How Much of Your Donation Actually Reaches a Charity?
See how program share, fundraising cuts, and fees affect gifts, and what to ask before you donate.
Most of your donation can reach the charity when you give directly to a financially sound group. A much smaller share reaches the cause when a paid fundraiser or platform takes a large cut. Program share means the part of total expenses spent on program activities, not management or fundraising.
That split helps you compare groups and giving methods before you donate.
Verification note: Program terms and availability can change. This page was checked against linked sources on November 02, 2026.
How do groups report charity spending?
The BBB Wise Giving Alliance requires accredited charities to spend at least 65% of total expenses on program activities, according to the BBB standards page. It also limits related fundraising spending to no more than 35% of related contributions. The IRS requires 501(c)(3) filers to split every expense into program services, management and fundraising columns in Form 990 Part IX, as explained in the IRS instructions for Form 990.
Donors can compute the program share from line 25. Charity Navigator calculates a Program Expense Ratio as program expenses divided by total expenses. The group averages the result over a charity's three most recent IRS Forms 990 to score financial health, according to its methodology.
Where does the money go missing?
The FTC reported that telemarketer Civic Development Group promised 100% would go to police, firefighter and veteran charities, while the charities received only 10-15%, in the FTC press release on the case. The gap went to the fundraising operation. A vehicle-donation fundraiser raised about $45.5 million for United Breast Cancer Foundation in 2017-2022, according to an FTC consumer alert.
Under 1% was spent on breast-cancer screenings. Another cancer charity solicitation raised $18.25 million, according to a separate FTC consumer alert. Only about 1% reached cancer patients, with almost everything else kept for fundraisers and the director.
What do online gifts lose to fees?
Donation platforms subtract processing costs before funds reach a person or cause. Those fees lower the net amount even when the full gift was intended for programs. GoFundMe deducts a 2.9% plus $0.30 transaction fee from each single U.S.
donation, according to the GoFundMe Help Center. A $50 gift nets $48.25. The same source notes an optional tip and a donor-paid 5% fee for recurring gifts.
How can you keep more of your gift?
Ratios alone can mislead. Charity Navigator notes that administrative spending is essential, and very low overhead can signal underinvestment or fundraising costs reclassified as programs rather than greater impact. The FTC advises donors to ask whether a solicitor is a paid fundraiser, what share goes to the charity, and to give directly, in its charity-giving guidance.
Direct gifts avoid fundraiser cuts.
- Ask if the caller is a paid fundraiser
- Ask what share goes to the charity versus the fundraiser
- Give directly through the charity's own donation channel