INTRODUCTION

Zion & Zion’s annual survey to rank Americans’ brand awareness of the 100 largest U.S. charities reveals that many of the largest and oldest charities have significant top-of-mind brand awareness by a broad cross section of consumers. This year’s survey had 1,053 respondents.

Some of the charities with high brand recognition are predictable due to factors such as public visibility, longevity, advertising, etc. We expected that most people would be familiar with such charities as St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (#1), the Salvation Army (#2), and Boys & Girls Club of America (#3). But longevity alone is no guarantee of strong brand awareness; Easterseals, for example, which was founded in 1919 to assist people with disabilities, ranked 35th in overall brand awareness. The data also reveals surprising differences in brand awareness by gender, age, and income levels. While the primary data from our study is found below, links to related Zion & Zion studies can be found at Millennials vs. Non: The Generational Divide in Brand Awareness Rankings of the 100 Largest U.S. Charities; High Income Consumers’ Brand Awareness Rankings of the 100 Largest U.S. Charities; The Gender Gap in Brand Awareness Rankings of the 100 Largest U.S. Charities.

 

Charity Name Category Brand Awareness Rank Brand Awareness
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Medical 1 91%
Salvation Army Domestic Needs 2 88%
Boys & Girls Club of America Youth 3 87%
American Heart Association Health 4 85%
YMCA of the USA Youth 4 85%
American Cancer Society Health 6 84%
Goodwill Industries International Domestic Needs 7 81%
Make-A-Wish Foundation of America Youth 8 80%
American National Red Cross Domestic Needs 9 80%
Habitat for Humanity International International Needs 10 78%
Boy Scouts of America Youth 11 77%
Wounded Warrior Project Domestic Needs 12 75%
March of Dimes Foundation Health 13 75%
World Wildlife Fund Environment/Animal 14 75%
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) Environment/Animal 15 72%
Doctors Without Borders USA International Needs 15 72%
Planned Parenthood Federation of America Domestic Needs 17 71%
Mayo Clinic Medical 18 70%
Susan G. Komen for the Cure Health 19 68%
Humane Society of the United States Environment/Animal 20 68%
Shriners Hospitals for Children Medical 21 66%
United States Fund for UNICEF International Needs 22 66%
United Way Worldwide Domestic Needs 23 65%
Alzheimer’s Association Health 24 63%
Smithsonian Institution Cultural 25 60%
Marine Toys for Tots Foundation Youth 26 60%
Disabled American Veterans Domestic Needs 27 59%
Public Broadcasting Service Public Broadcasting 28 58%
Feed the Children Domestic Needs 29 57%
Metropolitan Museum of Arts Cultural 30 56%
Save the Children Federation International Needs 31 53%
Catholic Charities USA Domestic Needs 32 53%
American Civil Liberties Union and Foundation Public Affairs 33 51%
Easterseals Health 34 50%
Museum of Modern Art Cultural 35 50%
Catholic Relief Services International Needs 36 50%
Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation Public Affairs 37 43%
Rotary Foundation of Rotary International International Needs 38 42%
National Multiple Sclerosis Society Health 39 41%
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Health 40 40%
Volunteers of America Domestic Needs 41 39%
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) Health 42 38%
Feeding America Domestic Needs 43 36%
American Kidney Fund Health 44 36%
Nature Conservancy Environment/Animal 45 35%
Environmental Defense Fund Environment/Animal 45 35%
Paralyzed Veterans of America Domestic Needs 47 34%
CARE USA International Needs 47 34%
Junior Achievement USA Youth 49 34%
Christian Broadcasting Network Religious 50 31%
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Medical 51 31%
Teach for America Education 52 30%
Mount Sinai Health Systems Medical 53 29%
World Vision International Needs 54 28%
Lutheran Services in America Domestic Needs 55 28%
Children International International Needs 56 25%
Helen Keller International International Needs 57 23%
Smile Train International Needs 58 21%
United Service Organizations Domestic Needs 59 21%
New York-Presbyterian Hospital Medical 60 19%
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Medical 61 18%
Food for the Poor International Needs 62 18%
Samaritan’s Purse Domestic Needs 63 17%
The Arc Health 64 16%
Young Life Religious 65 16%
ChildFund International International Needs 66 15%
Carter Center International Needs 67 15%
Compassion International International Needs 68 13%
Scholarship America Education 69 13%
Americares Foundation International Needs 70 12%
Midwest Food Bank Domestic Needs 71 12%
UJA/Federation of New York Domestic Needs 72 11%
Wycliffe Bible Translators Religious 73 10%
Step Up for Students Education 74 9%
PATH International Needs 75 9%
Task Force for Global Health International Needs 76 9%
Museum of the Bible Cultural 77 8%
Houston Food Bank Domestic Needs 77 8%
International Rescue Committee International Needs 79 8%
American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee International Needs 80 8%
Direct Relief International Needs 81 8%
Cross International International Needs 82 6%
Cru Religious 83 6%
Detroit Institute of Arts Cultural 83 6%
Catholic Medical Mission Board International Needs 83 6%
Operation Blessing International Relief & Development International Needs 86 6%
Brother’s Brother Foundation International Needs 87 6%
Mathew 25: Ministries International Needs 87 6%
Healthwell Foundation Domestic Needs 89 6%
Patient Access Network Foundation Health 90 5%
Educational Media Foundation Religious 90 5%
Good 360 International Needs 92 5%
Delivering Good Domestic Needs 92 5%
Entertainment Industry Foundation Health 94 5%
CBM (Christian Blind Mission) International Needs 95 4%
Project Orbis International International Needs 96 4%
Population Services International International Needs 97 4%
Peabody Essex Museum Cultural 98 3%
Conservation International Foundation Environment/Animal 99 3%
MAP International International Needs 100 2%