Charitable giving in the U.S. has held remarkably steady for decades, hovering around 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) since the mid-20th century. That means the size of the giving “pie” doesn’t grow much from year to year, even as society’s needs do. Because donor dollars are finite, it’s essential that charities put the money they raise to work rather than stockpiling it unnecessarily.

At CharityWatch, we consider it reasonable for a nonprofit to reserve less than three years’ worth its annual budget to maintain stability and plan for the future. But when a charity’s available assets exceed that threshold, it signals that funds may be sitting idle instead of serving the public good. In those cases, we lower the organization’s final letter-grade rating, while still showing what its efficiency rating was before the downgrade for donors who prefer to make their own judgment about high reserves.

A charity’s “Years of Available Assets” shows how long it could operate at current spending levels without raising another dollar. To learn more about what high reserves might mean for a nonprofit’s financial health, read our article Don’t Judge a Not-for-Profit by Its Profits and visit Our Process for a deeper look at how CharityWatch evaluates asset accumulation.

High Asset Chart

CharityWatch generally updates a nonprofit’s rating every other fiscal year. Ratings in the chart currently based on fiscal year ended 2022 will be updated once complete 2024 financial documents become available for each organization. The chart in this post was current as of the date posted. CharityWatch’s most up-to-date High Asset chart may be viewed here.

CharityWatch’s analysis of a nonprofit’s available assets goes far beyond a simple equation. We don’t just divide a charity’s net fund balance by its annual operating budget. Rather, we take a deeper look at what those numbers actually represent. Our analysts carefully review each organization’s IRS Form 990 and audited financial statements to separate assets that are usable from those that are not.

Before we calculate a charity’s years available assets we subtract out items such as land, buildings, and equipment used in operations; construction in progress; permanently restricted funds; receivables due in more than five years; and any permanently restricted net assets legally restricted by outside parties.

What remains are the resources a charity could choose to spend—cash, investments, and temporarily or board-restricted funds that are accessible at management’s discretion. We also read audit notes closely to identify significant capital projects or large, one-time donations that may temporarily inflate a charity’s reserves. This in-depth approach ensures that our asset analysis reflects a nonprofit’s true financial flexibility.

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