Silver Spring, Maryland—The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) has been named one of the Top 100 Highly Rated Charities in the United States by GiveSpot, an online resource center that helps donors choose among the hundreds of thousands of charitable and non-profit organizations working around the world.

"ADRA is honored to be recognized as one of GiveSpot's top 100 charities," says Julio Muñoz, interim bureau chief for marketing and development at ADRA International. "We take seriously our responsibility to manage, in a wise and efficient manner, the gifts entrusted to us by our donors, and we thank GiveSpot for acknowledging ADRA's commitment."

In order to be ranked in GiveSpot's Top 100, each organization must solicit donations from the public and run their organization in an "efficient and transparent way," says the GiveSpot Web site [www.givespot.com]. Each of the highest rated charities spends 75 percent or more of its budget on program implementation. More than 90 percent of ADRA's funding from private donations goes directly to humanitarian work, one of the highest percentages in the nonprofit world.

GiveSpot's top-tier ranking adds to ADRA's consistent record of earning high marks from respected charity watchdog organizations. In March 2007, ADRA received its second consecutive four-star rating from Charity Navigator [www.charitynavigator.org], America's largest independent evaluator of charities. In addition to earning Charity Navigator's top rating, since 2003 ADRA has consistently met the highly regarded and exacting standards for charitable accountability created by the Better Business Bureau (BBB). The BBB Wise Giving Alliance Standards [www.give.org] were designed to promote confidence in charitable organizations and to help donors make wise choices when donating in the nonprofit world.

ADRA is present in 125 countries, providing community development and emergency management without regard to political or religious association, age, gender, or ethnicity.

Additional information about ADRA can be found at www.adra.org.

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Author: Nadia McGill

Media Contact: Kara Watkins ADRA International 12501 Old Columbia Pike Silver Spring, MD 20904 Phone: 301.680.6357 Mobile: 301.526.2625 E-mail: Media.Inquiries@adra.org