Heifer Makes Forbes' Gold-Star List

If you want to contribute to a charity that's among the nation's best in commitment, fundraising efficiency and donor dependency, Forbes 2004 Investment Guide says you'll be hard-pressed to find a worthier one than Heifer International.

This annual special edition of Forbes magazine surveys 200 non profits and rates them on how efficiently they collect and distribute charity. But a new feature this year, a Gold-Star List of 10 charities Forbes considers worthy of your attention, puts Heifer right at the top.

The survey calculates three key efficiency ratios, with higher numbers indicating "a better bang for the donor's buck." Charitable commitment indicates how much of total expenses went for the stated charitable purpose, excluding management, overhead and fundraising. Fundraising efficiency measures the share of gifts after subtracting fundraising expenses. Donor dependency is the operating shortfall (outlays minus non-gift income) as a percentage of gifts. In all areas, Heifer surpassed the average numbers garnered by the 200 non profits surveyed.