The Best Charities in Every State That Do the Most with Your Donations

Like the 77% of small businesses that give to charities every year,¹ you hope your donations make a lasting impact. You can trust one of these best charities to put your money where it counts.

By: Joshua Adamson-Pickett Updated: 08/03/18 Published: 07/30/18

Donating time, money, and other contributions to charities is a time-honored way for small businesses to help their communities—and earn a bit of tax relief. But if you’re looking to improve your community, how do you know which organizations you can trust to use your donations effectively?

Plenty of charities take in loads of donations and run sizable programs, but many use large portions of the funds to cover marketing, salaries, and other administrative costs. And unfortunately, some charities exist as not much more than smoke-and-mirror schemes.

But don’t get frustrated and walk away from charitable giving. Many organizations keep their program expenses low and their service levels high, meaning your dollars go further toward the causes you want to support. We set out to find those highly efficient charities.

The factors we considered for our ratings

Using data collected by Charity Navigator on organizations in every state, we compared financial information, transparency policies, and public reviews. We looked at financial, accountability, and transparency scores and administrative-to-program cost ratios. We then assigned our top ratings to the best charities that do the most with their donations across the nation.

Here’s what we uncovered:

The types of causes championed by the most effective charities vary widely, but we did find many animals rights, food bank, social service, and environmental protection organizations.
Our highest-rated charities had an average fundraising efficiency—the amount spent to raise $1—of only $0.07. The lowest-rated associations averaged four times that amount, at $0.29.
The top organizations averaged a rate of 86.43% for contributions that go directly back into the programs. The lowest averaged 60.18%, or 30% less.
The least efficient charities—those that spend large portions on fundraising and administrative costs—were also the least transparent and often had warning notices from watch groups like Charity Navigator.

Four particular charities stood out among the rest, each receiving a perfect financial transparency score of 100. If you want your donations to make the most significant difference, these organizations lead by example.

Business.org’s top-rated charities

1. San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity

Location: Azusa, CA
Cause type: Housing and neighborhood development
Program expense: 91.4%

With a mission that “brings people together to build homes, communities, and hope,” San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity has been helping people reshape their lives since 1990. Businesses can give time and money to directly impact the lives of Southern California residents, many of whom experience challenges stemming from the recent recession and ongoing affordable housing crisis.

With only 6.8% of its budget going to administrative costs, you can be sure that San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity will use your donations effectively.

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2. Weld Food Bank

Location: Greeley, CO
Cause type: Food banks, food pantries, and food distribution
Program expense: 98.1%

Weld Food Bank is “turning the tables on hunger” by helping to feed the 20% of Weld County, CO, residents who go hungry without adequate access to food.² From kids’ backpack and school food pantry programs to senior feeding programs and emergency food boxes, the Weld Food Bank exemplifies leadership in the fight against hunger.

The organization uses more than 98% of its donations to fund its programs, making it a genuinely effective and transparent way to give back.

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3. Food Bank of Siouxland

Location: Sioux City, IA
Cause type: Food banks, food pantries, and food distribution
Program expense: 98.6%

The Food Bank of Siouxland, which serves hungry populations throughout Iowa and Nebraska, has the best program expense ratio of any charity we uncovered during our research.

An outstanding 98.6% of donations cover the costs of its programs, including various educational programs and a mobile pantry for families and kids. Your business can donate funds and produce or even host a food drive of your own to help people avoid going hungry.

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4. Spread the Word Nevada

Location: Henderson, NV
Cause type: Early childhood programs and services
Program expense: 86.2%

Reading is a fundamental part of effective education and can greatly improve children’s lives. Spread the Word Nevada is dedicated to increasing literacy in its communities with programs that get kids reading books and that reinforce the role of literacy with parents.

With 505,000 students served in its 17 years,³ the organization provides volunteer opportunities like live readings, book drives, and book and money donations.

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Business.org’s picks for the best charities by state

Location	Organization	Cause type	Program expense	Financial transparency score	Business.org final score
Alabama	Big Oak Ranch	Youth development, shelter, and crisis services	75.7%	94.7	98.2
Alaska	Trustees for Alaska	Environmental protection and conservation	83.9%	92.7	92.7
Arizona	Yavapai Big Brothers Big Sisters	Youth development, shelter, and crisis services	82.0%	97.6	97.9
Arkansas	Humane Society of Pulaski County	Animal rights, welfare, and services	88.1%	92.9	97.6
California	San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity	Housing and neighborhood development	91.4%	100.0	100.0
Colorado	Weld Food Bank	Food banks, food pantries, and food distribution	98.1%	100.0	100.0
Connecticut	Our Companions Animal Rescue	Animal rights, welfare, and services	83.2%	99.6	98.7
DC	Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Washington, DC	Patient and family support	77.4%	94.9	98.2
Delaware	Ronald McDonald House of Delaware	Patient and family support	76.8%	91.6	96.5
Florida	Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast	Environmental protection and conservation	85.6%	100.0	99.2
Georgia	Fernbank Museum of Natural History	Museums	81.6%	98.6	95.5
Hawaii	Make-A-Wish Foundation of Hawaii	Patient and family support	85.4%	90.9	95.0
Idaho	Mountain Humane	Animal rights, welfare, and services	79.1%	97.0	98.3
Illinois	Chicago Coalition for the Homeless	Homeless services	85.8%	100.0	99.6
Indiana	Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis	Housing and neighborhood development	86.0%	98.2	99.4
Iowa	Food Bank of Siouxland	Food banks, food pantries, and food distribution	98.6%	100.0	100.0
Kansas	Kansas Food Bank	Food banks, food pantries, and food distribution	97.6%	100.0	96.8
Kentucky	The Cabbage Patch Settlement House	Social services	76.6%	95.7	98.6
Louisiana	Louisiana SPCA	Animal rights, welfare, and services	88.8%	96.3	91.7
Maine	Pine Tree Society	Social services	84.8%	98.2	96.1
Maryland	Operation Second Chance	Social services	86.7%	95.1	98.6
Massachusetts	Cradles to Crayons	Children's and family services	88.1%	96.5	98.5
Michigan	Ecology Center	Environmental protection and conservation	89.0%	98.2	99.6
Minnesota	Minnesota Adult & Teen Challenge	Treatment and prevention services	83.3%	97.2	99.1
Mississippi	Mississippi Children's Museum	Museums	83.1%	97.2	97.1
Missouri	USO of Missouri	Social services	82.9%	96.8	98.6
Montana	Greater Yellowstone Coalition	Environmental protection and conservation	84.9%	98.2	93.2
Nebraska	Make-A-Wish Foundation of Nebraska	Patient and family support	84.4%	94.6	97.5
Nevada	Spread the Word Nevada	Early childhood programs and services	86.2%	100.0	100.0
New Hampshire	Make-A-Wish Foundation of New Hampshire	Patient and family support	87.8%	94.3	98.1
New Jersey	Community Foundation of New Jersey	Community foundations	95.3%	98.2	98.7
New Mexico	Animal Humane New Mexico	Animal rights, welfare, and services	81.1%	94.5	95.7
New York	NYC Outward Bound Schools	Youth education programs and services	84.9%	96.8	98.9
North Carolina	Durham Rescue Mission	Homeless services	86.8%	100.0	97.3
North Dakota	No charity met standards for inclusion	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Ohio	League for Animal Welfare	Animal rights, welfare, and services	85.3%	99.5	99.1
Oklahoma	Little Light House	Special education	81.7%	99.3	99.3
Oregon	SnowCap Community Charities	Social services	89.4%	96.5	96.8
Pennsylvania	Children's Scholarship Fund Philadelphia	Scholarship and financial support	93.9%	100.0	99.6
Rhode Island	INSIGHT	Social services	80.9%	90.3	96.8
South Carolina	Greenville Humane Society	Animal rights, welfare, and services	91.8%	100.0	86.7
South Dakota	Native American Heritage Association	Social services	96.9%	92.9	90.6
Tennessee	The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee	Wildlife conservation	83.9%	98.9	96.3
Texas	Mobile Loaves & Fishes	Social services	84.6%	98.1	91.2
Utah	Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Intermountain Area	Patient and family support	74.6%	94.4	97.5
Vermont	Vermont Public Radio	Public broadcasting and media	68.7%	92.3	94.8
Virginia	Southern Environmental Law Center	Environmental protection and conservation	87.4%	100.0	88.0
Washington	Pasado's Safe Haven	Animal rights, welfare, and services	81.8%	98.8	94.6
West Virginia	Big Green Scholarship Foundation	Scholarship and financial support	89.9%	82.9	92.3
Wisconsin	Ronald McDonald House Charities of Eastern Wisconsin	Patient and family support	80.9%	99.2	98.4
Wyoming	Grand Teton Music Festival	Performing arts	91.7%	89.5	95.2

Notes on our methodology

We relied on regional rather than national metrics and excluded foundations and nonprofits categorized as “grantmakers,” meaning they raise money to redistribute to other charities. Our focus was on nonprofits doing the on-the-ground work themselves. We also excluded some particularly politically motivated groups and organizations that, according to Charity Navigator, accept federal grants.

Conclusion

At Business.org, our mission is to help decision makers find the right tools and services to grow your business, and we believe that building a business should include giving back to our communities too. We hope you consider one of these highly productive and influential charities to spend a bit of your time and money.