Struggling to figure out which charities to support this year through the Combined Federal Campaign? Who could blame you. There are literally thousands of local, national and international charities making pitches to get your dollar. Nearly all of them sound worthwhile, but how do you know that the charities you select are making the most of your contributions?
One way is by reviewing how much of each charity’s collections goes to covering administrative and fund raising costs – i.e., how much is not going to the people the charity is supposed to be helping. The general rule of thumb is, anything over 35 percent is suspect. This year, 59 national/international charities fall into this dubious category. The good news is, there are even more charities that spend next to nothing on overhead.
The federal government collects this data annually, but scrolling through pages and pages of documents to find it is nearly as tedious as watching CSPAN. Federal Times has done the hard work for you. Click through to the jump to see the results.
AT THE HIGH END
Army Historical Foundation: 68.7%
Songs of Love Foundation: 66.6
National Police Defense Foundation Inc.: 64.0
Cancer Fund of America: 62.5
Children’s Craniofacial Association: 59.9
United Spinal Association: 57.2
Fellowship of Reconciliation Inc.: 56.2
AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Disease Information Services of the American Social Health Association: 55.7
Straight Spouse Network: 52.3
Center for Excellence in Education: 52.0
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, Inc. : 51.5
Business and Professional Women’s Foundation: 51.5
Missoula Children’s Theatre: 51.1
Alliance for Middle East Peace Inc.: 51.0
Advanced Cancer Research Center: 50.8
Attention Deficit Disorder Association: 49.4
American Nurses Foundation: 48.9
Population Institute: 48.6
Gift of Adoption Fund, Inc.: 48.3
International Association of Arson Investigators Educational Foundation Inc.: 47.5
Interfaith Alliance Foundation Inc.: 47.2
Center for Higher Education in the Middle East Inc.: 46.2
Federation of Southern Cooperatives: 44.6
Earth Day Network: 44.3
Foundation for Women’s Health: 44.2
Institute for Global Engagement: 44.1
National Autism Association: 43.2
Brain Aneurysm Foundation Inc.: 42.8
Foundation Fighting Blindness: 41.9
Landmark College: 41.0
American Psychiatric Foundation: 40.8
Medical Education Institute: 40.2
Myositis Association: 39.6
Think First Foundation: 39.5
Association on American Indian Affairs Inc.: 39.3
Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership Inc.: 39.1
International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War: 38.9
Interns for Peace: 38.9
Artrain: 38.8
Adoption Center: 38.6
National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University: 38.1
World Conference on Religions for Peace: 37.8
Gorilla Foundation: 37.8
Active Minds Inc.: 37.7
Aspen Camp for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing: 37.6
Evangelical Christian Humanitarian Outreach for Cuba, Inc.: 37.5
National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum: 37.3
Coalition for the Advancement of Jewish Education: 37.3
100 Black Men of America: 37.2
Physicians for Social Responsibility: 37.0
Survivors International: 36.9
SOS Children’s Villages-USA: 36.7
Americans United for Separation of Church and State: 36.3
Covenant House: 35.9
Indian Land Tenure Foundation: 35.7
Scenic America: 35.5
Hereditary Disease Foundation: 35.4
Dream Factory, Inc.: 35.3
Detroit Symphony Orchestra: 35.2
American Institute for Cancer Research: 34.8
New Horizons Ministries: 34.7
Academy for Eating Disorders: 34.6
Global Action Project Inc.: 34.6
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network: 34.3
International Women’s Health Coalition Inc. 34.2
Mercy Flight Southeast: 34.2
HHT Foundation International Inc.: 34.1
Fairygodmother Foundation: 34.0
Global Philanthropy Forum: 33.8
Wildlife Trust: 33.7
The Arc of the United States: 33.5
Ovarian Cancer National Alliance: 33.4
Astronomical Society of the Pacific: 33.3
Child Protection Education of America Inc.: 33.3
Parliamentarians for Global Action: 33.1
Heartbeat International Inc.: 33.1
Marijuana Policy Project Foundation: 33.0
National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts: 33.0
AT THE LOW END
Children’s Christian Relief Mission: 1.0
Military Medical Research and Education Foundation: 1.0
Volunteers for Inter-American Development Assistance: 1.0
Giving Children Hope: 1.0
Children’s Hunger Fund Foundation: 1.0
Painters and Allied Trades for Children’s Hope Foundation: 0.9
Lymphoma Foundation of America: 0.9
Children’s Medical Ministries: 0.8
Christian Orthopaedic Care for Disabled Children: 0.8
Children’s Medical Charities of America: 0.8
Children’s Hunger Fund: 0.8
IMA World Health: 0.8
Matthew 25: Ministries: 0.8
AIDS Care Fund: 0.8
Senior Care Fund: 0.8
A Mission for Children : 0.7
ChildHope: 0.7
Kids in Distressed Situations Inc.: 0.7
Disabled American Veterans Charitable Service Trust: 0.7
Suicide Prevention Care Fund: 0.7%
Paralyzed Veterans of America Spinal Cord Injury Education and Training Foundation: 0.7
Giving Hope International: 0.6
American Forest Foundation: 0.6
Blessings International: 0.6
Children’s Food, Healthcare, Shelter and Education Fund: 0.6
Navy League Foundation: 0.5
INMED Partnerships for Children: 0.5
Diabetes Transplant Fund: 0.5
A Child’s Hope Fund: 0.5
Hunger Defense Fund: 0.5
Gateway for Cancer Research Inc.: 0.5
All Nations Bible Society: 0.5
Children’s Food and Care Fund: 0.4
Adoption Exchange Association: 0.4
Paralyzed Veterans of America Spinal Cord Research Foundation: 0.4
Airlift Hope of America: 0.3
Child Abuse Intervention Fund: 0.3
Christian Children Education Fund: 0.3
BooksOOKS for the BarriosARRIOS Inc.: 0.3
Salvadoran American Humanitarian Foundation: 0.3
Diabetes Prevention and Aid Fund: 0.3
Abandoned Little Angels Nhom Tinh Thuong: 0.3
Baptist Children’s Home Ministries: 0.3
National Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Association: 0.2
Science Olympiad: 0.2
Support Our Troops: 0.1
Coastal America Foundation: 0.1
ESA Foundation: 0.1
Food Providers of America: 0.1
Feeding America’s Hungry Children: 0.1
Children’s Emergency Medical Fund: 0.1
National Patient Travel Center: 0.1
Abandoned Children’s Fund: 0.1
Academy Women: 0.0
Art for Humanity: 0.0
Aging and Disabilities Charities of America: 0.0
Right tTo Play: 0.0
Children aAt Risk Intervention Fund: 0.0
Feeding Hungry Children International: 0.0
Dogs on Death Row: 0.0
Peace and Reconciliation Charities: 0.0
Worldwide Christian Schools: 0.0
Childvision Inc.: 0.0
Heart Disease Research Institute: 0.0
AAAA Scholarship Foundation Inc.: 0.0
AIDS Global Action Inc.: 0.0