The Largest U.S. Charities For 2013

Its incoming donations didn't go up much. But by a wide margin, United Way remains No.1 on the annual Forbes list of the largest U.S. charities.

The Alexandria, Va.-based network of more than 1,000 separate units largely dependent on paycheck deductions received $3.9 billion in gifts for the year ending December 31, 2012, $24 million more than the previous year. In a difficult economic environment, that represented a 0.6% increase.

No. 2 again is the  Salvation Army , a church better known for its social services efforts whose U.S. headquarters also is in Alexandria.  Its donations rose 11% to $1.9 billion, more than making up for a 6% fall from the previous year.

A list newcomer comes in at No. 3, Task Force for Global Health, which is based in Decatur, Ga. To implement its health activities in 50 countries, including the U.S., the charity brought in $1.7 billion, most of it donated medicines.

Rounding out the billion-dollar-donation club:  Feeding America at $1.5 billion and Catholic Charities USA at $1.4 billion. Feeding America, a Chicago-based supplier of of food banks, saw its incoming gifts, mainly donated food, rise a whopping 33%, in contrast to a 10% donation drop at Catholic Charities, which directs its efforts toward fighting poverty.

The amount of private donations received is the main metric for compiling the Forbes list. Collectively, the 50 charities on this 15th edition received $30 billion in donations. That's about one-tenth of the estimated $300 billion given to the country's 1 million-plus nonprofits. The cutoff for this year's list--No. 50--is $214 million.

Another loser this year is Boy Scouts of America , embroiled for some time in a controversy over a policy of excluding gays. Reported contributions for last year were $358 million, down 9%. Earlier this year, the Irving, Tex.-based organization changed its policy to allow gay scouts while continuing to exclude gay adult troop leaders.

Of the 50 largest charities, five reported paying someone more than $1 million. The highest compensated  chief executives were Craig B. Thompson, the head of Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, $2,487,672, followed by John H. Noseworthy of Mayo Clinic , Rochester, Minn., $2,000,896, and the United Way's Brian A. Gallagher at $1,506,148. Note  that compensation undefined sums can include deferred compensation and one-time bonuses and might be for a different fiscal year, since we use the last annual report available for each charity.

The Forbes list also calculates financial efficiencies for each charity and changes in those ratios from the prior period. For that detail, plus more information on each charity, including top pay, click here. For a description of the methodology, an explanation of the financial efficiency ratios and how donors can use the data to help evaluate almost any charity, click here.

For the entire Forbes list of the largest U.S. charities, click here.

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