For the seventh straight year, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Benton Harbor have earned a 4-star rating from America’s largest independent charity evaluator, Charity Navigator. 
The local club’s strong financial health and commitment to accountability and transparency have earned them the 4-star rating for the seventh consecutive time, a true mark of distinction for any organization earning that solid reputation.
Since 2002, using objective analysis, Charity Navigator has awarded only the most fiscally responsible organizations a 4-star rating. In 2011, Charity Navigator added 17 metrics, focused on governance and ethical practices as well as measures of openness, to its ratings methodology. Those Accountability & Transparency metrics, which account for 50-percent of a charity’s overall rating, reveal which charities operate in accordance with industry best practices and whether they are open with their donors and stakeholders. On June 1, 2016, they upgraded their methodology for rating each charity’s financial health with CN 2.1. Those enhancements further substantiate the financial health of all four star charities.
Michael Thatcher, President & CEO of Charity Navigator, says, “The Boys & Girls Clubs of Benton Harbor’s exceptional 4-star rating sets it apart from its peers and demonstrates its trustworthiness to the public,” and notes, “Only a quarter of charities rated by Charity Navigator receive the distinction of our 4-star rating. This adds the Boys & Girls Clubs of Benton Harbor to a preeminent group of charities working to overcome our world’s most pressing challenges. Based on its 4-star rating, people can trust that their donations are going to a financially responsible and ethical charity when they decide to support the Boys & Girls Clubs of Benton Harbor.”
Club Chief Executive Officer Mackenzie Kastl, says, “It’s important our donors trust that we’re using their donations wisely to accomplish our mission of ensuring all youth and teens have the support and resources they need to reach their full potential as productive, caring and responsible citizens,” and adds, “Our 4-star Charity Navigator rating demonstrates our good governance and financial accountability to our supporters.”
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Benton Harbor’s rating and other information about charitable giving are available free of charge on http://www.charitynavigator.org. More-detailed information about the Boys & Girls Clubs of Benton Harbor is available to Charity Navigator site visitors who become registered users, another free service.
Located at 600 Nate Wells Senior Drive, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Benton Harbor has served the youth of Benton Harbor since 1998. The Club provides after school and summer programs promoting educational and career development, character and leadership development, and healthy lifestyles for nearly 1,200 youth and teens each year at the Fettig Youth Campus and Joel E. Smilow Teen Center, as well as community-based locations in Benton Harbor and neighboring areas. You can learn more at http://www.bgcbh.org
Charity Navigator is the largest charity evaluator in America and its website attracts more visitors than all other charity rating groups combined. The organization helps guide intelligent giving by evaluating the Financial Health and Accountability & Transparency of more than 8,000 charities. They accept no advertising or donations from the organizations they evaluate, ensuring unbiased evaluations, nor do they charge the public for this trusted data.
