This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

All Faiths Food Bank Earns Coveted 4-Star Rating From Charity Navigator

All Faiths Food Bank has earned a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator for its sound fiscal management practices and commitment to accountability and transparency. All Faiths Food Bank also adheres to, or surpasses the standards and regulations required as a member of Feeding America, as well as state and national food safety guidelines. In recent months, the Food Bank fulfilled the rigorous requirements necessary to receive this top distinction from Charity Navigator, America's largest independent charity evaluator.

"Fiscal responsibility and honoring the wishes of donors is not just our job, but a promise we make to the community," said Food Bank CEO Sandra Frank. "We worked diligently to increase our ratings with Charity Navigator – we hold ourselves to the highest professional standards and it is rewarding to have our efforts acknowledged."

Since 2002, using data-driven analysis, Charity Navigator has awarded only the most fiscally responsible organizations a 4-star rating. In 2011, Charity Navigator added a second dimension of Accountability and Transparency (A&T) to its rating methodology, and now reviews 17 governance and ethical practices as well as measures of openness, providing information on its web site for each of the charities it evaluates. The A&T metrics, which account for 50 percent of a charity's overall rating, reveal which charities have "best practices" that minimize the chance of unethical activities and whether they freely share basic information about their organization with their donors and other stakeholders.

Find out what's happening in St. Petewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"All Faiths Food Bank's coveted 4-star rating puts it in a very select group of high-performing charities," according to Ken Berger, President and CEO, Charity Navigator. "Out of the thousands of nonprofits Charity Navigator evaluates, only one out of four earns 4 stars -- a rating that, now, with our new Accountability and Transparency metrics, demands even greater rigor, responsibility and commitment to openness.  All Faiths Food Bank supporters should feel confident that their hard-earned dollars are being used efficiently and responsibly when it acquires such a high rating."

About All Faiths Food Bank

Find out what's happening in St. Petewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

All Faiths Food Bank, recently awarded a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, is a member of Feeding America and the hub of the hunger-relief system in DeSoto and Sarasota counties. Last year, All Faiths Food Bank distributed 7 million pounds of food equating to 5.8 million meals through 195 pantries, soup kitchens, churches, community centers, schools, and programs. Its mission is to feed those in need and educate the community about hunger and nutrition. For more information call 941-379-6333 or visit www.allfaithsfoodbank.org.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?