Michael Thatcher, President and CEO of Charity Navigator, whose purpose is to bring transparency to philanthropy, regularly examines and rates 200,000 American nonprofits, aiming to provide objective criteria to guide giving. But how to know whether your charity is impactful? Whether the money you aim for refugees or cancer research or policy advocacy hits its mark?

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For many, the holiday season is a time of giving, when people think a bit more about those with less, or those affected by war or other calamities. But those problems and the philanthropic urge to do something about them are far greater than something for Dickens’ Scrooge to do on Christmas morning after a night of ghostly encounters.

Globally, private philanthropy is big and growing. Nonprofit foundation Giving Tuesday alone is now a worldwide phenomenon that raised more than three billion dollars last month. The impulse to give is global.

But how to know whether your charity is impactful? Whether the money you aim for refugees or cancer research or policy advocacy hits its mark? Much of the non-profit world is opaque on the best of days.

Cue Charity Navigator, a US NGO whose purpose is to bring transparency to philanthropy. Our guest today on New Thinking For A New World is Michael Thatcher, Charity Navigator’s President and CEO, which regularly examines and rates 200,000 American nonprofits, aiming to provide objective criteria to guide giving. Today, the US; tomorrow, the world.

What do you think? Comment below

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Listen to the episode here or find the New Thininkg for a New World podcast on a platform of your choice (Apple podcast, Spotify, Stitcher, Google podcast, Youtube, etc).

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ABOUT OUR GUEST
Michael Thatcher is the President & Chief Executive Officer of Charity Navigator. Michael leads Charity Navigator in its efforts to make impactful philanthropy easier for all by increasing the breadth and depth of evaluation methodologies to facilitate ratings coverage of substantially larger numbers of charities, and expand how the information engages new and existing audiences.

Prior to joining Charity Navigator, Michael spent more than fifteen years with Microsoft, the last ten of which, as their Public Sector Chief Technology Officer responsible for technology policy initiatives and engagements with government and academic leaders in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.

Michael’s eclectic background includes years at sea conducting oceanographic research with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, composing music and dancing internationally as the co-founder and co-director of Dance Music Light. He has held various board positions within the nonprofit and tech sectors, holds several patents in enterprise systems management, and has a degree in Music from Columbia University in New York.

His guiding mantra: Follow your heart – Use your head – Make a difference