The ratings were posted during the 2010 Job Training and Placement Awards, hosted by GreatNonprofits, Goodwill Industries International, the International Association of Jewish Vocational Services, and Guidestar. Ratings were submitted by members of the public who have volunteered, donated, or been served by the nonprofits. There are over 40 top nonprofits on the final list, available at http://greatnonprofits.org/reviews/issues/jobs/_.

“…I may have been a late blossomer, but because Goodwill® believed in ME when I couldn't believe in myself and took out the time to teach me how to be a responsible person and that life could actually be GOOD, we now thrive as a family,” wrote one reviewer about Goodwill Industries of Colorado Springs, “we even own our own home, and how can you thank someone enough for saving your life and the life of your children, to not repeat the lifestyle that you yourself went thru, thinking there were no other options?...”

Sandee Kastrul, the President and co-Founder of Inner-City Computer Stars in Chicago, IL, one of the top-rated charities, says, “Since we have participated in the campaign, we have been delighted by the responses of our alums, our participants, our employers and volunteers. What a wonderful way to give and receive feedback in order to strengthen our program and increase our impact.”

"Our rankings have been top-rated, “said Jim Gibbons, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries International, “This verification is one that gives people first-hand knowledge of their local, reputable and trustworthy organizations that are worthy of their time, service, financial donations, or donated goods."

The entire list of top-rated nonprofits is at http://greatnonprofits.org/reviews/issues/jobs/_. Use this list to find great nonprofits to support with your giving and volunteering.

About the 2010 Job Training and Placement Awards The awards were hosted by GreatNonprofits, the leading provider of user-generated ratings and reviews of nonprofits, Goodwill Industries International, the International Association of Jewish Vocational Services, and Guidestar. Over the course of the Job Training and Placement Awards, more than 116,000 people visited the GreatNonprofits Web site, and close to 1000 reviews were posted about more than 100 nonprofits providing job training or placement in their communities.

Reviews appear on GreatNonprofits.org as well as GuideStar.org, the premiere source for donor research on nonprofits. Nonprofits with 10 or more positive reviews are included on the GreatNonprofits Top-Rated Job Training and Placement Nonprofits list. Reviews submissions took place from January 1st to January 31st, 2010.

Media Contact: Shari Ilsen Shari [dot] Ilsen [at] greatnonprofits.org 650.234.4766 (office) 978.621.3396 (cell)

San Francisco, February 2010 – The GreatNonprofits 2010 Arts Appreciation Campaign (www.greatnonprofits.org/arts) will recognize the top-rated nonprofits enriching their communities through the arts. During the month of February, organizations that get reviews on GreatNonprofits (http://www.greatnonprofits.org) will receive exposure to potential donors via GreatNonprofits and Guidestar, the premier site for philanthropic research on the Web.

The national campaign asks clients, donors, volunteers, and board members to write reviews of nonprofits. All reviews will be automatically visible on GuideStar (http://www.guidestar.org).

“Reviews show the real human impact of a nonprofits and raise the visibility and credibility of those organizations,” says GreatNonprofits CEO Perla Ni. “This will help highly-rated nonprofits attract more support and volunteers.” GreatNonprofits is a nonprofit Web site where people can post reviews of nonprofit organizations, similar to Yelp or TripAdvisor. Last year the site received more than 450,000 visits.

The campaign is launched in partnership with Intersection for the Arts in San Francisco and Guidestar. Campaign Deadline: February 28th.

Media Contact: Shari Ilsen shari.ilsen@greatnonprofits.org 650-234-4766

WHERE should we give,

and WHAT should we give,

to have the most impact?

The Disaster Action Center presents reviews of nonprofits working on the ground in Haiti- to help donors and supporters make informed decisions about where to donate.

"There are now more than 50 nonprofits that are vying for donors money for aid to Haiti. Which ones are trustworthy? Which ones actually make things happen? Now, you can read reviews about these aid organizations written by volunteers and donors and make an informed decision," says Perla Ni, CEO of GreatNonprofits.

“Charity reviews help donors find the nonprofits that are doing the best jobs in Haiti,” said Bob Ottenhoff, GuideStar’s president and CEO. “At this time in the crisis, when lives are still at risk and suffering is widespread, it’s vital to support effective organizations that can get aid to the people who need it.”

We need as many reviews of as many relief organizations as possible- so if you know anything about any nonprofits working in Haiti, post a review on GreatNonprofits now! And if we're missing any groups from our list on the Disaster Action Center page, post a comment here and let us know!

ActionAid USA
American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee
American Jewish World Service
American National Red Cross
Americares
Beyond Borders
Brother's Brother
Button Up America
CARE
Catholic Relief Services
Compassion International
Concern Worldwide
Convoy of Hope
CURE
Direct Relief International
Doctors Without Borders
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Feed My Starving Children
Forward Edge International
Hands and Feet Project
Hands On Disaster Response
International Medical Corps
International Rescue Committee
Lions Club International Foundation
Lutheran World Relief
Madre
Medical Teams International
Mercy Corps
Mercy Ships
Music Changing Lives
Operation Blessing International
Operation USA
Oxfam America
Partners in Health
Plan USA
Project HOPE
Project MediShare
Real Hope for Haiti
Rescue Global
Rotary International
Salvation Army
Samaritan's Purse
Save the Children
SOS Children's Villages
Stop Hunger Now
The William J. Clinton Foundation
Touch Ministries Haiti
Union of Reform Judaism
US Fund for UNICEF
Water Missions International
World Concern
World Vision
Yele Haiti

Are we missing any organizations? Post a comment below letting us know, and write a review!

Steven M. Waldmann, the Executive Director of Society of St. Andrew in Big Island, VA., one of the top-rated charities, says, “We deeply appreciate the efforts of GreatNonprofits in offering the opportunity for our supporters to express their views of this ministry and to bring attention to the many wonderful works that are being done on behalf of those in need.”

“Community involvement, support and understanding of what our agency does is crucial to our continuing ability to follow our mission,” says Sandra Lewis, the Executive Director of Tulsa Day Center for the Homeless in Tulsa, OK, another top-rated nonprofit.

“My Sister's House is honored to be on the GreatNonprofits Top-Rated Food and Shelter Charities list,” said Nilda Valmores, Executive Director of My Sister’s House in Sacramento, CA. “This recognition could help increase the generosity of individual donors, foundations, and public officials to support My Sister's House efforts.”

This is the first ever list presenting reviews of food and shelter nonprofits provided by those who have actually experienced their work. The campaign, held during November and December, asked people to submit reviews and ratings about nonprofits providing food or shelter to those in need. The results show the incredible impact being made by nonprofits addressing the critical issues of hunger and homelessness. These unique results will be helpful to donors and supporters who are looking to get involved.

“There are so many great nonprofits serving those in need that don’t have an advertising budget and are not household names,” says Perla Ni, CEO and founder of GreatNonprofits. “Through this first-ever list of top-rated Food and Shelter nonprofits, you can see how some of these nonprofits are changing lives. Donors and volunteers who are interested in getting involved now see which nonprofits are really making a difference."

The entire list of top-rated nonprofits is at www.greatnonprofits.org/foodandshelter/_. Use this list to find great nonprofits to support for your year-end giving and volunteering.

About the 2009 Food and Shelter Awards The awards were hosted by GreatNonprofits, the leading provider of user-generated ratings and reviews of nonprofits, Care2, Feeding America, the National Alliance to End Homelessness, the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth, the National Coalition for the Homeless, and Guidestar. Over the course of the Food and Shelter Awards, more than 67,000 people visited the GreatNonprofits Web site, and over 1700 reviews were posted about more than 230 nonprofits providing food or shelter to those in need.

Reviews appear on GreatNonprofits.org as well as GuideStar.org, the premiere source for donor research on nonprofits. Nonprofits with 10 or more positive reviews are included on the GreatNonprofits Top-Rated Food and Shelter Nonprofits list. Reviews submissions took place from November 10th to December 22nd, 2009.

Media Contact: Shari Ilsen Shari.Ilsen@greatnonprofits.org 650.234.4766 (office) 978.621.3396 (cell)

First “Zagat-like Ratings” Website Goes Live with New Top Charity Lists

WHAT: GreatNonprofits releases the first-ever “Top charities” lists based on user ratings and reviews. Twenty lists created according to causes and cities, rate nonprofits including youth service, food and shelter, cancer, environmental, and LGBT organizations, and nonprofits in metro areas including San Diego, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, and New York.

WHEN: December 1, 2009, 12:01 a.m.

WHY: This holiday season, with needs up and donations down, it’s more vital than ever that consumers make wise choices about which charities to support, either financially or through volunteer service. Experts, including Hewlett Foundation president Paul Brest, say “overhead ratios” -— determined by how much money goes into programs as compared to administrative costs — are useless for evaluating which charities do the best work [see explananation, next page]. But that and similar criteria are precisely what most other ratings systems employ in judging nonprofit performance. Now there is an alternative. Several new organizations, including GreatNonprofits, have formed to provide donors useful — and free — information to help them choose charities that are the best at what they do.

WHO: Perla Ni, founding editor of the Stanford Social Innovation Review, founded GreatNonprofits after providing editorial coverage of Hurricane Katrina and trying to determine the best nonprofits serving New Orleans residents. Ni was recently named one of the “Top Game Changers in Philanthropy” by the Huffington Post, and has been featured in the Christian Science Monitor, San Francisco Chronicle, Chronicle of Philanthropy, and dozens of other media for her innovative rating service, referred to as “Zagat-”, “Yelp-”, or “TripAdvisor-like” reviews for nonprofits.

WHERE: GreatNonprofits, called “a destination site for the philanthropic,”can be accessed from any computer anywhere on the planet. Volunteers, board members, service recipients, or anyone who has had experience with a nonprofit can post a review, positive or negative, enabling nonprofits to improve their services and showcase their strengths, and encouraging more donations and volunteer support.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Perla Ni; perlani@greatnonprofits.org; 415.902.2659, visit http://www.GreatNonprofits.org, or see http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/1125/p25s08-usec.html or http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/12/26/BAEP14OGI4.DTL&hw=greatnonprofits&sn=001&sc=1000

Why “overhead ratios” may be the worst criteria by which to judge nonprofits While the idea of sending money “straight to the beneficiaries” is tempting, nonprofit experts agree that judging charities by how much of their money goes to "programs" is counterproductive. "Achieving a low overhead ratio drives charities to all sorts of behaviors that make them less effective and means more, not less, wasted dollars," says Paul Brest, President of the Hewlett Foundation.

Experts cite many reasons that an overhead ratio is a useless measure:

• It tells you nothing about the impact the charity has on people it's trying to help

• It discourages charities from investing in tools and expertise that would make them more effective

• The rules for determining overhead costs are vague and every charity interprets them differently

• Accounting experts estimate that 75% of charities calculate their overhead ratio incorrectly

Top Nonprofits by City:

Boston - http://greatnonprofits.org/reviews/issues/_/628

Chicago - http://greatnonprofits.org/reviews/issues/_/663

Los Angeles - http://greatnonprofits.org/reviews/issues/_/600

Minneapolis - http://greatnonprofits.org/reviews/issues/_/631

New York - http://greatnonprofits.org/reviews/issues/_/606

Oakland - http://greatnonprofits.org/reviews/issues/_/623

Philadelphia - http://greatnonprofits.org/reviews/issues/_/629

Pittsburgh - http://greatnonprofits.org/reviews/issues/_/666

San Diego - http://greatnonprofits.org/reviews/issues/_/610

San Francisco - http://greatnonprofits.org/reviews/issues/_/642

San Jose - http://greatnonprofits.org/reviews/issues/_/655

Seattle - http://greatnonprofits.org/reviews/issues/_/618

Washington DC - http://greatnonprofits.org/reviews/issues/_/609

Top Nonprofits by Cause:

Top-Rated Cancer Fighting Nonprofits - http://greatnonprofits.org/reviews/issues/cancer/_

Top-Rated Environmental Nonprofits - http://greatnonprofits.org/reviews/issues/green/_

Top-Rated Indian Nonprofits - http://greatnonprofits.org/reviews/issues/indya/_

Top-Rated Jewish Nonprofits - http://greatnonprofits.org/reviews/issues/jewish/_

Top-Rated LGBTQ Nonprofits - http://greatnonprofits.org/reviews/issues/pride/_

Top-Rated Youth Nonprofits - http://greatnonprofits.org/reviews/issues/yth/_

Top-Rated Food and Shelter Nonprofits - http://greatnonprofits.org/reviews/issues/foodandshelter/_

• a SF resident
• Have a child under 18 (the child does not have to live with you)
• Be unemployed currently OR low income

Location: Conveniently located off 280 on Sandhill road in Menlo Park.

Online Marketing Guru

This is a unique opportunity to play a key role with a leading organization at the intersection of technology and nonprofits. This is a chance to have a huge impact on a highly visible organization, and shape its direction.

Help spearhead GreatNonprofits' (http://www.greatnonprofits.org) online marketing campaigns and engagewith a variety of nonprofits. You'll be developing and executing online marketing campaigns through Twitter, Facebook, Google Adwords and more.

Each month, we launch a new campaign focused on a social sector. This past year, we've launched campaigns focused on Environmental nonprofits, LGBTQ nonprofits, Youth nonprofits, Indian nonprofits, and Jewish nonprofits. We plan on launching campaigns around Human Rights nonprofits, Homeless nonprofits, Women's nonprofits as well.

Responsibilities:

1. Developing and executing online marketing campaigns through Twitter, Facebook, Google Adwords and more.
2. Monitoring and tracking success of campaigns
3. Writing email newsletters, website copy, be responsible for Twitter, Facebook outreach
4. Creating online ads for Adwords and tracking Adwords
5. Email acquisition - Developing email list, targeting, mail merge and deduping

Benefits:

• Work in small “start-up” at the cutting edge of nonprofits and technology
• Transform the way nonprofits are evaluated

Experience Required:

• 5 years experience in online marketing – writing email newsletters, creating ads for Adwords, setting up and tracking google analytics, and blogging.
• Excellent references, successful track-record
• Nice to have – background in publishing
• Some familiarity with nonprofits
• Bachelor's degree

Compensation: Negotiable
You must meet the requirements of the San Francisco Jobs Now Program: http://www.sfhsa.org/1283.htm

Please send resume to Perlani(at)greatnonprofits.org

Senior Software Engineer/Engineering Manager

We’re seeking a star PHP/MySQL programmer to lead engineering and to develop APIs and co-brands with partner sites.
The Opportunity:
This is a unique opportunity to play a key role with a leading organization at the intersection of technology and nonprofits. This is a chance to have a huge impact on a highly visible organization, and shape its direction.

The success of GreatNonprofits (http://www.greatnonprofits.org) will be directly tied to the capabilities of our engineering team, and its leadership. You will interact closely across departments, from product management to business development.
The Ideal Candidate:

• Experienced technical self-starter, with experience out of a fast-growing startup, or out of a significant web-based company
• Track record of promotions and achievement
• Hands on problem solver
• Experience working with highly scalable systems.

Technical Chops:

• Deep proven experience in PHP, MySQL, Javascript/Ajax, and CSS/XHTML
• Developed robust web applications, APIs, standalone scripts, and lightweight web applications.
• Experience leading engineering team
• Experience with Drupal

Compensation: Negotiable
You must meet the requirements of the San Francisco Jobs Now Program: http://www.sfhsa.org/1283.htm

Please send resume to Perlani(at)greatnonprofits.org

About GreatNonprofits:

GreatNonprofits is a website and tool that allows you to find, review, and talk about great -- and perhaps not yet great -- nonprofits. Reviews can be seen on our own website, and are also syndicated to other sites, such as our premiere partner, GuideStar . The reviews on GuideStar are linked from the search results as well as from the individual nonprofit profile pages. You can also write reviews on GuideStar and they will be visible on GreatNonprofits as well as GuideStar.

GreatNonprofits is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization itself, which is funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation, Sand Hill Foundation, Morgan Family Foundation, Peery Foundation, and individuals who believe that we provide a needed information source for nonprofits, volunteers and donors.

Launched in Nov. 2007, GreatNonprofits has already received media coverage in Newsweek, Chronicle of Philanthropy, San Francisco Business Times, on NPR, and more.

Perla writes candidly about how important she knows charities can be to individuals and families. This holiday season, Perla is making a difference by contributing to a cause in the name of friends and family. Using the reviews on GreatNonprofits, she has chosen several charities that have been identified as exceptional by beneficiaries, volunteers and donors. Read more of Perla’s post and check out some of the charities she’s choosing to support on the USA Today Kindness blog.

2. Look for opinions and information about the charity from the people who have had direct experience with it: GreatNonprofits.org allows beneficiaries, clients, donors and others to  post both positive and negative reviews.  The reviews are also automatically posted to the nonprofits'  GuideStar report.

3. Look for expert opinions on the charity: Philanthropedia is a new site that is providing access to the knowledge of experts that would normally only be available to large foundations.

4. Look for direct evidence of impact: This is more than just a few nice stories and pretty pictures. Ask the charity how it is evaluating the effectiveness of its programs. GiveWell has reviewed hundreds of charities looking for direct evidence of impact. Their site provides a great deal of information on what we know works and what we know doesn't--and surprisingly many charities are carrying out programs that have little or no evidence that they work.

5. See It For Yourself: Do a donor tour or sign up to volunteer and experience for yourself what the nonprofit does. 

In fact, picking a charity based on overhead ratio is like choosing a school without looking at the quality of education it provides to its students. This means that an overhead ratio tells you next to nothing about the impact the charity has on the people it’s trying to help. Instead, as Paul Brest, president of the Hewlett Foundation explains, “Achieving a low overhead ratio drives many charities to behaviors that make them less effective and means more, not less, wasted dollars.” Overwhelming focus on overhead ratio actually alters nonprofit behavior and discourages charities from investing in tools and expertise that would make them more effective. Furthermore, the rules for determining overhead costs are vague and every charity interprets them differently, leading experts to estimate that close to 75% of charities calculate incorrectly.

This coalition of prominent nonprofit leaders seeks to highlight the various ways that overhead ratios fail to demonstrate impact. Bob Ottenhoff of Charity Navigator acknowledges that “It's understandable why people have looked at overhead ratios and executive salaries—they want to make sure their donation does the most good.” That being said, “The best way to do that isn't a financial ratio, it's information on how effective charities are.”

This giving season, as GreatNonprofits Founder and CEO Perla Ni says, "So many donors and volunteers want to know if their giving is going to make a difference. Now there are new tools for them to see which nonprofits are most deserving of their support,” User-generated reviews, expert opinions, and thorough examinations of nonprofits are a powerful tool for donors looking to make sure their dollar goes as far as possible. By making use of these new tools, we can change the way people evaluate nonprofits and direct resources to the organizations that are most effective.

To read the press release, and for more information on how to make an informed giving decision visit http://bit.ly/6kjV9d

This blog post was written by Emma Bundy, GreatNonprofits Marketing Manager

The event will be held on January 12, 2010, from 4:30 - 7:30 PM at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, but the nonprofit application period ends soon! Last year’s event drew more than 700 candidates, and this year promises to be equally dynamic. You can make sure your favorite nonprofit can participate by getting the information into the right hands. If you’re involved with an organization you think might benefit from a great opportunity to meet other dedicated people, make sure they know about the event – and soon!

If you’re just learning about The Board Match, don’t worry. There’s still time to apply. The deadline has been extended until December 1st! Encourage your favorite organization to visit http://www.theboardmatch.org to learn more about how to reserve a spot. This is a great way for organizations to learn from one another and to strengthen their board of directors, but it’s also a chance for you to help out your favorite organization and make sure they take advantage of this opportunity.

These campaigns focused on organizations working for India and Indian communities abroad, and on Jewish organizations, respectively.

The results are outstanding. The InDiya Shine winners showcase the incredible breadth of work being done in and for India, including nonprofits supporting vision, hearing, children, youth, culture, arts, community, women, cancer, education, literacy, poverty and more. The Jewish Choice winners, many of which focus on young adult and teen engagement, highlight the dynamic and cohesive nature of the Jewish community, as well as the emphasis being placed on engaging the next generation.

We'd like to thank our InDiya Shine partner, Little India- check out some great articles about Indian philanthropy here:

The Season of Giving
Top Indian Nonprofits Based on Assets and Revenues
Most Reviewed Indian Nonprofits

We'd also like to thank our Jewish Choice Partners, Jewish Funders Network, JTA, Natan, Slingshot Fund, Jewish Jumpstart, Upstart Bay Area, and JGooders.com.

Finally, we want to thank YOU for your participation in identifying the top Jewish and Indian nonprofits. To see the amazing winners, click below:

2009 InDiya Shine Awards winners
2009 Jewish Choice Awards winners

(Spoiler alert: More great lists are coming, so get your holiday giving and volunteering spirit ready, because we're about to unleash a world of great nonprofits!)

We're of course honored to be included among an impressive list along with Charles Best of DonorsChoose, Jeff Skoll of the Skoll Foundation, Matt Flannery of Kiva, Lucy Bernholz, and so many more amazing people working in new media to improve the philanthropic world. (We're just glad more people are finally acknowledging how amazing Perla is- maybe now she can take a vacation!)

Our real excitement comes from the hope that with this announcement more people will realize how important it is to really take a look at how nonprofits are having an impact - to highlight the good work of those that are making a difference, and to help those that are struggling gain the feedback they need to improve.

More than that, as GreatNonprofits becomes more well-known, a community will emerge of well-informed, passionate people who are committed to nonprofit excellence. They will know that when they give money or volunteer for a cause, any cause, they can trust in GreatNonprofits as a resource to guide them. And when they've had good OR bad experiences with charities, they can come back to GreatNonprofits and help others follow in their footsteps by sharing their stories.

So click here to browse through HuffPost's Philanthropy Game Changers, and vote for GreatNonprofits- together, we'll change the game, and we'll all win.

Their show today in San Francisco is called "Green, Sustainable Consumer-Facing Businesses." Guests include Gary Kremen, Founder of Match.com and CEO of Clean Power Finance; Reem Rahim, Co-founder and CEO of Numi Tea; and Brian Matthay, Program Manager of Imagine H2O. An impressive and exciting line-up, for sure.

Our excitement is doubled by the fact that this topic emphasizes a new trend emerging in the hazy world of business these days: how for-profit companies are learning from nonprofit practices. For decades nonprofit organizations have survived on fractions of what for-profit companies waste each year on unnecessary spending and wasteful practices. Sustainability is a prime example of the ways nonprofits have learned to achieve their goals without damaging the world around them- and now, finally, the for-profit sector is taking notice and taking notes.

We're excited to tune in to Business Boomer's show this evening, which will broadcast at 6pm PDT. You can go to Business Boomer's website to see it, or you can see it on the livestream player below.