how do I find which charities give the largest % of donations to the recipients?

Answer 1

Charities usually don't hand out cash to recipients. They hand out services -- food, clothing, shelter, training, etc. So, if a charity works to train people with disabilities in doing basic jobs, and most of the money the charity receives pays for consultants doing that training, would you consider that a situation where most of the donations goes to those targeted by the charity? If the organization buys a copy machine that allows it to make training materials for even greater numbers of people it's working to train, doesn't that also mean that the money went to serve the recipients?

If an organization uses most of its money to pay for staff, who provide services to children, the elderly, whatever, isn't that also a case where most of the donations goes to those served by the charity?

There is no grand database of charities that provides information on how they spend their money. Instead, you will need to contact any organization you are interested in and ask for a copy of its latest annual report; this may also be on the Internet. It will show you how the organization spends it's money -- what percentage goes to salary of staff, what percentage goes to things like rent and utilities, etc.

Answer 2

Charity Navigator:

http://www.charitynavigator.org/

Answer 3

I think charitynavigator.org keeps tabs on most charities, also you can call them up and ask for a financial report, if they won't give you one then you will know.