Breast Cancer - Which Charities Are Spending Your Donation Wisely?

The numbers are staggering. While the final numbers are not in, it is expected there were over 182,000 new cases of breast cancer in 2008. More than 40,000 women died from breast cancer in 2008 and a woman's chance of being affected by breast cancer now stands at 1 in 8. The good news, there are now more than 2.5 million women who have survived breast cancer. This is due in large part to the research and education being undertaken by a number of organizations.

Below we examine ten of the leading charitable organizations who are doing battle in the war on breast cancer. Between these ten organizations they will raise nearly 1.5 billion dollars from both corporate sponsors as well as individuals. If you wish to donate money to this fight, which is strongly recommended, which charity makes the best use of your money? We will examine three separate categories which are key indicators of how efficient these organizations are. These categories are;

Percentage of money collected which goes to the cause - This is how much of each dollar you give that actually reaches the battlefield. The remaining money is spent in additional fund raising, administration and other costs of operating a charity. For example, if you give $10 to an organization which puts 75% toward the actual cause, $7.50 of your donation would be spent on the fight against breast cancer and the other $2.50 would be spent on other items.

Administration cost - This is the percentage of monies collected which are in turn paid to executives or other administrative personel working for the charity.

Top executive pay - This number looks at how much the charity is paying its top executives. Some of these numbers may shock you.

The charities:

The American Cancer society - While this group is heavily involved in the fight on breast cancer it is also fighting many other types of cancer as well. In 2008 it is expected they will have brought in nearly $1.029 billion. This is a staggering amount of money which is divided up between various groups and researchers. The American Cancer Society spends a very meager 68.4% of the money it receives on the actual fight on cancer. This means they spend over $325 million on items not involved in fighting cancer. Their administrative cost are 9.6% of their income or nearly $99 million. The top executive receives an annual salary of $619,000.00 - Grade C-

American Breast Cancer Foundation - This group will raise an estimated $15.4 million dollars annually of which 61.6% will be spent on fighting cancer. They have a very respectable administrative cost of 1.5% and their top executive earns $110,000.00 annually. Grade C+

Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute - This group will bring in the third highest amount of money of our ten organizations. Their annual income is estimated at $42.8 million. They spend a respectable 76.5% of this money on the fight against cancer, but their administrative costs are quit high at 15.3% and their top executive will earn $615,000.00 annually. Grade D+

BreastCancer.Org - Compared to many of the other organizations the $2.4 million raised each year by this group seems rather small. They do manage to spend 76.6% of their income on fighting cancer and their administrative costs are a very respectable 4.8%. Their top executive will earn $183,000.00 annually. Grade B+

Living Beyond Breast Cancer - This is another of the smaller organizations bringing in $2.2 million annually. Of this money a very healthy 81.6% goes directly to the fight on cancer. Their administrative costs are slightly high at 9.7% but their executive pay is rather low at $107,000.00 annually. Grade A-

National Breast Cancer Coalition Fund - This group falls in the lower group as far as income, bringing in approximately $5.7 million a year. They however have the second highest percentage spent on the fight against cancer at 83.5%. Their administrative costs are also well controlled at 6.3% and their top pay is $176,000.00 annually. All in all, a very well run charity. Grade A

National Breast Cancer Foundation Inc. - This charity will receive approximately $6.2 million dollars in donations annually, of which they will spend a little over $4.9 million fighting cancer (79.4%). Their administrative costs are well above average at 13.2%, but their top executive pay is low at $116,000.00 annually. Grade B

Susan G Komen For The Cure - Perhaps the best known of our top ten, this charity will raise nearly $275 million annually to fight breast cancer. Of this 83.4% is spent directly on the fight, which is a very respectable $229 million annually. The groups administrative cost are a little high at 9.8% and their top executive earns a very respectable $513,000.00 annually. Grade A

American Institute For Cancer Research - This is a mid-level group which will receive an estimated $38.5 million in donations annually. The group has one of the lowest percentages of monies going directly to the fight at 66.6%. Their administrative costs is also high at 10.1% and their top pay is $278,000.00. Grade C

Breast Cancer Research Foundation - This mid-level organization will raise approximately $36.6 million annually. Of this they will spend 91.5% directly on the fight against cancer. That is the highest of any of our group and means they will spend $33.4 million of the $36.6 million they raise fighting cancer. Their administrative cost are among the lowest in the group coming in at 2.3%. Their top executive does earn $502,000.00 annually, but is apparently doing a great deal right to have such a large percentage going to the cause. Grade A+

There they are, our top ten charities fighting breast cancer. A donation to any of these is a good thing, but if you want to give to an organization which spends your money wisely, then you may want to consider the numbers listed above. You can learn more about each of these charities by visiting their websites or requesting information from their home offices. There is a great deal at stake and we need to make certain every available dollar is being spent wisely.

Sources:

BreastCancer.org

Charity Navigator (www.charitynavigator.org)