Best Charities for 13 Different Causes

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Forecasts indicate that charitable giving in the U.S. will increase this year, according to a recent report from WalletHub, even as the coronavirus pandemic shows no signs of letup.

In 2019, Americans increased their giving year over year for the 39th time in the past 41 years, WalletHub said, citing data from Giving USA. This year’s increase, it noted, will depend on donors’ generosity during the holiday season, as a big portion of all giving usually occurs in December.

Noble causes in need of support this year exist in most sectors, especially considering the pandemic’s devastating effects on many people’s health and finances. This raises the question of which charity will make the best use of one’s donation.

To identify the year’s best charities for holiday giving, WalletHub evaluated some 200 of the highest-ranked U.S.-based nonprofits, according to CharityWatch and Charity Navigator.

WalletHub said it purposefully did not consider nonprofit organizations with an obvious political affiliation or those focused primarily on a politically divisive issue.

Using the grading rubric below, researchers scored each organization for which ratings were available from both sources from 0 to 100, with 100 being the most trustworthy with donors’ money:

• CharityWatch grade: 40 points max
• Charity Navigator score: 40 points max
• Program expenses score, reflecting percentage of an organization’s total expenses used for its stated cause: 15 points
• Organization popularity score: 5 points max

See the gallery for the top-ranked charity for each of 13 different causes, according to WalletHub.

— Related on ThinkAdvisor:

• 15 Questions to Guide Family Charitable Discussions
• Top 12 Global Cities for the Ultra-Wealthy
• Top 5 Mega-Donors to Charity in 2019

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