---
title: Charities calculation
author: Issa Rice
created: 2016-12-09
date: 2016-12-09
---

1.5 million US nonprofits ([source](http://grantspace.org/tools/knowledge-base/Funding-Research/Statistics/number-of-nonprofits-in-the-u.s);
[Charity Navigator gives the same number](https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=32)).
Of those, around 1.1 million are public charities ([source](http://nccs.urban.org/statistics/quickfacts.cfm)).

AmazonSmile allows a choice among ["almost one million eligible 501(c)(3) public
charitable organizations"](https://smile.amazon.com/gp/chpf/about/).

61 charities in
[GW spreadsheet](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1KJveeJNUL3_tkshcajB3L8eGZ0gqcy_ZYpxcK1f_9r4/edit)
which is "a list of charities focused on evidence-backed, potentially
cost-effective programs whether or not we have investigated them"
([source](http://www.givewell.org/how-we-work/criteria)).
This list includes top charities.

From GiveWell's
[old charities page](https://web.archive.org/web/20160816143541/http://www.givewell.org/charities)
(as of August 16, 2016):

  * 125 charities in "International charities contacted for review"; this list
    includes top charities
  * 649 charities in "Other international charities considered", i.e. those
    charities that they considered but did not/have not contacted or didn't
    have a website
  * 85 charities in "All United States charities considered"

As of November 2015, Charity Navigator has rated 5000 charities based in the
US
([source](http://www.ncdcr.gov/press-release/charity-navigator-awards-nc-aquarium-society-fourth-consecutive-top-rating)).