Nonprofit ratings like Charity Navigator and Guidestar (now called Candid) matter because many donors will quickly look you up in an online rating site before making a gift. The first thing they may see is your rating — even before they see your website — skim that rating information, and then decide whether or not to donate. Keeping these profiles accurate influences how donors perceive your nonprofit’s credibility.
Have you looked at your own profiles lately? The slow summer months for fundraising are the perfect time to check. Here’s how to find and update your nonprofit’s profile on the most common ratings sites.
How it works
Most nonprofit ratings pull basic information from IRS Form 990 filings and public records. That means your “overhead” and program vs. admin ratios often come straight from how your accountant codes expenses on your tax returns. If salaries, rent, or IT costs were over-applied to “administration,” chances are that your administrative percentage (and subsequent rating) won’t look great, despite all your successes in your work.
For a small nonprofit, this can cut both ways. On the one hand, a strong profile can do a lot of quiet marketing for you, showing your mission, leadership, and impact to funders you may never meet. On the other hand, missing or old data can discourage a cautious donor who asks, “How well will this nonprofit use my money? Maybe I should give somewhere else.”
Here’s the good news. You’re not stuck with the online rating you see right now. Claim your profile and correct basic info, like address and mission. In many cases you can add narrative details, impact stats, and other documents (like our free Impact 2-pager template) that give donors a clearer picture. Even when you can’t immediately change the numeric score, you can often add context that reassures thoughtful donors.
How to claim and update your nonprofit’s profiles on major rating sites
Need to update your rating site profile? Here’s where to start.
Note that you must be registered with the IRS as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations. If you’re operating under fiscal sponsorship stop here! You won’t be listed as a separate nonprofit (and you cannot change your fiscal sponsor’s info), so don’t spend your precious time trying.
1. Make a list of rating sites.
Begin with Charity Navigator and Candid/Guidestar (they’ve merged), since these are the two names donors most often recognize and are most likely to check. On Charity Navigator, create or log into your nonprofit account through their portal, request to be your nonprofit’s representative, and then update all the sections you can edit. Candid asks you to claim your profile, then guides you toward earning a Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum Seal of Transparency. Here are some links to get you going:
- charitynavigator.org/portal/login
- app.candid.org/login (formerly Guidestar)
- causes.benevity.org/causes/user/register
- greatnonprofits.org/pages/about/claim-your-nonprofit
- charitywatch.org/our-charity-rating-process
- give.org/charity-inquiry (BBB’s Wise Giving Alliance)
2. Look up your nonprofit on each site.
Use your legal name and EIN. If you don’t appear, note that too, so you can reach out to their support team and find out why you’re missing. (See note above about fiscal sponsorship.)
Charity Navigator explicitly states that it uses IRS and e-file data plus any information you submit through its nonprofit portal to generate ratings on finance, accountability, and impact. Candid (formerly Guidestar) does something similar, then shares your profile with hundreds of platforms like Facebook and donor-advised funds.
- Create a word document with the fields and language currently in each site.
- Cut and paste the current information in each field. As you make updates, this will allow you to cut and paste consistent information, and to have everything in one place.
3. If needed, claim your profile.
If your profile is unclaimed, create an account with an organizational email address and complete their verification steps. If it has already been claimed by someone else, get in touch with them. The rating site may ask for confirmation that you are an authorized representative of your nonprofit, and they’ll tell you what you’ll need to do.
4. Get your language down.
- Draft your preferred messaging. No need to reinvent the wheel here! Go back to the .doc that you created in Step 2 and update, using consistent messages about program impact, audience served, your leadership, partnerships, costs, and anything else you feel is important. Use what has been effective in engaging other funders — pull high-impact language from grant proposals, emails to donors, an email campaign, or your website. You want to convey your unique theory of change: your nonprofit was formed to solve a problem, so share the model of how you do it and why it works. We have a template to help (free Impact 2-pager at cultivategiving.com/templates).
- Have your recent financials. Find your most recent Form 990 from your tax filing, check your audited financial statements, and gather any revised financial documents.
5. Update basic information.
Correct your address, website, mission statement, and leadership. This alone can make a big difference in donor trust.
- Review financial sections carefully. Compare what’s shown to your latest Form 990 and audited statements. Review how your expenses are categorized on your most recent Form 990. Many small nonprofits discover that reasonable program costs for staff time, rent for the program office, or software have been lumped into “management and general.” Note any discrepancies.
- Add narratives and documents. Where allowed, upload your annual report, strategic plan, or impact summary. Use short, clear language that matches what donors read on your website.
If this feels like a lot, break it into baby steps. Schedule 30 minutes a week to work through the steps above, and then update one site at a time until your profiles are claimed, consistent, and current. Many organizations successfully delegate this to a skilled volunteer or board member.
6. Update your passwords for each account.
If someone helped out who is not a member of your permanent staff, then change passwords once setup is complete. This is just a basic security measure and best practice.
Practical tips to improve ratings
If things don’t look the way you want, you can work towards improving your ratings. Start to fix mistakes and add missing context. Commit to being proactive about transparency. The goal is not to chase a perfect score, but to help donors see the full picture of your impact and how you work.
If program and administrative expenses have been categorized incorrectly, doing it right in future tax returns will shift your program ratio and rating in a healthy direction over time. Talk with your accountant about aligning your chart of accounts with how you actually deliver services. (Filing an amended return may make sense, but talk with your accountant first about the fees involved for their time and the filing. It may be more cost-effective to add a narrative explanation in the rating site and wait for future improvements.)
Use the narrative sections that rating sites offer. Candid, for example, encourages you to describe your goals, strategies, and measures of success as you move up its Bronze-to-Platinum scale. Even if your overhead ratio isn’t perfect, a clear explanation of your programs and results can persuade donors that you’re a worthy investment.
Some less visible profiles can be powerful connectors to donors through workplace giving or corporate matches. Benevity powers many employer giving portals, and an incomplete profile there can deter corporate employees from becoming fans of — and donors to — your nonprofit. Taking an afternoon to claim and clean up your listing on platforms like Benevity or BBB Wise Giving Alliance can unlock new, low-effort donors.
Finally, remember that a rating is just one tool donors use. Continue educating your supporters that strong nonprofits invest in staff, systems, and evaluation. When they ask about sites like Charity Navigator or Candid, be ready with a calm, confident answer: “We regularly review these profiles and work to keep information current, while keeping our main focus on the program impact that your gifts make possible.”
Make it a habit: Review online profiles every year
To keep your charity ratings accurate, schedule an annual review as soon as your Form 990 filing, budgeting process, or audit cycle is completed each year. This creates a natural reminder to update profiles, rather than scrambling if a donor raises a concern. (This is also a great time to refresh the language on your donor acknowledgement letters!)
Once your latest 990 is finalized, wait 30 days and then block time each week to log into all of the major rating sites and confirm that your new data has flowed through. Review your mission language, impact metrics, leadership information, and program descriptions so they reflect your most recent year. If your organization reached a new Candid level or Charity Navigator rating, celebrate and share that news with donors.
Consider adding current ratings to the .doc your created earlier, and create a summary paragraph describing your ratings that year. Offer any context donors should know (such as a one-time deficit due to a capital project), and talking points on why overhead and a strong infrastructure matter to your success. Share your ratings summary with your leadership team, staff, and board members — and donors — to celebrate your success!
Treat rating sites as living profiles — rather than static report cards that you dread checking. Make them a tool in your toolbox of how you tell your story. Consider adding them to the donate page of your website. Your numbers may ebb and flow, but donors value transparency and will appreciate learning how you steward resources to create impact.
You’ve got this!
0 Comments