leadership, etc.

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Features a comprehensive detailed format, updated user interface, graphical elements, and improved scalability – enabling better decision making and advanced transparency

Where we were… Where we are now…

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Legitimacy, Financials, and 990s

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Legitimacy

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Legitimacy

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Legitimacy

Help > Nonprofits Not on BMF

Reinstated orgs:

• Upload new letter of determination via the GuideStar Exchange

• E-mail nposervices@guidestar.org to let us know

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FinancialsNot a GuideStar Exchange member

GuideStar Exchange member

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Forms 990

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GuideStar Exchange

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What is the GuideStar Exchange?

• Comprehensive database of nonprofit information

• Designed to connect nonprofits with current and potential supporters– Millions of people come to GuideStar to learn more

about nonprofits each year

• Allows nonprofits to share a wealth of up-to-date information with grantmakers and potential donors

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GuideStar Exchange Membership

• Exchange members are nonprofits that have updated their nonprofit reports to the fullest—sharing:• Program information, annual reports, and audited financials

with GuideStar’s vast audience of potential supporters

• In exchange for the information they provide, Exchange Members receive• The GuideStar Seal on their report page

• Ability to post the GuideStar Seal on your website

• Up-to-date information automatically distributed to partner network

• Access to new fundraising tools

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Claim Your GuideStar Exchange Form

www.guidestar.org

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Charting Impact

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1. What is your organization aiming to accomplish?

2. What are your strategies for making this happen?

3. What are your organization’s capabilities for doing this?

4. How will your organization know if you are making progress?

5. What have and haven’t you accomplished so far?

A framework for advancing strategic thinking.

A standardized method for sharing concise information with key stakeholders and the public.

#chartingimpact

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Nearly 200 nonprofit and foundation leaders have helped to develop, test, and refine Charting Impact since 2009.

#chartingimpact

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Reviewing Your Completed Report

CEO Review

Board Chair Review

Stakeholder Review

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Expert and Individual Nonprofit Reviews

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Nonprofit Reviews at GuideStar

• Reviews give an important different perspective about a nonprofit

• Nonprofit reviews are becoming increasingly important to donors

• Donors especially want to learn about a nonprofit’s impact and effectiveness—reviews can help with that

• Integrating with GreatNonprofits, acquiring Philanthropedia

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Expert Reviews

• What are expert reviews?Expert reviews are assessments about nonprofits made by sector experts and/or third party research groups that focus on the proven impact an organization is having.

• Which organizations generate expert reviews?

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Expert Reviews:

What is Philanthropedia? Philanthropedia developed a unique crowd-sourcing methodology where hundreds of independent experts (funders, nonprofit leaders, researchers, etc.) are asked to recommend and assess high impact nonprofits in their sector. More information about the methodology can be found at http://www.myphilanthropedia.org/how_we_rank.

Number of causes researched: 27Number of nonprofits reviewed: 1,397Number of reviews collected: 9,528Number of experts participating: 2,199Number of top nonprofits: 404

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Individual Reviews:

What are individual reviews?

Individual reviews are Yelp-like reviews written by individuals in the community: volunteers, beneficiaries, board members, donors, etc.

What is GreatNonprofits?GreatNonprofits collects individual reviews and provides a 1-5 star rating for each organization. Number of nonprofits reviewed: 11,904

Number of reviews collected: 96,526

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Expert and Individual Reviews

• Benefits to nonprofits– Promotes transparency and confidence– Helps individuals make donation decisions

• How to leverage reviews– Share the recognition with your stakeholders via press releases,

marketing materials, social media campaigns, annual reports, board presentations, and giving campaigns

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Expert and Individual Reviews

• How to get involved– Expert Reviews:

• Participate in Philanthropedia research: contact Jasmine Marrow jasmine.marrow@guidestar.org to be invited to future research.

• If you’re an international nonprofit, request to be assessed by GiveWell: http://givewell.org/submit-charity

• Start documenting your own impact through Charting Impact. http://www.chartingimpact.org/

– Individual Reviews:

• Contact your stakeholders and encourage them to write a review—after receiving benefits from your organization, after fundraising events, after volunteer experiences, etc.

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QUESTIONS?

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Join the Conversation

• Facebook.com/GuideStarUSA

• Twitter: @GuideStarUSA; @Philanthropedia #guidestarexchange

• Google +: +GuideStar

• Pinterest.com/guidestar/

• GX Connects: gxconnects.ning.com

• Contact– Bernard Palin bpalin@guidestar.org

– Suzanne Coffman scoffman@guidestar.org

– Jose Fernandez jfernandez@guidestar.org

– Erinn Andrews eandrews@guidestar.org

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THANK YOU!