2026 Top 100 Rated Charities
Charity Intelligence 2026 Top 100 Rated Charities
Released: October 8, 2026
Charities are listed alphabetically by sector. Click on the charity's name to read Charity Intelligence's full report.
The list is also available in pdf format.
The 2026 giving season begins. Giving money away is easy, but giving done well takes effort. For the many generous donors who don’t have the time for research and due diligence, Charity Intelligence’s 2026 Top 100 list highlights those charities that rate the highest relative to their peers.
Be curious! Check out the charities on the 2026 Top 100 list. The Top 100 list is a handy tool for your giving. Indeed, 20% of you use Charity Intelligence’s Top Charities list and give to charities you had never given to before. The 2026 Top 100 list covers all the sectors from animal charities to United Ways, health, education and environmental charities. The internationals are always the most popular.
Charity Intelligence’s research reports on Canadian charities help you be informed and give intelligently. 89% of donors say that Charity Intelligence’s reports make them feel better informed about their giving. And with these facts and figures, you feel more confident in your giving. Our survey says that, with greater confidence, you give 21% more money.
Each year since 2014 Charity Intelligence has released a Top 100 list of charities based on our ongoing research and analysis of Canadian charities. Each year only 100 charities earn the highest 5-star rating. Charity Intelligence’s ratings strive to strengthen philanthropy by rewarding charities that have world-class disclosure about results reporting and spending.
Key highlights from 2026’s research
Small improvements across the board. Today, Canadian charities are more financially transparent and accountable than ever before. The annual progress is incremental but meaningful in such a huge sector that receives an estimated $22 billion in donations.
11 charities are new to the 2026 Top 100 list. Congratulations to these new charities and to all those that have worked hard to improve their disclosure about their results, activities and spending.
In 2026, Charity Intelligence updated 189 charity reports so you have the most recent and relevant data to make your giving decisions. Our research analysts use a charity’s audited financial statements. This gives you higher data quality and information faster than it is released in the CRA Charities Directorate’s database.
Charity Intelligence is independent and objective. Our research is funded by donors, for donors. Charities do not pay for this analysis. If you appreciate Charity Intelligence’s work, please consider a donation to Charity Intelligence.
What makes a 5-star charity?
Each day, Charity Intelligence receives emails from charities across Canada asking about being rated and what it takes to be a 5-star Top 100 charity. Charity Intelligence uses standardized metrics.
Financial transparency
Charities are public organizations registered to provide a public benefit. Best practice is to have audited financial statements posted on the charity’s website. Pie charts in annual reports don’t get points for financial transparency. Canadian donors expect charities to be financially transparent. Most charities (78%) meet donors’ expectations.
Results reporting
Charities should not just be judged solely on financial metrics but by their social results. Charity Intelligence uses the Keystone Six questions to evaluate a charity’s disclosure about its results for the year. Most Canadian charities lag behind international standards in results reporting, especially compared to the disclosure of British and Australian charities. The Top 100 charities report their results at world class levels and average an A grade, with disclosure 53% higher than the rest of the charities.
Need for funding
Donors are well familiar with charity overhead ratios, how much is spent on fundraising and administration. In contrast, a charity’s need for funding is rarely assessed. Some charities fundraise because they can rather than because they have a need for donations. Donors need to evaluate a charity’s financial need for donations. The Top 100 charities have a financial cushion of 1 year compared to the rest of the charities that have reserve funds that cover program spending for 2.9 years. In the extreme, 125 Canadian charities have reserve funds that amply cover five years or more of program spending. The reserve funds of these 125 “rich charities” total $14.6 billion.
Cents to the cause
The Top 100 charities are more cost efficient. The Top 100 charities have overhead spending that averaged 18%, with 82 cents going to the cause. The rest of the charities have overhead spending of 29%. For most charities, overhead spending is in a reasonable range. One disturbing trend is the growing number of charities that are “offside” with high fundraising costs. The CRA’s guidance is that charities should not spend more than 35% of fundraising revenues on fundraising costs. In 2026’s research, 82 charities spent over the 35% fundraising limit. The rampant spending on fundraising by a few charities puts pressure on other charities to keep up or lose out as “everyone else is doing it”. This can create a spiral trend of higher overhead costs, reduced productivity, and dilution for donors. Donors have an important role to play in arresting this negative cycle.
Demonstrated impact
Measuring a charity’s impact is complex, especially given scarce program data and the results charities report. Impact looks at how well a charity’s programs change lives, its effectiveness (not cost efficiency). It measures the value the charity’s programs create. For example, a charity could be “cheap” with low overhead spending, but its programs might not create change (ineffective). There are many do gooders. Impact looks for the good doers. For the Top 100, where Charity Intelligence has measured the demonstrated impact, the impact must be at least average. Average is an SROI of approximately 1.5 to 1. For charities where Charity Intelligence has not measured impact, this shows as n/r (not rated) and it does not affect the charity’s star rating.
What makes a 5-star charity in 2026?
Last word
To get a higher star rating from Charity Intelligence, Toronto Foundation for Student Success said it improved its program evaluation. Since then, it began to review the program data. The data helped TFSS improve the services it offers to the children and families it serves. Data is dry and dull, but we see data's great potential to help charities and donors improve.
Charity Intelligence’s work strives to strengthen giving by providing independent and objective research donors can use to give intelligently and so their giving can make the biggest difference.
If you find Charity Intelligence’s research useful in your giving, please consider donating to support our work. Being entirely funded by donors like you maintains our independence and objectivity to help Canadians be informed in their giving. Canadians donate over $22 billion each year. This giving could achieve tremendous results. We hope Charity Intelligence's research helps Canadians give better.
References:
Angus Reid survey "Philanthropy, Pandemic & Political Scandal: Covid-19 curtails donor giving (estimate from survey responses), WE affair weakens trust in charities, September 17, 2020.
Legal disclaimer:
The information in this report was prepared by Charity Intelligence Canada and its independent analysts from publicly-available information. Charity Intelligence and its analysts have made endeavours to ensure that the data in this report is accurate and complete but accept no liability.
The views and opinions expressed are to inform donors in matters of public interest. Views and opinions are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, organization, individual or anyone or anything. Any dispute arising from your use of this website or viewing the material hereon shall be governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario, without regard to any conflict of law provisions.