Foundation Earns Coveted 4-Star Rating from Charity Navigator for 10th Consecutive Year

Foundation staff celebrate the organization’s 10th consecutive four-star rating.

The Rheumatology Research Foundation’s strong financial health and commitment to accountability and transparency have earned yet another four-star rating from Charity Navigator, America’s largest independent charity evaluator. This is the 10th consecutive time the Foundation has earned this top distinction.

Only 1% of charities have ever received 10 consecutive four-star evaluations, indicating the Foundation outperforms the vast majority of charities in America.

Using objective analysis, Charity Navigator awards only the most fiscally responsible organizations a four-star rating. In 2011, Charity Navigator added 17 metrics, focused on governance and ethical practices, as well as measures of openness, to its rating methodology. These accountability and transparency metrics, which account for 50% of a charity’s overall rating, reveal which charities operate in accordance with industry best practices and whether they are open with their donors and stakeholders.

“The Rheumatology Research Foundation’s exceptional four-star rating sets it apart from its peers and demonstrates its trustworthiness to the public,” according to Michael Thatcher, president and CEO of Charity Navigator. “Only a quarter of charities rated by Charity Navigator receive the distinction of our four-star rating. This adds the Foundation to a preeminent group of charities working to overcome our world’s most pressing challenges. Based on its four-star rating, people can trust their donations are going to a financially responsible and ethical charity when they decide to support the Foundation.”

“It’s important for our donors to trust that we’re using their donations wisely to advance research and training to improve the health of people with rheumatic disease,” says Mary Wheatley, IOM, CAE, executive director of the Foundation. “Our 10th consecutive four-star Charity Navigator rating demonstrates to our supporters our ongoing commitment to good governance and financial accountability.”

If you’d like to make a donation to the Foundation, visit www.rheumresearch.org. Donations are tax deductible and help advance research and training to improve the health of patients living with rheumatic disease.