Largest U.S. Public Charities:
2024 Rankings

The U.S. nonprofit sector is massive — but its scale is concentrated at the top. Our analysis of 154,322 public charities filing IRS Form 990 for tax year 2024 reveals that just 10 organizations reported revenue exceeding $1 billion, while nearly 71% of all charities operated on less than $1 million in annual revenue.

This analysis intentionally excludes hospitals, health systems, universities, and private foundations — categories that dominate traditional 'largest nonprofits' lists but operate very differently from what most people think of as charities. What remains is a clearer picture of the public charities doing direct charitable work across the United States.

The Silicon Valley Community Foundation tops the list with $4.9 billion in revenue — largely driven by donor-advised fund contributions from tech industry donors. Donor-advised fund sponsors and community foundations make up a significant portion of the top 20, reflecting how these vehicles have become the preferred giving mechanism for high-net-worth individuals.

International organizations like Good360 ($3.3B in product donations), Save the Children ($920M), CARE ($833M), and Doctors Without Borders ($777M) also rank among the largest. Science and technology nonprofits are represented by The MITRE Corporation ($2.5B) and the American Chemical Society ($819M).

The distribution of nonprofit revenue is strikingly unequal. Just 468 organizations (0.3% of all public charities) with revenue over $100 million account for $123.9 billion — roughly 28% of all public charity revenue. Meanwhile, the 109,463 charities earning under $1 million collectively account for just 8.4% of total revenue.

The median public charity reports just $428,716 in annual revenue — a far cry from the billion-dollar organizations at the top. This gap underscores how different the operating reality is for small community nonprofits compared to national organizations.

New York (69) and California (53) are home to the most charities with over $100 million in revenue. Washington, DC ranks third with 30 — disproportionate to its small population but reflecting the concentration of national nonprofits and advocacy organizations in the capital.

Human services is the largest sector by total revenue at $83.5 billion across 21,689 organizations, encompassing everything from senior care to social services. Philanthropy and grantmaking ranks second at $50.1 billion — reflecting the outsized role of community foundations and donor-advised fund sponsors.

Science and technology, while having the fewest organizations (931), boasts the highest average revenue at $10.6 million per organization — more than seven times the average for arts and culture organizations. This is driven by large research institutions and professional associations like The MITRE Corporation and the American Chemical Society.

Revenue and assets tell different stories about an organization's size. The top charities by assets are dominated by community foundations and endowed organizations that hold large investment portfolios. The Silicon Valley Community Foundation leads both lists, but many asset-rich organizations like the George Kaiser Family Foundation ($5.1B in assets) or the Oregon Community Foundation ($3.3B in assets) have relatively modest annual revenue.

The Coalition for Green Capital is a notable outlier — holding $5.0 billion in assets (from federal Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund allocations) while reporting just $24.3 million in revenue. This highlights how assets can reflect capital held for deployment rather than annual operations.