The Princeton Area Community Foundation has earned its 10th consecutive 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, America’s largest independent charity evaluator.

Only 2 percent of the nonprofits evaluated by Charity Navigator have received at least 10 consecutive 4-star ratings.

The Community Foundation’s strong financial health and commitment to accountability and transparency have led to the top distinction.

“Princeton Area Community Foundation’s exceptional 4-star rating sets it apart from its peers and demonstrates its trustworthiness to the public,” according to Michael Thatcher, President & CEO of Charity Navigator. “This adds the Community Foundation 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 Community Foundation.”

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.  These 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.

Charity Navigator has also named the Community Foundation to its list of America’s 10 Best Community Foundations and to its list of 10 Highly Rated Charities in New Jersey.

Top Ten Community Foundations in the US

10 Highly Rated Charities in NJ