Of the approximately six hundred charities currently
rated by CharityWatch, only a select number qualify for our listing
of Top-Rated charities based on our rigorous
analysis. Groups included on the Top-Rated list generally spend
75% or more of their budgets on programs, spend $25 or less to raise
$100 in public support, do not hold excessive assets in reserve,
and receive "open-book" status for disclosure of basic financial
information and documents to CharityWatch. Please see the Criteria
section of the website for more information on the rating criteria
and methodology that CharityWatch adheres to.
Each mission category below lists Top-Rated charities
that receive high grades from CharityWatch.
Top-Rated charities generally fall within the B+ to A+ grade range.
CharityWatch may include on the Top-Rated list charities with a
B grade in categories where no charities receive an B+ or higher
rating. We do so for the purpose of providing donors with the letter
grade rating of at least one highly rated group in each category.
This list is subject to change depending on the information
CharityWatch receives concerning charitable organizations. As long
as the charities maintain an “open book” status and score
highly on CharityWatch’s financial criteria, their names will
appear on this list.
CharityWatch encourages each donor to consider these
factors and others, which you may feel are more significant, when
making charitable giving decisions. CharityWatch provides this information
to help you make your own decision concerning which charity to support.
The letter grades represent the opinion of CharityWatch.
Some organizations legitimately may account differently for their
activities. Such organizations generally would receive higher grades
based on their own criteria than on the criteria
used by CharityWatch.
When information is given only on the national headquarters
and the charity does not include its affiliates in its financial
statements, “N.O.” (National Office) appears after the
group’s name.
