WILDLIFE CENTER OF VIRGINIA RECEIVES TOP FOUR-STAR RATING FROM CHARITY NAVIGATOR

The Wildlife Center of Virginia has received the coveted four-star rating for sound fiscal management from Charity Navigator, the top rating provided by the nation's premier independent evaluator of charitable organizations.

Charity Navigator annually reviews the financial statements of thousands of non-profit organizations nationwide, evaluating factors such as fundraising efficiency, the percentage of funds spent on programs [rather than administration or fundraising], and organizational capacity.

The Charity Navigator analysis of the Wildlife Center's Organizational Efficiency, for example, found that 90 percent of the Center's funds were spent on programs.

Only about one-quarter of the charities evaluated by Charity Navigator receive the four-star rating. The "exceptional" four-star rating "differentiates Wildlife Center of Virginia from its peers and demonstrates to the public it is worthy of their trust," according to Charity Navigator Interim President/Chief Operating Officer Michael Smith.

Founded in 2001, Charity Navigator has been profiled by The New York Times, National Public Radio, and The Chronicle of Philanthropy; it is estimated that Charity Navigator helped influence more than $10 billion in charitable gifts last year. Charity Navigator ratings are available online at www.charitynavigator.org at no cost to the public.

"As the nonprofit sector continues to grow at an unprecedented pace, savvy donors are demanding more accountability, transparency and quantifiable results from the charities they choose to support with their hard-earned dollars," Smith said. "In this competitive philanthropic marketplace, Charity Navigator, America's premier charity evaluator, highlights the fine work of efficient charities ... and provides donors with essential information needed to give them greater confidence in the charitable choices they make."

"One of the Wildlife Center's priorities over the last 25 years has been wise and effective use of our financial resources," Wildlife Center President and Co-Founder Ed Clark said. "We work to accomplish as much as possible with limited resources. Our donors know that their gifts to us will be used carefully and wisely. We are pleased to be recognized by Charity Navigator for our careful financial management.

"Only ten cents of every dollar we receive is used for the administrative and fundraising support on which the Center's wide-ranging wildlife care, professional training, and environmental education programs depend," Clark continued. "Donations of caring private individuals form the backbone of our finances; we're not a federal or state agency."

Founded in November 1982 in a horse stable in Waynesboro, the Wildlife Center has transformed wildlife veterinary medicine. During its 25-year history, the Wildlife Center has:

• Treated more than 49,000 wild animals;
• Presented compelling, life-changing programs to more than 1.4 million children and adults and introduced these audiences to feathered, furred, and scaled representatives of Virginia's wildlife; and
• Trained a generation of wildlife health-care professionals across the United States and around the world.

In 2007, the Wildlife Center received the National Conservation Achievement Award as the Conservation Organization of the Year from the National Wildlife Federation.

Additional information on the Wildlife Center of Virginia is available online at www.wildlifecenter.org. Additional information about Charity Navigator is available online at www.charitynavigator.org.