Pittsburgh – Jan. 3 – Charity Navigator, America’s largest independent charity evaluator, recently awarded the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy its highest rating for the seventh consecutive year.

The 82-year-old Conservancy received the rating because of its sound fiscal management practices and commitment to accountability and transparency, the charity evaluator said.

“The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy’s coveted four-star rating puts it in a very select group of high-performing charities,” said Ken Berger, president and chief executive officer of Charity Navigator. “WPC 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 officials, about a quarter of the thousands of charities it evaluates receive the four-star rating. But only two percent have received seven consecutive four-star evaluations, illustrating that the Conservancy consistently executes its mission in a fiscally responsible way and outperforms most other charities in the nation.

Individuals can obtain more detailed information about the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy’s rating and that of others on the organization’s website at www.CharityNavigator.org.

In addition to the four-star evaluation, WPC earned the distinction of being the highest-rated charity in its category in the nation. Learn more about that ranking at http://goo.gl/bHnF1v.

In addition to land protection and watershed conservation work, the Conservancy operates and preserves Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, in Mill Run, Pa., enhances the region’s cities and towns through community gardens, urban forestry and other green spaces and works to protect the Commonwealth’s threatened and endangered species.

Charity Navigator’s team of professional analysts examines tens of thousands of nonprofit financial documents and ranks more than 6,000 charities to help guide individuals in their charitable giving.

Charity Navigator evaluates two broad areas of performance—financial health and accountability and transparency—showing potential donors how efficiently a charity will use their support, how well it has sustained its programs and services over time and its level of commitment to being accountable and transparent. To ensure its objectivity, Charity Navigator accepts no funding from the charities it evaluates.

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About the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy:

The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC) enhances the region’s quality of life by protecting and restoring exceptional places. A private nonprofit conservation organization founded in 1932, WPC has helped to establish ten state parks, conserved more than 235,000 acres of natural lands and protected or restored more than 1,500 miles of rivers and streams. The Conservancy owns and operates Fallingwater, which symbolizes people living in harmony with nature. In addition, WPC enriches our region’s cities and towns through 135 Community Greenings that are planted with the help of 13,000 volunteers. The work of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy is accomplished through the support of more than 11,000 members. For more information, visit WaterLandLife.org.

Media contact:

Allison Schlesinger
Western Pennsylvania Conservancy
412-586-2358
412-607-1945
aschlesinger@paconserve.org