In 2022, Americans donated an estimated $499 billion to charity. Our united generosity supports several different causes every year, but donations aren’t keeping up with inflationary pressure. Charitable giving is actually down year over year after adjusting for inflation.
There are hundreds of charities, which can make it challenging to decide which ones to donate to. Taking that into account, along with the impact of inflation, SmileHub did the work to find the best options for worthy causes in several categories. They compared almost 30,000 charities based on their SmileHub rating, which includes five categories: management overhead, financial health, program efficiency, fundraising efficiency, and transparency. They also identified the best organizations to donate to overall, by size and for each of the most prevalent causes.
According to SmileHub, the top 20 national charities are the following:
| 1. Optica | 11. ASTM International |
| 2. Aga Khan Foundation | 12. MedShare |
| 3. Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust | 13. EY Foundation |
| 4. Nationwide Children’s Hospital | 14. WaterStone |
| 5. American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) | 15. Mather Foundation |
| 6. The United States Olympic Endowment | 16. Foundation Housing |
| 7. Research to Prevent Blindness | 17. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital |
| 8. Volunteers of America National Services | 18. Rockefeller Family Fund |
| 9. Veterans United Foundation | 19. American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) |
| 10. MAP International | 20. Friends of the Children |
The best charities by category are as follows:
- Animals: Friends of the Zoo of Kansas City Foundation
- Arts: Foundation for the Flint Cultural Center
- Children: Misericordia Foundation
- Community Support: Housing Catalyst
- Disaster Relief: Wesley Chapel Volunteer Fire Department
- Economic Development: Guidestream Charitable Gift Fund
- Education: Array Education
- Environmental Protection: Global Water Challenge
- Faith & Religious Support: First Presbyterian Church of Dallas Foundation
- Health & Wellness: Abington Memorial Hospital Foundation
- Homeless Support: Sacramento Steps Forward
- International Support: Interweave Solutions
- Reducing Poverty: Community Housing Improvement Program (CHIP)
- Research: Kacyra Family Foundation
- Rights & Activism: Follow Your Dream Foundation
- Sports & Recreation: TaxSlayer Gator Bowl
- Veterans: Louisiana National Guard Foundation
To view the full report, click here.