Q&A With Kevin Scally, CRO of Charity Navigator

Check out our Q&A with Kevin Scally, Chief Relationship Officer, with Charity Navigator. Kevin is responsible for building the Charity Navigator brand, creating awareness and advocacy, and increasing support to the organization through all channels.

DonateStock: Kevin, you work with thousands of nonprofits. How would you characterize the state of the nonprofit industry?

Kevin: The nonprofit industry is resilient. Many nonprofits were negatively impacted as a result of the pandemic, but have innovated and adapted to continue to serve their constituents. We saw nonprofits shift their business models, create new programs, and find new ways to connect with donors, which is impressive and directly benefits both local and global communities.

DonateStock: How has the Pandemic impacted nonprofits?

Kevin: Charity Navigator often sees an increase in traffic in times of crisis. In calendar year 2020, our site was visited more than 12.5 million times (22% increase over 2019). This signals there was more interest in finding and supporting nonprofits during the pandemic.

DonateStock: What are the biggest challenges they face today?

Kevin: With the continued concern centered around COVID-19, in-person events have been limited, which has been extremely challenging for organizations with a historic reliance on galas, golf outings, benefit concerts, and more. Additionally, supply chain disruption persists, which has impeded some organizations' abilities to serve constituents.

DonateStock: Do you see any silver linings coming out of this period?

Kevin: Over the past 18 months, we've seen expanded generosity with $41 million donated through Charity Navigator's Giving Basket to more than 27,000 nonprofits - this is 115% more dollars donated from the preceding 18 months.

DonateStock: Where do you see new possibilities for innovation?

Kevin: Many organizations have had to adapt over the past year and a half to reach the constituents, serve communities, and even hire and onboard employees. I see room for continued innovation for breaking down barriers for connections, whether that's programmatically or from a fundraising perspective.

DonateStock: What else would you like the audience to know?

Kevin: During the pandemic, our team developed and launched the Encompass Rating System, a comprehensive evaluation tool that analyzes nonprofit performance based on four key indicators. We have gathered feedback from donors and nonprofit leaders throughout the process and are seeing a positive sentiment and increased adoption. We plan to release a new methodology three times per year moving forward. Charity Navigator expanded during the pandemic, and now has staff more widely dispersed than before. We will continue to be a remote-first organization and will utilize our office significantly less than in the past.