Special Report

The Best Charities to Donate to This Year!

Michael B. Sauter, Thomas C. Frohlich

Published: December 20, 2016 6:00 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 4:37 pm

Generosity is at the core of the holiday season, and each year many Americans make it a point to donate to the causes most important to them.

Choosing which nonprofit to give to this season can prove difficult, as there are hundreds of choices for every cause. Furthermore, not all organizations are alike, with some more efficient and more transparent than others. The best charities are those that are able to devote the largest share of total donations to the cause they support.

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Fortunately, Charity Navigator, itself a nonprofit group, reviews and rates major nonprofits based on two major categories: 1) financial health, and 2) accountability and transparency. 24/7 wall St. reviewed nation’s largest nonprofits that receive the best ratings from Charity Navigator in each of 12 major categories of giving.

Click here to see the best charities to donate to this year!

Each of these nonprofits performs very well in important categories such as fundraising efficiency, lower administration fees including executive pay, and a favorable ratio of capital to assets, meaning they are able to weather declines in revenue without cutting program operations.

One of the best ways to determine the efficiency of a charitable organization is by examining the percentage of an organization’s total expenses spent on the services and programs the charity delivers. While some nonprofits spend less than 50% on their designated operations, the vast majority of the charities on this list spend at least 80% of their total expenses on their specified programs.

It is important to note that the organizations on this list are scored by Charity Navigator based on the obstacles, opportunities, and expenses inherent to the causes in which they operate. U.S.-based nonprofits, but only against others in the same categories and subcategories. Museums, for example, must maintain expensive collections and facilities and necessarily have much greater overhead than food pantries, which do not require large overhead expenses and are able to spend much closer to their entire budgets on programs.

The Smithsonian Institution, for example, devotes just 77% of total resources to its programs and services, while food pantry service Feeding America is able to budget 98% to programs. Each, however, are among the highest rated organizations in their respective categories.

These organizations are also transparent and accountable, meaning they follow best practices of governance and release clear and complete records of their financial operations. Many of the nonprofits on this list practice policies such as disclosing the pay of the CEO and board members, including a whistleblower policy for handling internal complaints, and publicly documenting board meetings.

To determine the best charitable organizations to give to this holiday season, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the National Center for Charitable Statistics database of the largest public American charitable organizations. We considered all organizations that ranked among the top 10 in either annual expenses or net assets in each of the major classes of charities. From this list we pulled the organization rated the highest by charitable organization ratings group Charity Navigator. Nonprofits that received less than a score of 90 out 100 were excluded from consideration. Charity Navigator only evaluated organizations that largely rely substantially on support from individual donors.

These are the best charities to donate to this year.

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Art Museums
> Charity: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
> Annual revenue: $473,744,517
> Headquarters: New York, NY

Founded in 1870, the Metropolitan Museum of Art operates three major exhibition centers in New York City. According to its current mission statement, “The Metropolitan Museum of Art collects, studies, conserves, and presents significant works of art across all times and cultures in order to connect people to creativity, knowledge, and ideas.” While it receives government grants, collects membership dues, and has other sources of revenue, more than 40% of the organization’s annual revenue comes from fundraising events and donations. According to Charity Navigator’s assessment, the organization is highly transparent and manages its resources well. About 86% of the organization’s budget goes directly to programs serving its mission, while other prominent museum foundations spend less than 75% on such programs.

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Civil Liberties
> Charity: American Civil Liberties Union Foundation Inc
> Annual revenue: $94,047,925
> Headquarters: New York, NY

The ACLU is arguably the most influential civil liberties advocacy group in the country. Among other activities, the organization provides litigation aid in civil rights cases and initiates class action lawsuits on issues of civil liberties and basic human rights, including privacy, equality, and fair treatment in the criminal justice system.

The ACLU Foundation, the charitable arm of the ACLU, only engages in education and public defense aid and cannot legally initiate public actions such as class action suits. The Foundation spends about 42% of its annual budget directly on litigation efforts and the rest on education and transfers to other organizations.

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Environmental Protection and Conservation
> Charity: The Conservation Fund
> Annual revenue: $215,096,466
> Headquarters: Arlington, VA

Based in Arlington, Virginia, the Conservation Fund works to conserve and protect land resources in the United States, with particular focus on efforts that do not harm the American economy. To date, the fund has ensured the conservation of over 7.5 million acres of habitat across the country. The best charitable organizations are those that are able to minimize overhead and devote the maximum amount of resources to the cause. The Conservation Fund spends 97.3% of its annual budget on program expenses, while others in the category of environmental protection spend less than 80% on programs.

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Food Banks & Pantries
> Charity: Feeding America
> Annual revenue: $2,200,852,165
> Headquarters: Chicago, IL

Feeding America operates food pantries all over the country, servicing low-income families. According to its fiscal 2016 report, the organization helped serve 4 billion meals to 46 million Americans. Feeding America also provides millions of dollars in grants to food banks. The organization is an extremely efficient fundraiser. In order to raise one dollar, the organization spends less than one cent on fundraising efforts. To raise a single dollar, many other major food pantry organizations spend more than 10 cents on fundraising. Just 0.3% of annual expenses go to administrative costs. All but 2% of all donations the organization raises go directly to its programs.

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Homes for Children & Adolescents
> Charity: Boys Town
> Annual revenue: $272,940,728
> Headquarters: Boys Town, NE

Giving to a charity comes with the expectation that the money actually goes to the organization’s specified programs and services. Youth development, shelter, and crisis services charity Boys Town allocates 81.8% of its annual budget to its core programs and services. The high percentage partially explains the charity’s high rating on Charity Navigator. In addition to its schools and sites in Nebraska and Iowa, Boys Town operates across the nation through its affiliated sites in California, central Florida, Louisiana, Nevada, New England, New York, North Florida, Florida, Texas, and Washington, D.C.

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International Development
> Charity: PATH
> Annual revenue: $289,280,944
> Headquarters: Seattle, WA

Seattle-based PATH, which was previously known as the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health, is an international health organization. PATH focuses on the creation of better technology, vaccines, and other solutions to address issues such as malnutrition, unsafe water supplies, and infectious diseases. In collaboration with pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, PATH contributed to the development of the first malaria vaccine approved by the World Health Organization. PATH is one of the few nonprofits of such size to earn a perfect rating in transparency from Charity Navigator.

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International Human Rights
> Charity: The Carter Center Inc
> Annual revenue: $152,171,860
> Headquarters: Atlanta, GA

U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn Carter, founded The Carter Center in 1982. The organization engages in health and peace development around the world. Some of the Center’s notable accomplishments include helping to nearly eradicate Guinea worm disease — an excruciating infection contracted by drinking contaminated drinking water. Over the course of the Center’s eradication campaign, the global incidence of the disease fell from 3.5 million cases in 1986 to just 22 in 2015. While many prominent international human rights organizations spend less than 80% of their annual budgets on programs and services, the Carter Center spends 91% on such programs.

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International Relief
> Charity: Save the Children Federation Inc
> Annual revenue: $667,604,478
> Headquarters: Fairfield, CT

According to its most recent financial report, Save the Children Federation campaigns helped approximately 185 million children across 120 countries, including the United States. In addition to its nutritional training programs, and other health and education programs, Save the Children responds to emergencies. In 2015, the organization responded to nearly 100 humanitarian crises in nearly 60 countries — from monsoons across Africa to refugee crises in Europe.

Save the Children spends $9 out of every $10 on programs and services the charity is designed to deliver.

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Museums
> Charity: Smithsonian Institution
> Annual revenue: $1,452,410,465
> Headquarters: Washington, DC

The Smithsonian Institution manages museums, education, and research facilities. Facilities include 17 museums in Washington D.C. as well as two in New York City, the National Zoological Park, and nine research facilities. In its last recorded tax year, the Smithsonian Institution reported $1.45 billion in revenue, making it one of the highest-earning nonprofit museums in the country. The Smithsonian Institution does a relatively good job managing its resources, according to Charity Navigator, which gave it a nearly perfect 97 out of 100 on accountability and transparency of operations.

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Patients’ Rights
> Charity: Patient Advocate Foundation Inc
> Annual revenue: $76,020,912
> Headquarters: Hampton, VA

Undergoing treatment for a serious illness can be financially burdensome and difficult to navigate. The Patient Advocate Foundation, founded in 1996, assigns managers to assist patients in all aspects of the healthcare and insurance systems. Advocates will help patients file for insurance payments, ensure they are not unfairly fired as a result of time missed due to illness, and assist in debt repayment management.

The Hampton, Virginia-based organization receives excellent scores in both financial management and accountability. Just 3.3% of the organization’s annual expenditures goes to administrative costs such as executive pay.

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Women’s Rights
> Charity: National Women’s Law Center
> Annual revenue: $5,761,673
> Headquarters: Washington, DC

The National Women’s Law Center works to advance policies that guarantee equal rights for women and girls in all aspects of life. The NWLC states that it has been “on the front lines of virtually every major advance for women since 1972.” In its most recent annual report, the organization highlighted progress made on several issues, including protecting pregnant workers from job discrimination, the adoption of birth control coverage by insurers, and exposing discrimination and harassment of African American girls in schools.

The Center receives very high ratings in both accountability and transparency, as well as financial health categories. It is also an efficient fundraiser, with each dollar raised costing the organization 5 cents, while similar organizations spend close to 20 cents per dollar raised.

Source: Thinkstock

Wildlife Conservation
> Charity: Wildlife Conservation Society
> Annual revenue: $291,614,080
> Headquarters: Bronx, NY

The goal of the Wildlife Conservation Society is to prioritize the conservation of ecosystems in 15 at-risk regions around the world, and reverse the decline of six species. The populations of various endangered species are maintained at the society’s five New York City wildlife parks. The Bronx Zoo, Central Park Zoo, Queens Zoo, Prospect Park Zoo, and the New York Aquarium house a total of 16,523 specimens representing 1,176 species. The organization reports $291.6 million in annual revenue, primarily from gifts and grants and from the city of New York.