EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK: Understanding MinistryWatch’s Donor Confidence Score

Including commonly asked questions

There are many ways to evaluate a sports team, a corporation, even a rock band or dance company. Is the most successful organization the one that makes the most money, has a winning record, does the most good for the community, produces a high-quality product, or achieves artistic excellence? And even if you could decide which measurements mattered, it is not always easy to quantify the results.

Christian ministries are the same way. How do you evaluate excellence? Here at MinistryWatch, we have been asking ourselves this question for a long time – for more than a quarter-century. We still do not know all the answers, but we do know some of the right questions to ask.

That is what the Donor Confidence Score is all about: asking some of the right questions.

We have identified 14 questions we think donors should ask ministries. We have asked these questions of the ministries in the MinistryWatch 1000 database, and we have given each ministry a score from 0 to 100. If a ministry scores 65 or greater, we believe it is possible to “Give With Confidence” to this ministry. If a ministry scores from 50 to 64, we recommend that you “Exercise Caution.”  For these ministries, you should do a bit of additional research to make sure that you are comfortable with these ministries before you give. If the ministry scores less than 50, we recommend that you “Withhold Giving” from this ministry.

We have posted the answers to these questions on the profile of the ministry in our MinistryWatch 1000 database. (We currently have more than 1300 ministries rated.) It is important to note that this list is dynamic and could – indeed, will – change over time. You can find the ministry you’re looking for by clicking here.

Since we rolled out our Donor Confidence Score in 2022, we have gotten a lot of questions about it, mostly from ministry leaders who want to improve their scores or donors who were dismayed by the low rating we gave their favorite ministry. That is why I am using this week’s “Editor’s Notebook” to answer some of the most asked questions.

How many ministries get “Give With Confidence” scores, and how many ministries get “Exercise Caution” or “Withhold Giving” scores?

About 210 ministries have a “Withhold Giving” score in our database. That number represents about 15 percent of the approximately 1350 ministries in our database. Another 237 ministries have earned an “Exercise Caution” rating. That means more than 900 ministries have a “Give With Confidence” rating from MinistryWatch.

What that means, among other things, is that if a ministry has a “Withhold Giving” rating, it is truly an outlier. It is either doing or failing to do things that responsible ministries do. It also means that there are many other ministries who do what they do better. If you encounter a “Withhold Giving” rating, you should look for another ministry to support.

MinistryWatch’s ratings are more stringent than those at Charity Navigator, Guidestar, and other charity rating services. Why?

You’re right. Our ratings do tend to be more stringent, for several reasons. First, we consider criteria that secular organizations do not. For example, to get our highest rating, an organization must have a biblical statement of faith, and it must be a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. These are just two of several criteria we think are important for Christian organizations.

Secondly, our Financial Efficiency Rating is a peer group comparison. To get a five-star rating, an organization must be in the top 20 percent of its peer group. On the other hand, it also means that the bottom 20 percent will get a one-star rating. The purpose of this forced ranking is to make plain the differences between ministries.

MinistryWatch’s ratings place a lot of weight on the Form 990. Why?

We believe that all Christian ministries should file a Form 990. The Form 990 has information that cannot be found anywhere else. Salaries of executives, for example, are plainly listed on the Form 990, and salary information is not a part of an annual audit. The names of board members are plainly listed on a Form 990.

We realize that a growing number of Christian ministries do not file a Form 990. (I have written about this trend here.) However, we continue to think that trend is a negative one and has a corrosive effect on both the organizations who make that decision and on the credibility of Christian ministries generally.

MinistryWatch requires an organization to file the Form 990 with the IRS and post it on its website. Why is that necessary? Why not just make it available upon request?

All or almost all the organizations that rate tax-exempt organizations – including MinistryWatch – get their Form 990s from the IRS website. These include ProPublica, Charity Navigator, Guidestar, and CharityWatch. A failure to file with the IRS means that this information is simply not available to these organizations, which serve millions of donors each year.

We should also note that the requirement to request a Form 990 adds friction to the process that dramatically decreases transparency. “Available upon request” may have been the standard 20 years ago, but it is not a best practice today. Today it is simply too easy to post these documents on a website, and most reputable organizations do so.

You also place a lot of weight in membership in the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. Why?

We think membership in the ECFA is a “best practice” for Christian ministries, especially organizations greater than $1 million in annual revenue. For that reason, ECFA membership impacts both the Transparency Grade and the Donor Confidence Score.

If a ministry wants to raise its rating, how can it do so?

I often tell ministry leaders, “It’s not magic; it’s math.” The criteria we use to rate ministries are plainly posted on our website. It is easy for a ministry leader to see where it loses points in our rating system, and to adjust accordingly.

That said, we welcome feedback from donors and ministry leaders regarding individual ministry ratings, or regarding our overall rating system. We have made adjustments over the years based on this feedback. If you have comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at [email protected]

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