There's no single "best" charity — the right one depends on what you want your money to do. So instead of one list, here are the top-rated charities in each of the 16 causes we cover, drawn from the 219 charities in our directory. Every rating was checked in October 2026, and each name links to the charity's full profile: its rating, EIN and five years of IRS Form 990 filings.
How we pick: charities that GiveWell or Animal Charity Evaluators currently recommend come first, because those evaluators measure how much good a donation does. After that, charities are ordered by their Charity Navigator overall score; when scores tie, we list them alphabetically. 203 of the 216 rated charities in our directory hold Charity Navigator's top 4-star rating, so the differences at the top are small — any charity below is a strong choice.
If you want the most impact per dollar
GiveWell spends thousands of hours a year looking for the programs that save or improve lives most cost-effectively. These are its current Top Charities:
| Charity | What it does | Charity Navigator |
|---|---|---|
| Against Malaria Foundation | Prevents malaria by distributing long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets in developing countries | 91% |
| Helen Keller International | Combats causes and consequences of blindness and malnutrition | 97% |
| Malaria Consortium | Runs seasonal malaria chemoprevention campaigns that give young children preventive antimalarial medicine during the high-transmission rainy season | 90% |
| New Incentives | Gives caregivers small cash incentives for bringing infants to routine vaccination appointments | 94% |
Best health & medical charities
Alongside the 4 GiveWell Top Charities above, these are the highest-rated health & medical charities in our directory:
| Charity | Rating | Revenue | Works in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct Relief | 100/100 | $2.3B (2023) | Global |
| Malaria No More | 100/100 | $11.8M (2023) | Global |
| Seva Foundation | 100/100 | $10.0M (2024) | Asia, Africa |
Best animal welfare charities
| Charity | Rating | Revenue | Works in |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Humane League | ACE Recommended Charity | $18.5M (2023) | Global |
| Wild Animal Initiative | ACE Recommended Charity | $7.0M (2023) | Global |
| Blue Ridge Humane Society | 100/100 | $2.8M (2023) | United States |
Best environment & wildlife charities
| Charity | Rating | Revenue | Works in |
|---|---|---|---|
| African Wildlife Foundation | 100/100 | $33.7M (2023) | Africa |
| Earthjustice | 100/100 | $126.0M (2023) | United States |
| National Audubon Society | 100/100 | $156.1M (2023) | United States |
Best children & youth charities
| Charity | Rating | Revenue | Works in |
|---|---|---|---|
| National CASA/GAL Association for Children | 100/100 | $9.0M (2023) | United States |
| Big Brothers Big Sisters of America | 99/100 | $47.2M (2023) | United States |
| Marine Toys for Tots Foundation | 99/100 | $359.2M (2023) | United States |
Best humanitarian & disaster relief charities
| Charity | Rating | Revenue | Works in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Center for Disaster Philanthropy | 100/100 | $30.7M (2023) | Global |
| Global Refuge | 100/100 | $232.8M (2023) | United States |
| World Relief | 100/100 | $163.1M (2023) | Global |
Best education & literacy charities
| Charity | Rating | Revenue | Works in |
|---|---|---|---|
| CodeAI | 100/100 | $42.8M (2023) | Global |
| Khan Academy | 100/100 | $98.3M (2023) | Global |
| Pratham | 100/100 | $23.1M (2023) | India |
Best poverty & economic development charities
| Charity | Rating | Revenue | Works in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goodwill Industries International | 100/100 | $71.0M (2023) | United States |
| Village Enterprise | 100/100 | $18.6M (2023) | East Africa |
| GiveDirectly | 98/100 | $140.3M (2023) | Africa |
Best veterans affairs charities
| Charity | Rating | Revenue | Works in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gary Sinise Foundation | 100/100 | $10.7M (2023) | United States |
| Navy SEAL Foundation | 100/100 | $41.5M (2023) | United States |
| Wounded Warrior Project | 99/100 | $348.7M (2023) | United States |
Best hunger & food security charities
| Charity | Rating | Revenue | Works in |
|---|---|---|---|
| World Central Kitchen | 100/100 | $241.5M (2023) | Global |
| Feed My Starving Children | 97/100 | $66.1M (2024) | Global |
| Feeding America | 96/100 | $4.9B (2023) | United States |
Best mental health charities
| Charity | Rating | Revenue | Works in |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Foundation for Suicide Prevention | 100/100 | $48.0M (2023) | United States |
| Mental Health America | 100/100 | $12.1M (2023) | United States |
| Mental Health Center of Denver | 100/100 | $149.0M (2023) | United States |
Best human rights & justice charities
| Charity | Rating | Revenue | Works in |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACLU Foundation | 100/100 | $185.1M (2024) | United States |
| The Carter Center | 100/100 | $153.8M (2023) | Global |
| NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund | 99/100 | $29.5M (2023) | United States |
Best disability rights charities
| Charity | Rating | Revenue | Works in |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Association of People with Disabilities | 100/100 | $3.3M (2023) | United States |
| Disability Rights Washington | 100/100 | $5.8M (2023) | United States |
| Guide Dogs for the Blind | 100/100 | $72.8M (2024) | United States |
Best housing & homelessness charities
| Charity | Rating | Revenue | Works in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Community Solutions | 98/100 | $25.5M (2023) | United States |
| Covenant House | 97/100 | $88.3M (2023) | United States, Canada, Latin America |
| Habitat for Humanity | 97/100 | $329.2M (2023) | Global |
Best water & sanitation charities
| Charity | Rating | Revenue | Works in |
|---|---|---|---|
| charity: water | 100/100 | $96.8M (2022) | Global |
| The Water Project | 100/100 | $5.6M (2023) | Africa |
| DigDeep | 98/100 | $12.5M (2023) | United States |
Best lgbtq+ rights charities
| Charity | Rating | Revenue | Works in |
|---|---|---|---|
| GLSEN | 100/100 | $7.0M (2023) | United States |
| Human Rights Campaign Foundation | 96/100 | $21.4M (2024) | United States |
| The Trevor Project | 96/100 | $83.8M (2023) | United States |
Best criminal justice reform charities
| Charity | Rating | Revenue | Works in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Innocence Project | 100/100 | $32.5M (2023) | United States |
| Prison Fellowship | 97/100 | $68.4M (2024) | United States |
| The Bail Project | 96/100 | $14.1M (2023) | United States |
Before you give
Give on the charity's own website, check that the EIN on your receipt matches the one on its profile, and keep the receipt: from 2026, Americans who take the standard deduction can deduct up to $1,000 of cash gifts to charity ($2,000 for married couples filing jointly).