4-STAR RATING FROM CHARITY NAVIGATOR FOR SECOND CONSECUTIVE YEAR

WASTE NOT EARNS COVETED 4-STAR RATING FROM CHARITY NAVIGATOR

PHOENIX – April 3, 2017 – Waste NOT’s strong financial health and commitment to accountability and transparency have earned it a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, America’s largest independent charity evaluator.  This is the second consecutive year that Waste NOT 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 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.  On June 1, 2016, we upgraded our methodology for rating each charity’s’ financial health with CN 2.1. These enhancements further substantiates the financial health of our four star charities.

“Waste NOT’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. “Only a quarter of charities rated by Charity Navigator receive the distinction of our 4-star rating. This adds Waste Not 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 Waste NOT.”

“It’s important our donors trust that we’re using their donations wisely to accomplish our mission of alleviating hunger in the Valley by rescuing and distributing perishable food to the people who need it the most,” said Dee Mitten, President & CEO.  “Our 4-star Charity Navigator rating demonstrates to our supporters our good governance and financial accountability.” 

One in four children go to bed hungry every night and 16.1 percent of Arizonans live in poverty versus 13.2 percent nationally. Waste Not answers this need by daily transferring approximately 10,000 pounds of perishable, excess food – food that would otherwise be thrown out by local purveyors – to 100 different agencies that feed our community in need.

Waste NOT’s rating and other information about charitable giving are available free of charge on www.charitynavigator.org.   More-detailed information about Waste NOT’s rating is available to Charity Navigator site visitors who become registered users, another free service.

About Charity Navigator

Charity Navigator, www.charitynavigator.org, is the largest charity evaluator in America and its website attracts more visitors than all other charity rating groups combined. The organization helps guide intelligent giving by evaluating the Financial Health and Accountability & Transparency of more than 8,000 charities. Charity Navigator accepts no advertising or donations from the organizations it evaluates, ensuring unbiased evaluations, nor does it charge the public for this trusted data. As a result, Charity Navigator, a 501 (c) (3) public charity itself, depends on support from individuals, corporations and foundations that believe it provides a much-needed service to America’s charitable givers. Charity Navigator, can be reached directly by telephone at (201) 818-1288, or by mail at 139 Harristown Road, Suite 101, Glen Rock, N.J., 07452

About Waste Not

Established in 1987, Waste Not is a local 501(c)(3) nonprofit that feeds thousands of hungry people in Arizona every day. With one in four children going to bed hungry every night, and 16.1 percent of the population in the state living in poverty, hunger remains a prevalent issue. The organization’s trucks and drivers are on the road six days per week to answer this need, bycollecting an average of 10,000 pounds of excess perishable food from restaurants, resorts, caterers, grocers and various other food purveyors – food that would otherwise be thrown away. Waste Not delivers the food the same day to more than 100 diverse agencies that feed the hungry including schools, after-school programs, daycare centers, rehabilitation centers, transition homes and senior facilities. A record 3 million pounds of food was transferred in 2016. For more information about Waste Not, please visit www.wastenotaz.org.