Humane Society of Manatee County Earns Coveted 4-Star Rating
Article courtesy of Suncoast Pet
By Rick Yocum, Executive Director, Humane Society of Manatee County & Candance T. Botha
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Humane Society of Manatee County’s strong financial health and commitment to accountability and transparency have earned the animal 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, America’s largest independent charity evaluator.
This is the first time Humane Society of Manatee County—which is located at 2515 14th Street West in Bradenton—has earned this top distinction.
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 practic-es, as well as measures of openness, to its ratings methodology. These accountability and 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, Charity Navigator upgraded their methodol-ogy for rating each charity’s financial health with CN 2.1. These
enhancements further substantiate the financial health of charities receiving a 4-star rating.
According to Michael Thatcher, president and CEO of Charity Nav-igator, “Humane Society of Manatee County’s exceptional 4-star rat-ing sets it apart from its peers and demonstrates its trustworthiness to the public. Only a quarter of charities rated by Charity Navigator receive the distinction of our 4-star rating. This adds Humane Society of Manatee County to a preeminent group of charities working to overcome our world’s most pressing challenges. Based on its 4-star rating,” he adds, “people can trust that their donations are going to a financially responsible and ethical charity when they decide to support Humane Society of Manatee County.”
For Rick Yocum, who has served as executive director of Humane Society of Manatee County since March 2016, earning the 4-star rating is an unparalleled milestone for the animal organization.
“It’s extremely gratifying to have the efforts of every one here at Humane Society of Man-atee recognized by Charity Navigator,” he says. “It also talks to our donors about our trans-parency and all that we do here at Humane Society of Manatee County.
“It’s especially important our donors trust that we’re using their donations wisely to accomplish our mission of leading Manatee County in fostering compassion and respect for animals through care, education and collaboration,” Rick continues. “Our 4-star Charity Navigator rating demonstrates to our supporters our good gover-nance and financial accountability.” Humane Society of Manatee County’s rating and other information about charitable giving are available free of charge online at www.charitynavigator.org.
More detailed information about Humane Society of Manatee County’s rating is available to Charity Navigator site visitors who become registered users, another free service.
