Consumer recommendation guides like Zagat and Amazon customer reviews, as well as TripAdvisor, eBay seller ratings, Epinions, and Yelp, have demonstrated that enabling the sharing of feedback empowers individual voice, provides valuable feedback on quality of services and products, and creates norms for transparency and accountability.

Why, then, isn’t there a similar “consumer reviews” site about nonprofits? A place where nonprofit clients – people that nonprofits seek to empower – can give feedback about their experience with the organization? A place where potential supporters – donors and volunteers – can read or watch videos about what clients served by the nonprofit say about their experience?

GreatNonprofits will build, market, and launch a Web site that enables local citizens, clients, volunteers, board members, and others who have had direct experience with a nonprofit to share their stories about that organization. Contributors can post reviews, photos, and videos. People who are looking for information about what’s going on with local nonprofits can read reviews and see the social impact of nonprofits through the lens of people familiar with those organizations.

GreatNonprofits will:

•Equalize the playing field for nonprofits, enabling great nonprofits – regardless of their donor Rolodex, or whether they have a national brand or no marketing dollars – to rise to the top and attract more donors and volunteers.
•Promote greater nonprofit excellence through feedback and transparency.
•Help prospective donors and volunteers differentiate between nonprofits, find ones they trust, and be more confident in giving or signing up to volunteer.
•Give voice to the clients served by nonprofits and the volunteers to nonprofits, showing them that the first step to empowering them is to listen to what they want.