At Charity Navigator, we recognize that charity evaluation may not be the most scintillating of topics for most observers. That said, we are constantly searching for ways to help givers navigate a crowded marketplace, and to make this often-complex subject a tad more interesting. In the following Top 10 Lists, we identify those charities in our database that meet certain desirable or undesirable patterns of performance. As with all of our ratings of charities, the inclusion of each charity in this list is based entirely on whether or not it matched the criteria we defined for the list. In other words, we included charities based on how they performed financially, not on our subjective opinions of those charities.
Updated: 2 weeks 6 days ago
Sat, 2009-10-31 21:00
Since Charity Navigator launched its service in 2002, we have received thousands of requests from donors and charities to rate the financial performance of specific organizations. Users of our service are especially eager to see ratings for these ten most requested charities. The list is ranked by the number of times we have received a request to rate the charity.
Sat, 2009-10-31 21:00
The leaders of these 10 organizations run highly-rated charities, yet they earn far less than the average compensation of $150,000 reported by the over 5,000 charities rated by Charity Navigator. The low salaries help these charities, which have earned at least two consecutive 4-star ratings, devote more than 80% of their budgets to their programs and services. That means that less than 20% of your dollars are going to such costs as fundraising and administration, including the salary of the CEO. The list is ranked by the CEO's compensation.
Sat, 2009-10-31 21:00
These 10 charities are not living up to their missions. Each spends more than 50% of its budget paying for-profit fundraising professionals to solicit your hard-earned money. They are ranked by the percentage of their total functional expenses spent on professional fundraising fees. As a result, very little of the charity's spending is directed towards its programs and services.
Sat, 2009-10-31 21:00
Celebrity endorsements help charities increase awareness of their endeavors and thus stimulate more donations. However, just because your favorite super-star supports a charity doesn't mean the charity is well-run and worthy of a contribution from you. Check out how we rate these 10 charities which are closely aligned, in some cases even named for, the celebrities that founded or support them.
Sat, 2009-10-31 21:00
Most charities derive large chunks of revenue from earned income, membership fees, and government contracts and grants. Ranked by overall score, these 10 excellent charities draw revenue solely from direct and indirect public support. They report no government funding, no membership fees, and no revenue from earned income.
As a result, more than 95% of their total revenue comes from private contributions, which makes the efficiency of their fundraising operations all the more impressive.
Sat, 2009-10-31 21:00
Outspending your means can set a dangerous precedent. These 10 charities have run deficits in each of their last 3 fiscal years, establishing a pattern of overspending. They are ranked by the ratio of their average deficit to their average total expenses. This ratio conveys how significant the deficit is for each charity.
Sat, 2009-10-31 21:00
Popularity doesn't make a charity more effective or more worthy of support. But it does show that people know your name. These 10 charities are the most frequently visited on our web site. They are ranked by number of page views during the month of September 2009.
Sat, 2009-10-31 21:00
Many of America's most effective charities are also household names. But some well-known charities are less effective than you'd think, while a number of lesser known charities are truly exceptional. These 10 charities all operate on less than $2 million a year, but they all earn a four-star rating from Charity Navigator. We encourage you to learn more about them.
Sat, 2009-10-31 21:00
For charities to be successful, they need talented, experienced leaders. Those leaders command significant salaries. But CEOs who command high salaries should also get the most out of the organizations they lead. The leaders of these 10 organizations are taking high salaries at the expense of spending dollars on the charity's programs. Despite receiving more than $240,000 in annual pay, these CEOs run organizations that devote less than 60% of their budgets to their programs and services. That means that at least 40% of your dollars are going to such costs as fundraising and administration, including the salary of the CEO.
Sat, 2009-10-31 21:00
Excellent charities succeed because their resources are not tied up in fundraising. They find creative ways to spend less to raise more, thereby maximizing the resources they can devote to their programs. These 10 charities are not so fortunate or efficient. They spend more than $0.50 to raise each dollar in support, making them four times less efficient than the average charity. This inefficiency forces them to devote more than 40% of their budgets to fundraising, limiting the difference they can make with your dollars.
Sat, 2009-10-31 21:00
If an organization owes more than it owns, that's a bad sign. If the bills it owes by the end of the year are more than it can pay, that's an even worse sign. These 10 charities are insolvent. Not only do their total liabilities, or what they owe, exceed their total assets, they also maintain negative working capital -- that is, the bills they owe exceed available assets that can be used to pay those bills. While these charities may not be facing bankruptcy, their fundamental insolvency puts these charities in a very dangerous position.
