Philanthropedia Ranks Highest-Performing Nonprofits in Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice; Workforce Development; Childhood Nutrition and Health

Wed, Oct 02, 2013 15:20 CET

Rankings Help Donors and Funders Find and Support Top Nonprofits in Specific Causes

Washington, DC—October 2, 2013—Philanthropedia, a division of leading nonprofit information provider GuideStar, today announced new rankings of the top 25 nonprofits working on reproductive health, rights, and justice nationally; the top 16 national workforce development nonprofits; and the top 18 nonprofits working in the field of childhood nutrition and health nationally. The rankings are based on in-depth surveys of and conversations with hundreds of experts, including nonprofit leaders, academics, funders, grantmakers, policy makers, and consultants. Philanthropedia originally ranked nonprofits in these cause areas in 2010. Philanthropedia re-runs its research every few years to give donors and funders an updated list of highest-performing nonprofits.

“The Money for Good II research tells us that, especially in this economy, people want to make sure that their charitable dollars are going as far as possible,” said Jasmine Marrow, GuideStar’s manager of Philanthropedia research. “Our one-of-a-kind expert crowd-sourcing methodology allows donors and funders to easily find the nonprofits making the biggest difference in their missions.”

High-Performing Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice Nonprofits

Philanthropedia surveyed 134 experts working in childhood nutrition and health with an average of 19 years of experience in the field to identify those organizations that were the highest performing on a national level. Experts were asked to recommend up to four high-impact nonprofits and up to two promising start-up nonprofits, and were asked to consider a range of nonprofits working in the sector.

Recommended nonprofits could include women’s health service and clinical care providers focused on prevention, cancer screenings, contraception, abortion, gynecology, fertility, etc., as well as advocacy and policy organizations. Health nonprofits could focus on sexual health with a particular look at lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) health concerns. Reproductive rights nonprofits could include research, advocacy, litigation, and policy groups, and reproductive justice nonprofits could include those empowering the formerly powerless or individuals without a majority voice in this sector, such as younger women and women of color.

Experts reviewed 139 organizations and identified 25 top nonprofits:

To learn more about each organization, meet the experts, and read the experts’ reviews, please visit: http://www.myphilanthropedia.org/top-nonprofits/national/reproductive-health-rights-justice/2013.

High-Performing Workforce Development Nonprofits

Philanthropedia surveyed 103 workforce development experts with an average of 17 years of experience in the field to identify nonprofits that were the highest performing on a national level. Experts were asked to recommend up to four nonprofits and up to two promising start-up nonprofits, and were asked to comment on each nonprofit’s impact, other organizational strengths, and how each organization could further improve.

Recommended nonprofits could address the issue from various perspectives, and they could also utilize a variety of approaches, including job retention/stability; advancement to better jobs; technical training; helping the formerly homeless, imprisoned, and hospitalized move to work; helping employers invest in their own workforces; and more. The nonprofits could work with various populations: adults with low literacy skills, adults or youth with disabilities, immigrants, refugees, youth, welfare recipients, businesses, or the community at large. Nonprofits could also focus on different kinds of activities: policy, research, advocacy, direct services, education, technical assistance, etc. Specifically excluded from consideration were for-profit organizations such as head hunting and for-profit staffing agencies.

Experts reviewed 181 organizations and identified 16 top nonprofits, with a tie for 8thplace:

To learn more about each organization, meet the experts, and read the reviews, please visit: http://www.myphilanthropedia.org/top-nonprofits/national/workforce-development/2013.

High-Performing Childhood Nutrition and Health Nonprofits

Philanthropedia surveyed 98 experts working in childhood nutrition and health with an average of 15 years of experience in the field to identify nonprofits that were the highest performing on a national level. Experts were asked to recommend up to four high-impact nonprofits and up to two promising start-up nonprofits, and were asked to consider a range of nonprofits working in the sector.

Recommended nonprofits could address the issue from various perspectives, as long as they are primarily focused on positively affecting the health of children, including access to healthy foods and drinks in schools, nutrition education, physical activity programs and policies in or out of schools, access to safe play spaces for kids in their communities, access to healthy and fresh foods for kids in their neighborhoods, media campaigns to promote health and nutrition for kids, and more. The nonprofits could focus on different kinds of activities: policy, research, advocacy, direct services, education, etc. The primary focus of this research did not include food deserts, public transit, helping local farmers, or for-profit organizations.

Experts reviewed 150 organizations and identified 18 top nonprofits:

To learn more about each organization, meet the experts, and read the experts’ reviews, please visit: http://www.myphilanthropedia.org/top-nonprofits/national/childhood-nutrition-health/2013.

“Nonprofit performance is so important,” added Marrow. “We all give with our hearts, but unless we give with our heads, that money could go to waste, which in this economy is untenable. For those looking to support reproductive health, rights, and justice; workforce development; and childhood health and nutrition, our new rankings of the top nonprofits in these cause areas provide a map for donors and funders looking to support the highest-performing nonprofits.”

For the complete list of Philanthropedia rankings, visit: www.myphilanthropedia.org. For more information about Philanthropedia's ranking methodology, please visit: http://www.myphilanthropedia.org/how_we_rank.

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Media Contact:

Lindsay J.K. Nichols

(202) 637-7614

lnichols@guidestar.org

About Philanthropedia

Philanthropedia, www.myphilanthropedia.org, is an online resource for donors who want to make a bigger difference with their charitable giving. Philanthropedia was founded on the belief that experts working in the field, such as foundation professionals, researchers, and nonprofit senior staff, are best suited to evaluate nonprofits in a more holistic way. In April 2011, Philanthropedia was acquired by GuideStar.

About GuideStar

GuideStar, www.guidestar.org, connects people and organizations with information on the programs and finances of more than 1.8 million IRS-recognized nonprofits. GuideStar serves a wide audience inside and outside the nonprofit sector, including individual donors, nonprofit leaders, grantmakers, government officials, academic researchers, and the media.

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Philanthropedia Ranks Highest-Performing Nonprofits in Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice; Workforce Development; Childhood Nutrition and Health

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