Komen By The Numbers: 2010 and Still No Answers

Title: Komen By The Numbers: 2010 and Still No Answers

Author: Anna Rachnel

Publication: The Cancer Culture Chronicles

Publication Date: March 16, 2011

Stewardship: the conducting, supervising, or managing of something; especially : the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care.

In September 2010, Susan G. Komen for the Cure® (“Komen”), proudly announced they had received a four-star rating from Charity Navigator, a popular charity evaluator whose reports are accessible by the general public.
“Achieving Charity Navigator’s highest rating for fiscal soundness is an incredible achievement for even one year during these economic times,” said Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker, Komen’s founder and CEO. “But to garner this rating four consecutive years is a true testament to the hard work of our entire Susan G. Komen for the Cure family. My gratitude also goes out to our Affiliates, our volunteers and our staff, who have proven once again to be responsible stewards of our contributors’ money as everyone continues to try to fulfill our promise of saving lives and ending breast cancer forever.”

Essentially, Charity Navigator  evaluates charities based on their “organization efficiency” and their “organizational capacity”,  which speaks to how sustainable an organization is. Charity Navigator then uses the results of this evaluation to assign rating stars;  zero stars being the lowest  to four stars being the highest. A four-star or “exceptional” rating means that a charity “exceeds industry standards and outperforms most charities in its Cause”.  In the words of Charity Navigator;

“By utilizing our ratings, givers can truly know how a charity’s financial health compares with other charities throughout the country. Givers can be confident that in supporting those charities rated highly by Charity Navigator, they will be supporting organizations that are fiscally responsible and financially healthy.”

This all sounds very nice, but what does all this really mean?

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