What are the largest charities in the United States? In one of its famous lists, Forbes magazine has listed the 50 largest U.S. charities based on private donations for 2013, the last year that complete figures are available. Donations can be cash, securities or goods.

Not surprisingly, once again United Way led the list with $3.87 billion in donations, though the huge charity saw a slight drop (1.5 percent) from the previous year’s $3.93 billion. Next were the Salvation Army, which had a 10 percent increase, and Feeding America, which saw a 23 percent increase from the year before, moving it up from No. 4 to No. 3 on the list.

Overall, the 50 charities saw a 3 percent increase in donations, which totaled $31 billion overall. Not included in the ranking are government grants, investment returns and fees for services.

The magazine also measured the effectiveness rate or “charitable commitment,” the percentage of donations that were used for the charitable purpose of the organization, as opposed to management, certain overhead expenses and fundraising. The average for all of the top 50 charities was 88 percent. Charities that receive in-kind gifts – goods and services – tend to have higher percentages.

Forbes also looked at fundraising efficiency and found that it averaged 92 percent. Essentially, this means it cost the top 50 charities an average of 8 cents to earn $1 in donations. This percentage can vary widely depending on the type of charity and the fundraising methods necessary.

The following is Forbes’ list of the top 50 charities, based on donations, as well as the percent of donations that were used directly for the nonprofit’s charitable purpose. For more information, go to www.forbes.com/top-charities.

Charity	Donations	% to Programs
1. United Way	$3.87 billion	86%
2. Salvation Army	$2.08 billion	82%
3. Feeding America	$1.86 billion	98%
4. Task Force for Global Health	$1.58 billion	100%
5. American National Red Cross	$1.08 billion	90%
6. Food for the Poor	$1.02 billion	96%
7. Goodwill Industries International	$975 million	88%
8. YMCA of the USA	$939 million	85%
9. American Cancer Society	$871 million	73%
10. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital	$869 million	74%
11. World Vision	$795 million	83%
12. Boys & Girls Clubs of America	$766 million	80%
13. Catholic Charities USA	$715 million	85%
14. Compassion International	$657 million	84%
15. AmeriCares Foundation	$620 million	98%
16. Habitat for Humanity International	$606 million	84%
17. U.S. Fund for UNICEF	$587 million	91%
18. Catholic Medical Mission Board	$513 million	98%
19. Campus Crusade for Christ	$504 million	84%
20. American Heart Association	$502 million	78%
21. Nature Conservancy	$500 million	72%
22. Save the Children Federation	$455 million	91%
23. Direct Relief	$450 million	99%
24. Feed the Children	$442 million	89%
25. Samaritan’s Purse	$426 million	87%
26. Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center	$389 million	96%
27. Lutheran Services in America	$373 million	85%
28. Boy Scouts of America	$362 million	87%
29. MAP International	$346 million	99%
30. Step Up for Students	$332 million	99%
31. CARE USA	$320 million	89%
32. American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee	$312 million	88%
33. Good 360	$310 million	99%
34. Mayo Clinic	$310 million	82%
35. Leukemia & Lymphoma Society	$279 million	76%
36. Project HOPE	$273 million	96%
37. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute	$261 million	82%
38. Planned Parenthood Federation of America	$315 million	82%
39. Metropolitan Museum of Art	$259 million	87%
40. Cross International	$257 million	96%
41. Operation Blessing International Relief	$255 million	99%
42. Make-A-Wish Foundation of America	$253 million	75%
43. Population Services International	$251 million	94%
44. Alzheimer’s Association	$243 million	77%
45. Catholic Relief Services	$244 million	93%
46. National Multiple Sclerosis Society	$243 million	77%
47. Brother’s Brother Foundation	$243 million	100%
48. Chronic Disease Fund	$238 million	92%
49. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art	$236 million	81%
50. Marine Toys for Tots Foundation	$235 million	97%

© 2015

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