The article evaluates the performance of three groups that rate the charities. The tsunami that struck South Asia in December 2004 will be remembered not only for the scale of the human misery it caused, killing hundreds of thousands and displacing millions, but also for the unprecedented global outpouring of charity it evoked. Direct Relief International, assured donors it was depositing its flood of donations into a separate bank account, and that the salaries of its employees would not be paid out of these donations, as part of its effort to maximize the amount that would reach the victims. By April, 2004 roughly 20 percent of the $63 million Save the Children USA had collected for tsunami victims had come in through its Web site--a 100-fold increase from pre-tsunami levels. If all of this heralds a new age in philanthropy, where the Internet will be a dominant force in charity, bringing a new sense of accountability and transparency to the process, there are three online services already in place that stand to benefit. The existing rating agencies have taken a step in the direction toward increasing information transparency and accountability of the sector, but they all still fall short. A rating system needs to be able to comment on the important intangibles that are so important for nonprofit effectiveness.
