Top-Rated Charities

Groups included on the CharityWatch 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, have met CharityWatch's governance benchmarks, and receive "open-book" status for disclosure of basic financial information and documents to CharityWatch. Please see the Our Process page of the website for more information on the rating criteria and methodology that CharityWatch adheres to.

Because many factors determine a worthy charity, we at CharityWatch suggest that you use the ratings on this page not as the sole determining factor in your decision, but rather as an aid.

This list is subject to change depending on the information CharityWatch receives concerning charitable organizations.

All Top Charities African-American AIDS American Indian Animal & Animal Protection Asia & Asian-American Blind & Visually Impaired Cancer Child Protection Child Sponsorship Civil Rights & Advocacy Consumer Protection & Legal Aid Crime & Fire Prevention Disabled Drug & Alcohol Abuse Environment Gun Control (pro/con) Health - General Hispanic Homelessness & Housing Human Rights Human Services Hunger International Relief & Development Jewish & Israel LGBTQ Rights & Advocacy Literacy Mental Health & Disabilities Peace & International Relations Public Policy Reproductive Health, Family Planning, & Abortion Senior Citizens Terminally or Chronically Ill Veterans & Military Women's Rights Youth Development Youth-Residential

African-American Charities

Charity	Rating
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund	A-
National Urban League (National Office)	A-

AIDS Charities

Charity	Rating
Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation	A
Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR)	A-

American Indian Charities

Charity	Rating
American Indian College Fund	B+
Native American Rights Fund	A-

Animal & Animal Protection Charities

Charity	Rating
American Humane	A
Animal Welfare Institute	A+
Bat Conservation International	B+
Best Friends Animal Society	B+
Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International	A
Humane Farming Association	A-
Jane Goodall Institute	B+
Marine Mammal Center	A
National Disaster Search Dog Foundation	B+
Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS)	A
PetSmart Charities	A+
Wildlife Conservation Society	A

Asia & Asian-American Charities

Charity	Rating
Asia Foundation	A
Asia Society	B+
Asian American Legal Defense & Education Fund	A-

Blind & Visually Impaired Charities

Charity	Rating
Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind	A
Helen Keller International	A
National Federation of the Blind	A-
Prevent Blindness	A-

Cancer Charities

Charity	Rating
Breast Cancer Prevention Partners	A-
Breast Cancer Research Foundation	A
Cancer Research Institute	A
Entertainment Industry Foundation	A
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society	A-
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center	A-
Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation	A+
National Breast Cancer Coalition Fund	A
Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance	A
Pancreatic Cancer Action Network	A-
Prevent Cancer Foundation	B+
Prostate Cancer Foundation	A-

Child Protection Charities

Charity	Rating
Child Find of America	A+
Children's Defense Fund	A
Children's Health Fund	A-
Marine Toys for Tots Foundation	B+
Prevent Child Abuse America (National Office)	A+
Ronald McDonald House Charities (National Office)	A-

Child Sponsorship Charities

Charity	Rating
ChildFund International	A-
Children Incorporated	A
Children International	A
Compassion International	A
Pearl S. Buck International	A
Save the Children	A-
Unbound	A+
World Vision	A-

Civil Rights & Advocacy Charities

Charity	Rating
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)	A
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Foundation	A+
Electronic Frontier Foundation	B+
Equal Justice Initiative	A+
Human Rights Campaign Foundation	B+
Interfaith Alliance Foundation	B+
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC)	A-

Consumer Protection & Legal Aid Charities

Charity	Rating
Food and Water Watch	A
Government Accountability Project (GAP)	A-
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine	B+
Project on Government Oversight (POGO)	A-

Crime & Fire Prevention Charities

Charity	Rating
Concerns of Police Survivors (COPS)	A-

Disabled Charities

Charity	Rating
Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation	A-
Goodwill Industries International (National Office)	A

Drug & Alcohol Abuse Charities

Charity	Rating
Drug Policy Alliance	B+
Partnership for Drug-Free Kids	A

Environment Charities

Charity	Rating
African Wildlife Foundation	A-
Alaska Conservation Foundation	A-
Amazon Conservation Team	A
American Bird Conservancy	A
American Rivers	B+
Appalachian Mountain Club	A
Center for Biological Diversity	A
Conservation Fund	A+
Conservation International Foundation	A
Defenders of Wildlife	B+
Earth Island Institute	A
Earthjustice	A-
Earthworks	A
Environmental Defense Action Fund	A+
Environmental Defense Fund	B+
Environmental Working Group	A
Global Green USA	B+
Izaak Walton League of America (National Office)	B+
Keep America Beautiful (National Office)	A
National Audubon Society	B+
National Forest Foundation	A
National Park Foundation (NPF)	A
National Park Trust	A
National Wildlife Federation	A
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)	A-
Nature Conservancy	A-
Oceana	A-
Rainforest Action Network	A-
Rainforest Alliance	B+
Save the Redwoods League	B+
Sierra Club Foundation	A
Trout Unlimited (National Office)	A-
Trust for Public Land	A
Union of Concerned Scientists	A-
Water.org	A
Waterkeeper Alliance	A+
WildAid	A
Wilderness Society	B+
World Resources Institute	A+

Gun Control (pro/con) Charities

Charity	Rating

Health - General Charities

Charity	Rating
American Kidney Fund	A+
American Liver Foundation	A
American Lung Association (National Office)	A
City of Hope & Affiliates	A-
Crohn's & Colitis Foundation	A
Diabetes Action Research and Education Foundation	A+
Hearing Health Foundation	A+
JDRF International	A-
Lupus Research Alliance	A
Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research	A
MiracleFeet	A-
National Hemophilia Foundation (National Office)	A-
National Jewish Health	A-
National Kidney Foundation	A-
National Psoriasis Foundation	A-
Partnership for a Healthier America	A
PKD Foundation	B+
Salk Institute for Biological Studies	A

Hispanic Charities

Charity	Rating
Hispanic Federation	A
Hispanic Scholarship Fund	A+
LatinoJustice PRLDEF	A

Homelessness & Housing Charities

Charity	Rating
Bowery Residents' Committee (BRC)	A
Coalition for the Homeless	A-
National Alliance to End Homelessness	A+

Human Rights Charities

Charity	Rating
Committee to Protect Journalists	A-
Human Rights First	A
Human Rights Watch	B+

Human Services Charities

Charity	Rating
American Red Cross	A-
Farm Aid	A
The Y (National Office)	A

Hunger Charities

Charity	Rating
Action Against Hunger-USA	A
City Harvest	B+
Feed My Starving Children	A
Feeding America	B+
Food Bank For New York City	A-
The Hunger Project	A

International Relief & Development Charities

Charity	Rating
Africare	A+
Alight	A
All Hands and Hearts - Smart Response	A+
American Friends Service Committee	A
American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA)	A
CARE USA	A+
Catholic Relief Services	A+
Central Asia Institute	A-
charity: water	A
Church World Service	A-
Comic Relief	A+
Direct Relief & Direct Relief Foundation	A
Doctors Without Borders USA	A
Episcopal Relief & Development	A
FINCA International	A
Fistula Foundation	A
Grameen Foundation USA	A-
HealthRight International	A-
HIAS	A-
International Medical Corps	A
International Rescue Committee	A
Lutheran World Relief	A
MAP International	B+
Medical Teams International	A-
Mennonite Central Committee U.S.	A-
Mercy Corps	A
One Acre Fund	A
Operation USA	A
Opportunity International	A-
Oxfam-America	A-
Partners In Health	A
Project Concern International (PCI)	B+
Rotary Foundation of Rotary International	A+
Samaritan's Purse	A-
Team Rubicon	A-
TechnoServe	A
United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR)	A+
United States Fund for UNICEF	A
World Neighbors	A

Jewish & Israel Charities

Charity	Rating
American Jewish Committee (AJC)	B+
American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee	A
American Jewish World Service	A
Anti-Defamation League & Foundation	B+
Bend the Arc - A Jewish Partnership for Justice	A-
Friends of the Israel Defense Forces	A-
Hadassah	A
MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger	A
New Israel Fund	A-
Simon Wiesenthal Center	B+

LGBTQ Rights & Advocacy Charities

Charity	Rating
Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice	A

Literacy Charities

Charity	Rating
ProLiteracy Worldwide	B+
Reach Out and Read, Inc.	B+

Mental Health & Disabilities Charities

Charity	Rating
Alzheimer's Association (National Office)	B+
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention	A
Arc of the United States (National Office)	A-
Autism Society of America (National Office) & Foundation	B+
Brain & Behavior Research Foundation	A
Mental Health America (MHA)	A-
NAMI	A-
Trevor Project	A

Peace & International Relations Charities

Charity	Rating
Clinton Foundation	A-
International Peace Institute	A
Physicians for Social Responsibility (National Office)	A-
Ploughshares Fund	A-

Public Policy Charities

Charity	Rating
Common Cause Education Fund	A
FAIR	A

Reproductive Health, Family Planning, & Abortion Charities

Charity	Rating
Center for Reproductive Rights	A-
EngenderHealth	A
Guttmacher Institute	A
International Planned Parenthood Federation-Western Hemisphere	A
PAI	A
Pathfinder International	A+
PCI-Media Impact	A
Planned Parenthood Federation of America	A-
Population Connection	A
Population Council	A
Population Services International	A+

Senior Citizens Charities

Charity	Rating
National Council on Aging	A+

Terminally or Chronically Ill Charities

Charity	Rating
Compassion & Choices	B+
Death with Dignity National Center	A-
Give Kids the World	B+
Starlight Children's Foundation (National Office)	A-
Sunshine Foundation (National Office)	B+

Veterans & Military Charities

Charity	Rating
Armed Services YMCA of the USA	A
Bob Woodruff Family Foundation	A
Fisher House Foundation	A+
Gary Sinise Foundation	A
Homes For Our Troops	A
Hope For The Warriors	A
Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund	A-
Mission Continues	A
National Military Family Association	A
Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society	A
Operation Homefront	A-
Semper Fi & America's Fund	A+
Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS)	A
Wounded Warriors Family Support	A

Women's Rights Charities

Charity	Rating
Global Fund for Women	A-
National Women's Law Center	A-

Youth Development Charities

Charity	Rating
Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America (National Office)	A+
Boys & Girls Clubs of America (National Office)	B+
Camp Fire National Headquarters	A-
DonorsChoose.org	A+
Girl Scouts of the USA (National Office)	B+
Girls Incorporated (National Office)	A-
Junior Achievement USA (National Office)	B+
National 4-H Council	A
Scholarship America	A+

Youth-Residential Charities

Charity	Rating
CEDARS	A
Covenant House & Affiliates	A-