How the 2018 America’s Favorite Charities Ranking Was Compiled

The Chronicle’s America’s Favorite Charities ranking lists the U.S. nonprofits that raise the most in gifts of cash or stock. It excludes government grants and donated products. The goal: identify cause-driven organizations that most successfully earn direct financial support from individuals, foundations, and corporations.

Data used in the ranking was compiled from Internal Revenue Service Form 990 filings and a survey sent to 708 tax-exempt organizations. In addition, college-fundraising results were drawn from the Voluntary Support of Education survey, which is conducted by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.

Most of the data is from 2017, except where noted.

What Is Not Included

The Chronicle reported only on nonprofits that solicit donations from the public. Private foundations were excluded, as were organizations based abroad and any overseas affiliates of domestic groups. We did not include nonprofits controlled by government agencies.

In calculating cash support, we excluded gifts to an organization’s donor-advised funds. The ranking aims to measure the American public’s support of specific causes and organizations, and donor-advised accounts are charitable-giving vehicles, not organizations with a social mission. The community foundations that appear in the ranking raised enough cash support outside their donor-advised funds to be included. Nonprofits such as Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, which bring in enormous sums through contributions to their donor-advised accounts, typically do not raise enough money outside of those accounts to appear in this ranking.

Data Collection

To provide data for the 2017 fiscal year, some charities relied on draft 990s or unaudited financial statements. Figures that are estimates are noted.

Because fiscal years vary, the figures in this report do not always cover the same time period. In addition, 2017 figures were not available for some organizations; 2016 fiscal-year data is used instead. Those cases are noted.

Data about gifts of donated goods and contributions to donor-advised funds was not available in some instances. Again, those cases are noted.

Historical Data

In addition to compiling the ranking, the Chronicle analyzed the total charitable support raised by America’s Favorite Charities over the past decade. This analysis included cash support, donated products, and contributions to donor-advised funds; historical data on strictly cash support is not available.

Of the 100 organizations ranked, 94 had fundraising data reaching back a decade. For each, we calculated the growth in giving to the organization based on averages of three years of support totals — 2005-7 and 2015-17 — with each year’s figures adjusted for inflation.

Colleges and Universities

For private and public colleges and universities, the Chronicle uses data from the annual Voluntary Support of Education survey. Those figures are based on a different methodology than that used on the 990. Form 990 filers (and respondents to our survey) generally count pledges in the current year, while the VSE survey asks colleges to include only donations received and not unfulfilled pledges.

Data on gifts of products to colleges also comes from the VSE survey and includes donations of real estate and other property as well as contributions of products from corporations. In some instances, colleges in the ranking declined to report such donations in the survey. Those cases are noted.

This year’s America’s Favorite Charities relies on college-revenue data from the Department of Education’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. Its annual surveys collect information from every higher-education institution that participates in federal student financial-aid programs. These revenue figures come from the 2016 academic year, the latest for which full data is available. The total-revenue figures for private nonprofit institutions were compiled using the Financial Accounting Standards Board standards and include total income and investment return. Revenue for public nonprofit institutions was compiled using the Governmental Accounting Standards Board guidelines.

Revenue figures are not available for some public universities that report on multiple campuses.