Efficiency Ranking · California

Most Efficient Charities in California

50 nonprofits ranked by Efficiency Score. 38 earn an A grade for excellent financial stewardship.

Below: California's most efficient nonprofits, ranked by the LakeQuality nonprofit efficiency rubric. The rubric combines program-spending ratio (50%), revenue growth consistency (20%), fund reserves (20%), and CEO compensation ratio (10%).

Efficiency rankings do not necessarily favor large or small organizations — the rubric rewards organizations that allocate resources toward programs, run on stable funding, and pay executives in line with sector norms regardless of scale. Efficiency scores are recomputed each time we ingest new Form 990 filings; small movements year-to-year are normal as filing data updates.

#	Organization	Category	Score	Revenue	Program %	Grade
1	California Baptist University Education	Education	87	$439.7M	78.0%	A
2	Green Dot Public Schools Education	Education	87	$214.4M	78.0%	A
3	San Diego State University Foundation Education	Education	87	$212.4M	78.0%	A
4	Point Loma Nazarene University Education	Education	87	$178.0M	78.0%	A
5	Rocketship Education Education	Education	87	$173.9M	78.0%	A
6	Wildlife Conservation Network Inc Environment & Animals	Environment & Animals	87	$52.5M	78.0%	A
7	Stanford Health Care 227 Health	Health	86	$7.0B	78.0%	A
8	Wikimedia Foundation Org Education	Education	86	$180.2M	78.0%	A
9	Scripps Health Health	Health	85	$4.1B	78.0%	A
10	California Institute Of Technology Education	Education	85	$3.9B	78.0%	A
11	Lucile Salter Packard Childrens Hospital At Stanford Health	Health	85	$2.6B	78.0%	A
12	City Of Hope National Medical Center Health	Health	85	$2.5B	78.0%	A
13	Fresno Community Hospital And Medical Center Health	Health	85	$2.5B	78.0%	A
14	Alliance College Ready Public Schools Education	Education	85	$283.3M	78.0%	A
15	Multiplier Environment & Animals	Environment & Animals	85	$75.0M	78.0%	A
16	Earth Island Institute Inc Environment & Animals	Environment & Animals	85	$34.9M	78.0%	A
17	Sutter Bay Hospitals Health	Health	84	$5.2B	78.0%	A
18	Trust For Public Land Environment & Animals	Environment & Animals	84	$297.4M	78.0%	A
19	Memorial Health Services Group Return Health	Health	83	$2.7B	78.0%	A
20	Keck Medical Center Of Usc Health	Health	83	$1.9B	78.0%	A
21	Aspire Public Schools Education	Education	83	$327.0M	78.0%	A
22	Kipp Socal Public Schools Education	Education	83	$213.6M	78.0%	A
23	San Diego Humane Society And S P C A Environment & Animals	Environment & Animals	83	$67.2M	78.0%	A
24	California Waterfowl Association Environment & Animals	Environment & Animals	83	$27.0M	78.0%	A
25	Point Reyes Bird Observatory Environment & Animals	Environment & Animals	83	$20.7M	78.0%	A
26	Foundation For California Community Colleges Education	Education	82	$157.7M	78.0%	A
27	Highlands Adult & Community Charter School Education	Education	82	$137.4M	78.0%	A
28	Kipp Bay Area Schools Education	Education	82	$132.1M	78.0%	A
29	Ressler Gertz Foundation Education	Education	82	$58.2M	78.0%	A
30	Sutter Valley Hospitals Health	Health	81	$4.7B	78.0%	A
31	Dignity Community Care Health	Health	81	$3.6B	78.0%	A
32	Azusa Pacific University Education	Education	81	$301.8M	78.0%	A
33	Sutter Bay Medical Foundation Medical Research	Medical Research	80	$3.5B	78.0%	A
34	John Muir Health Health	Health	80	$1.8B	78.0%	A
35	University Of San Francisco Education	Education	80	$575.5M	78.0%	A
36	St Marys College Of California Education	Education	80	$166.5M	78.0%	A
37	Art Center College Of Design Education	Education	80	$145.0M	78.0%	A
38	Social And Environmental Entrepreneurs Inc Environment & Animals	Environment & Animals	80	$87.5M	78.0%	A
39	Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc Health	Health	79	$75.1B	78.0%	B
40	Cedars Sinai Medical Center Health	Health	79	$4.7B	78.0%	B
41	Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian Health	Health	79	$1.8B	78.0%	B
42	Resources Legacy Fund Environment & Animals	Environment & Animals	79	$131.0M	78.0%	B
43	Sutter Valley Medical Foundation Health	Health	78	$2.0B	78.0%	B
44	University Of The Pacific Education	Education	78	$488.7M	78.0%	B
45	Crystal Stairs Inc Arts, Culture & Humanities	Arts, Culture & Humanities	78	$297.8M	78.0%	B
46	T H I N K Together Education	Education	78	$168.1M	78.0%	B
47	Internews Network Arts, Culture & Humanities	Arts, Culture & Humanities	78	$123.9M	78.0%	B
48	Grid Alternatives Environment & Animals	Environment & Animals	78	$43.8M	78.0%	B
49	Grid Alternatives Environment & Animals	Environment & Animals	78	$23.1M	78.0%	B
50	Common Sense Media Arts, Culture & Humanities	Arts, Culture & Humanities	77	$34.0M	78.0%	B

More California data

See highest paid CEOs in California or browse all California nonprofits.

Frequently Asked Questions

The most efficient charities in California are ranked above by our Efficiency Score. The top-ranked organization scores 87/100.

The Efficiency Score weighs four factors from IRS 990 data: program spending ratio (50%), revenue growth consistency (20%), fund reserves (20%), and CEO compensation relative to revenue (10%). Scores range from 0 to 100.