Which charities were listed as CharityWatch Top-Rated in 2024 and 2025 and what were their exact program percentages?
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Executive summary
CharityWatch identifies Top-Rated charities as those with a calculated Program Percentage of 75% or greater and a Cost to Raise $100 of $25 or less, a threshold the organization uses to define “highly efficient” charities [1] [2]. Public-facing pages and third‑party charity sites confirm some 2024/2025 recognitions — for example, Save the Children advertises an 84% program spending rate for fiscal 2024 and notes CharityWatch’s top-rated recognition for 2024 [3] — but the complete list of CharityWatch Top-Rated charities and CharityWatch’s exact program‑percentage figures for each charity are not fully published in the provided reporting and, in many cases, are behind CharityWatch’s subscription/paywall [4] [5].
1. What the user is actually asking and what CharityWatch says about program percentages
The core question requests two specific data points — which charities made CharityWatch’s Top-Rated list in 2024 and 2025, and the precise Program Percentage CharityWatch calculated for each — but CharityWatch defines Top-Rated status by a firm numeric cutoff (Program % ≥ 75%) and fundraising-efficiency benchmark (Cost to Raise $100 ≤ $25), rather than publishing a simple roster with every charity’s exact CharityWatch-calculated program percentage on freely available pages [1] [2].
2. What the sources provided do deliver: criteria, examples, and paywall limits
CharityWatch’s Top-Rated landing page explains that groups on the list generally spend 75% or more of their budgets on programs and meet fundraising-efficiency parameters, which is the basis for inclusion [2]. CharityWatch also explains its rating methodology—how it recalculates program percentages by excluding certain related‑party transactions and reclassifying “joint costs” that charities may report as program spending under GAAP—which helps explain why CharityWatch’s Program % can differ from a charity’s self‑reported figure [1] [6].
3. Named examples in the available reporting and their program percentages
At least one named example appears in the provided material: Save the Children is presented on its own site as having 84% of expenditures directed to programs in fiscal 2024 and states it received CharityWatch top‑rated recognition for 2024 [3]. Direct Relief’s 2025 publicity notes an A+ rating from CharityWatch and a portrayal of “exceptional program efficiency,” but the article does not quote CharityWatch’s exact Program Percentage figure for Direct Relief in 2025 [7].
4. Why a complete, itemized answer cannot be provided from the supplied reporting
The available sources document CharityWatch’s methodology and mention individual charities and accolades, but they do not publish a comprehensive list with CharityWatch’s specific Program % calculations for every Top‑Rated charity for 2024 and 2025 in the material provided here; CharityWatch’s searchable charity reports and deeper ratings are gated and require subscription access to view full calculations [4] [5]. Therefore, asserting a complete roster with exact program percentages for both years would exceed what the current reporting supports.
5. Alternative viewpoints, possible hidden agendas, and next steps for verification
Observers and charity professionals note that different rating organizations use dissimilar accounting adjustments—CharityWatch recalculates program percentages to neutralize GAAP allowances it views as misleading, while other raters may accept a charity’s reported program spending, producing divergent public figures [8] [6]. CharityWatch’s paywall and its critical stance toward automated/algorithmic raters can create an implicit agenda of promoting its unique methodology and subscription model [5] [8]. To obtain the precise CharityWatch Program % values and the full Top‑Rated rosters for 2024 and 2025, the primary-source path is direct: consult CharityWatch’s Top-Rated page and individual charity reports (subscription may be required) or examine the charities’ own audited financial statements and CharityWatch reports referenced therein [4] [2] [1].