Each year, the Chronicle of Philanthropy catalogs the charities that raised the most money.  The top ten charities for 2017 raised $47 billion in total, which equates to 11% of all giving by Americans last year.  Here’s the list:

  1.  The United Way
  2.   The Salvation Army
  3.   St. Jude’s
  4.   Harvard
  5.   Mayo Clinic
  6.   Stanford
  7.   Boys and Girls Club of America
  8.   Compassion International
  9.   Cornell
  10.   Lutheran Services in America

A few highlights from the list:

  • Of the top 100 charities, forty-one were colleges.
  • The number one charity, the United Way, saw a 28% decline in gifts from 2016 to 2017, yet still retained a high ranking by raising $3.2 billion.
  • Harvard closed out a $9.6 billion dollar campaign in 2017.  This figure set a new record for college campaigns.
  • A newcomer to the list of the top 100 charities was the Barack Obama Foundation at #82.