WASHINGTON, D.C.— The Melanoma Research Foundation’s (MRF) sound fiscal management practices and commitment to accountability and transparency have once again earned it a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, America’s largest independent charity evaluator. This is the fourth consecutive year the MRF has earned this top distinction, showing the organization uses donor dollars to advance its mission of melanoma research, education and advocacy in a fiscally responsible way.

 

“The Melanoma Research Foundation’s coveted 4-star rating puts it in a very select group of high-performing charities,” according to Tim Gamory, COO of Charity Navigator. “Out of the thousands of nonprofits Charity Navigator evaluates, only one out of four earns 4 stars — a rating that demands rigor, responsibility and commitment to openness. The Melanoma Research Foundation’s supporters should feel much more confident that their hard-earned dollars are being used efficiently and responsibly when it acquires such a high rating.”

 

According to Charity Navigator, only 8% of the charities they rate have received at least four consecutive 4-star evaluations, indicating the MRF outperforms most other charities in America. Click here to read the congratulatory letter to the MRF from Charity Navigator’s Founder and Chairman of the Board, John P. Dugan.

 

“It is an honor to have Charity Navigator recognize the fiscally responsible way the MRF conducts its work toward eradicating melanoma,” said Tim Turnham, Executive Director of the MRF. “People with melanoma rely on members of the melanoma community, including the Melanoma Research Foundation, to help strengthen their fight to beat this ruthless cancer. The MRF has a responsibility to respect our donors’ support by dedicating their dollars in the most impactful and transparent manner.”

 

Since 2002, using objective, data-driven 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 have “best practices” that minimize the chance of unethical activities and whether they freely share basic information about their organization with their donors and other stakeholders. 

 

 

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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.

 

Melanoma is one of the fastest growing cancers in the United States and can strike men and women of all ages, races and skin types. With a one in 50 lifetime risk of developing melanoma, nearly 74,000 Americans are expected to be diagnosed with Stage I-IV melanoma and another 63,000 will be diagnosed with melanoma in situ – totaling nearly 137,000 total diagnoses. Melanoma is the most common form of cancer for young adults 25- to 29-years-old and the second most common cancer in adolescents and young adults 15- to 29-years-old. 

 

The majority of melanomas occur on the skin; in fact, melanoma is the most serious type of skin cancer. Melanoma can also occur in the eye (ocular, or uveal melanoma), in mucous membranes (mucosal melanoma), or even beneath fingernails or toenails. 

 

The Melanoma Research Foundation (MRF) is the largest independent organization devoted to melanoma. Committed to the support of medical research in finding effective treatments and eventually a cure for melanoma, the MRF also educates patients and physicians about prevention, diagnosis and the treatment of melanoma. The MRF is an active advocate for the melanoma community, helping to raise awareness of this disease and the need for a cure. The MRF’s website is the premier source for melanoma information seekers. More information is available at www.melanoma.org. Find the MRF on Facebook and Twitter.