As the infinite number of year-end donation letters and emails begin to pour in, Charity Navigator has released its ranking of the highest and lowest-rated organizations based on accountability and transparency. This includes the National Kidney Foundation of Michigan, which ranks No. 1 in its category of “Diseases, Disorders, and Disciplines.”
“We’ve always held firm to this belief that integrity, transparency, and financial efficiency translates into an ability for our organization to provide the best possible programs and services,” says Dan Carney, president and CEO of the Ann Arbor-based foundation. “It’s allowed us to not only serve thousands of people every year in Michigan, but to do that in an innovative, cutting-edge kind of way.”
The Glen Rock, N.J.-based nonprofit charity evaluator website gives the National Kidney Foundation of Michigan an overall score of 99.25 (out of 100), based on factors relating to its financial health as well as accountability and transparency.
Aiming to prevent chronic kidney disease and supporting those who have kidney failure, the organization spends nearly 90 percent of its budget on its programs and services, according to the evaluation. About 7 percent goes toward fundraising efforts while 3 percent is spent on administrative costs.
This year, the foundation will be directing some of those funds and much of its attention to its diabetes prevention program, which was recently certified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“That may seem odd — we’re a kidney foundation,” Carney says. “But given that diabetes is a leading cause of kidney failure, it makes a lot of sense.”
The program, focused on people with pre-diabetes, has a 58 percent success rate, says Carney, noting that the program will expand to additional facilities and centers next year based on demand.
To read Charity Navigator’s entire list of highest and lowest-rated charities, click here.
