Which US charities had the highest program-spending ratios in 2024 and 2025?
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Executive summary
Three different charity evaluators—CharityWatch, Forbes and individual charity disclosures cited by secondary reporting—point to groups that report extremely high program-spending or “efficiency” ratios, but there is no single, authoritative public list that names the universal “top two” charities for program-spending in calendar years 2024 and 2025; CharityWatch’s top-rated threshold is 75% or higher [1], Forbes published individual 100% efficiency scores for some charities in its 2025 Top 100 list [2] [3], and older compilations have shown multiple organizations reporting 100% program ratios though they reflect earlier years or different accounting conventions [4].
1. What the major watchdogs say about “highest” program-spending
CharityWatch explicitly flags “Top-Rated” charities as those whose adjusted calculations yield a Program Percentage of 75% or greater and who meet governance and transparency benchmarks; donors should therefore read “highest program-spending” through CharityWatch’s adjusted lens rather than raw tax-form numbers [1] [5]. Forbes’ methodology for its Top 100 Charities calculates three financial efficiency ratios and publishes direction-of-change where data exist; Forbes has used those calculations to award perfect or near-perfect efficiency scores to individual charities in its 2025 list, though Forbes cautions against cross-sector comparisons because different types of nonprofits have very different cost structures [2] [6].
2. Concrete examples reported for 2024–25, and their limits
Direct Relief is publicly highlighted in reporting about Forbes’ 2025 list as having a 100% “efficiency” rating on that list and earning top marks from Charity Navigator as well, a fact cited by Direct Relief in its own media summary of Forbes’ rankings [3]. Forbes’ Top 100 release and related coverage show several large organizations with perfect or very high efficiency scores for fiscal years that often end in 2024 or 2025, but those figures derive from each charity’s last reported fiscal year and Forbes’ specific calculation method [2] [7]. Older compilations of program-percentage lists have shown charities reporting 100% program spending in particular fiscal years—examples named in one historical list include Brother’s Brother Foundation, Gleaning for the World, Kingsway Charities, Matthew 25: Ministries and Operation Compassion—but that HealthWell list reflected metrics from earlier reporting periods and should not be conflated with current-year rankings absent fresh audited statements [4].
3. Why one cannot produce a single, definitive 2024 and 2025 “top two” without more data
Evaluators use different definitions and adjustments—CharityWatch modifies reported numbers for non-cash goods, high assets and joint costs, Forbes relies on a blend of audited statements and self-reported survey replies, and some charities list program ratios differently on Form 990 or annual reports—so a charity that appears “top” under one method may not under another [5] [2] [6]. Forbes’ dataset covers charities’ most recently reported fiscal years, which means some entries reflect fiscal-year-ends in 2024 or 2025 unevenly across organizations and precludes a tidy calendar-year 2024 vs. 2025 head-to-head without compiling and normalizing raw financials [2] [6].
4. Practical takeaway for readers deciding where to give
Rely on evaluator-specific lists when making comparisons: CharityWatch’s Top-Rated list signals groups that meet its 75%+ program-spending and governance thresholds [1], Forbes’ Top 100 provides efficiency ratios and year-to-year direction for major donors looking at large recipients [2] [7], and charity-specific disclosures—such as Direct Relief’s cited 100% efficiency nod on Forbes’ 2025 list—offer a snapshot but require reading the underlying filings to understand what’s included [3]. Where source material is absent, this reporting does not assert additional charities as “highest” for 2024 or 2025; constructing a definitive ranked list would require assembling and normalizing audited fiscal-year statements across thousands of nonprofits, a step beyond the available summaries [2] [5].