Prairie State Legal Services Rate a 4-Star Charity

In the coming five weeks of the holiday season, more than one-half of all charitable gifts for 2002 will be made. Rockford-based Prairie State Legal Services, which helps low income and elderly clients with civil legal matters in 36 northern and central Illinois counties, hopes a recent 4-star rating from Charity Navigator will encourage donor support. According to Charity Navigator, a national service that provides financial evaluations of charities, Prairie State Legal Services is a top rated charity. Using information from IRS Form 990 filings, Charity Navigator helps donors make informed decisions by providing objective analysis and ratings of over 1,700 charities.

Speaking about Prairie State’s 4-star rating, Trent Stamp, Executive Director of Charity Navigator, explains, “This rating, our highest, demonstrates that this charity is outperforming most of its peers in it efforts to manage and grow its finances in the most responsive way possible.”

Prairie State Legal Services is currently conducting fundraising efforts in 9 of its 10 local offices: Batavia, Bloomington, Carol Stream, Kankakee, Ottawa, Peoria, Rockford, Rock Island, and Waukegan. Executive Director of Prairie State Legal Services, Joseph A. Dailing, sees this rating as confirmation of Prairie State’s practice of fiscal accountability and hopes that this rating will support potential contributors’ confidence that their charitable gift will be used responsibly. Dailing notes, “Each year individual and corporate contributions grow in importance as a source of stability amid the ups and downs of federal funds and grants.”

In Illinois, Charity Navigator evaluated 75 charities. 25 received a 4-star rating. This information is available for free on their website, www.charitynavigator.org.“ Our sole goal,” explained Trent, “is to provide America’s donors with the data they need to make informed giving decisions. By using our site to check on the financial health of a charity, givers can be assured that the charities they support are worthy of their trust and commitment.”

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Supplemental Information

Prairie State Legal Services website: http://www.pslegal.org.htm

Charity Navigator website http://www.charitynavigator.org/

Details of Prairie State Rating http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm/bay/search.summary/orgid/5284.htm

Prairie State Legal Services Office Locations: Batavia, Bloomington, Carol Stream, Galesburg, Kankakee, Ottawa, Peoria, Rockford, Rock Island, and Waukegan. For details about individual offices and office case statistics see: http://www.pslegal.org/service%20area.htm

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Prairie State Ranks as a 4-Star Charity

PRESS RELEASE Prairie State Legal Services November 27, 2002

Supplemental Information

Prairie State Ranks as a
4-Star Charity

PRESS RELEASE
Prairie State Legal Services
November 27, 2002