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Charity Math
Charity finances, read by a CPA

Where the money actually goes.

Every charity files a tax return the public can read. Almost nobody does. We read the Form 990 and the audit, explain them in plain English, and show you the good and the bad, with a source on every number.

Read the ASPCA file How we read a 990
Latest file · Animal welfare

ASPCA

One of America's richest animal charities. Its CEO's pay is ordinary for its size. The real stories are a fundraising machine partly counted as programs, and a pile of savings that keeps growing.

CEO pay
$1.11M
Matt Bershadker, 0.29% of spending
Donations
$394.6M
given in 2024, 88% of income
Spent
$387.9M
74.5% on programs, as reported
Kept
$58.2M
surplus in 2024, the 11th in a row
Read the full ASPCA file →
Start here

Three ways in.

RankingThe highest-paid charity CEOs219 charity CEOs were paid $1M or more, outside health care and universities. See who, and who's paid the most for their size. GuideHow to check a charity before you giveTwo free government searches and one tax form. A CPA’s ten-minute checklist, with the exact lines to read. CauseAnimal welfare charities, by the numbersLess than half the money goes through shelters. Compare the 400 biggest animal charities on every number that matters.
The method

Four questions for every charity.

1

What does the CEO make, really?

Pay as a share of the budget, against true peers. The headline salary rarely tells you much on its own.

2

How much of a dollar reaches the work?

The split as reported, then a CPA view that moves fundraising mail booked as "education" back to fundraising.

3

What are the programs, in plain English?

Official program names are vague. We say what each one is, what it bought and what it produced.

4

Is the money being used or saved?

Months of spending held in reserve, and how savings have grown over a decade.

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