Methodology
Our Methodology
Our methodology is thoughtfully applied based on information we believe is important to a nonprofit’s long-term success and impact.
The organizations within Jeengle’s giving gateway are selected using carefully curated information, statistics and projections based on Jeengle’s methodology.
What criteria is used for selection?
Principles
The affiliations, causes and missions lay the groundwork for the operations of any given organization, nonprofit or not. The organizations within Jeengle’s giving gateway put their values and passions first, that’s non-negotiable. However, Jeengle’s methodology maintains certain parameters within those principles to ensure that the organizations within Jeengle’s giving gateway are applicable for all donors.
1. Affiliation
The organizations within Jeengle’s giving gateway do not have affiliations that, in any way, taint its mission in a manner that would bias donors. All organizations must be:
- Nonsectarian – No affiliation to any political or religious group.
- Non-polarizing – No affiliation to any given public figure or for-profit organization.
2. Mission
The organizations within Jeengle’s giving gateway do not have a mission that is too specific within its umbrella category. Jeengle is focused on organizations with missions that are broad enough to suit all donors.
3. Tax Status
The organizations within Jeengle’s giving gateway must be registered with the IRS as a 501(c)(3) “public charity” – and not a “private foundation.”
According to the IRS, “Public charities generally receive a greater portion of their financial support from the general public or governmental units, and have greater interaction with the public. A private foundation, on the other hand, is typically controlled by members of a family or by a small group of individuals, and derives much of its support from a small number of sources and from investment income.”
Jeengle is a giving gateway for individual donors, and because of this, its organizations must rely on financial support from the general public. Additionally, Jeengle is working on your behalf to ensure that your donation is entirely tax deductible.
Jeengle’s Charity Selection Committee
Jeengle’s methodology is supported by a Charity Selection Committee (“the Committee”).
Jeengle’s Board of Directors appoints the Committee on an annual basis. According to Jeengle’s bylaws, the Committee must be comprised of at least three members. The Committee makes recommendations to the Board of Directors concerning the charitable grantee organizations within Jeengle’s giving gateway. In making its recommendations, the Committee strictly adheres to Jeengle’s methodology.
The Committee meets annually in December to review potential grantee organizations and their corresponding financials and information. Ongoing reviews and audits of the chosen organizations will be relayed to the Committee and the Board of Directors on an ongoing basis throughout the year.
Financial
The financial health and wellness of any given organization is crucial to its longevity and the productivity of its programs. However, donors are repeatedly telling Jeengle that the financial operations within the nonprofit industry are met with confusion, trepidation and uncertainty. The organizations within Jeengle’s giving gateway should, and do, operate their financial ongoings with intelligence and acumen.
Jeengle analyzes financials based on information published within any given organization’s annual Form 990.
4. Program Expenses
The organizations within Jeengle’s giving gateway do not spend less than 75% of their total expenses on programs that further their charitable cause or purpose.
5. Annual Revenue
The organizations within Jeengle’s giving gateway must generate at least $30-million in revenue. In an effort to have the largest stamp on humanity, Jeengle is focused on the largest organizations that, in turn, have the largest reach.
Additionally, Jeengle monitors the growth, and potential for more growth, for the organizations within Jeengle’s giving gateway. The nature of fundraising and the nonprofit industry leans itself to the likelihood of an occasional unconventionally high-revenue-year due to any range of reasons (ranging from a single large one-time donation to a highly-successful one-time campaign). Therefore, sporadic dips in revenue do not automatically disqualify any given organization from being considered.
6. Government Support
The organizations within Jeengle’s giving gateway do not receive more than 50% of their revenue via government grants or contributions. Jeengle is a gateway for the public, therefore the organizations within Jeengle’s giving gateway must gain the majority of their support from public donations.
7. Assets vs. Liabilities
The organizations within Jeengle’s giving gateway do not have a liabilities-to-assets ratio larger than 65%. We feel that an organization’s liabilities, or debt, is a financial resource that can ultimately help yield more financial freedom if managed properly. However, if not managed with caution and care, an organization’s programs can suffer.
8. Highest Paid Employee’s Salary
The organizations within Jeengle’s giving gateway do not pay their highest paid employee more than 2.0% of their total annual expenses. Jeengle’s stance on compensation is not that employees within the nonprofit industry are paid poorly. On the contrary, Jeengle’s stance on compensation is that employees within the nonprofit industry are valued and paid competitively.
Reach
The physical reach of any given organization’s programs play a large role in what organizations are considered. It is the magic factor of what kind of change is actually happening that Jeengle’s donors repeatedly tell us they care most about. After all, what good does a financially healthy and accountable organization do if its programs aren’t working? Jeengle’s methodology ensures that the organizations within Jeengle’s giving gateway reach as many lives and areas as possible and, in turn, makes the greatest impact on humanity.
9. Area + Population Served
The organizations within Jeengle’s giving gateway that are primarily focused on the United States must provide program services to a reasonably vast and diverse reach of the country. Similarly, Jeengle maintains the same expectation for any internationally-focused organization – that its reach spans beyond a specific country or territory. The scope of any given organization’s work must not be specific to a certain city, state or region or country.
Additionally, the organizations within Jeengle’s giving gateway do not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression, age, appearance, physical or mental ability or marital status.
10. Headquarters
The organizations within Jeengle’s giving gateway must be headquartered within the United States.
11. Programs
The organizations within Jeengle’s giving gateway must provide identifiable and measureable results around their programs. Additionally, the organizations within Jeengle’s giving gateway collectively acts as a well-rounded approach of philanthropy for the scope of humanity.
Transparency + Accountability
As members of the nonprofit industry, we are held to standards and practices that other for-profit organizations are not. These are standards that Jeengle takes very seriously – and we expect the organizations within Jeengle’s giving gateway to treat these standards with respect as well.
12. Media + Controversy
Jeengle monitors media coverage and controversy for the organizations within Jeengle’s giving gateway. Any serious accusation of fraud, misconduct or questionable ethics, that is grounded in fact and proof, results in an automatic removal from the charity selection process.
13. Published Policies
Jeengle requires the following policies to be approved and adopted by the organizations within Jeengle’s giving gateway. Jeengle reviews websites and/or Forms 990 to ensure the policies are intact.
Although many of these policies are status quo for the nonprofit industry, the importance of them is not lost on Jeengle. We believe policies and processes have been put in place for smart and ethical reasons – and reasons that ultimately benefit donors:
- Conflict of Interest Policy – The conflict of interest policy exists to aid in the ethical and moral business actions by nonprofit organizations – to ensure any given organization acts solely to further its specific charitable purpose – rather than any individual’s own financial gain.
- Whistleblower Policy – The whistleblower policy exists to establish procedures and processes for involved members (employees, Board of Director or committee members, volunteers, etc.) to report dishonest accounting, alleged discrimination or general complaints. The procedures and processes put in place ensure confidential reporting. Additionally, the policy safeguards any involved member from any sort of retaliation as a result of the report.
- Document Retention and Destruction Policy – The document retention and destruction policy exists as a standard and guide for management, storage and destruction of documents that contain confidential, financial or sensitive information.
- Board Approval of Compensation Policy – The board approval of compensation policy exists as a standard and guide for compensating an organization’s highest paid employees. The policy puts a process in place for an organization’s independent board to review on an annual basis including reviewing comparable salaries, online research or published Forms 990.