TPL Receives A+ Charity Rating

SAN FRANCISCO 4/1/2009: The Trust for Public Land, a national conservation organization, has been given a coveted A+ rating by the American Institute of Philanthropy, a watchdog organization which ranks non-profits for efficiency.

TPL was one of only three environmental non-profits to be given the A+ rating by AIP, which says its goal is “to maximize the effectiveness of every dollar contributed to charity by providing donors with the information they need to make more informed giving decisions.”

TPL president Will Rogers said, “Our goal is to preserve land and do it as efficiently as possible, and we are gratified our efforts have been recognized by an independent organization such as AIP. In the past, we have been consistently recognized for our efficiency. In today’s economy, it is even more important to make sure that the support of our donors is used as efficiently as possible.”

AIP said it looked at more than 500 charities and “only a select number quality for our listing of top-rated charities.” It noted that groups on the Top-Rated list generally spend 75% or more of their budgets on programs, spend $25 or less to raise $100 in public support, do not hold excessive assets in reserve, and receive “open-book” status for disclosure of basic financial information and documents.”

The report is online here.

TPL is a national organization dedicated to conserving land for people to enjoy as parks and open space. Since 1972, TPL has conserved more than 2.5 million acres of land nationwide. TPL depends on the support of individuals, corporations and foundations.