The 50 largest US charities

The chart is based on tax reports from fiscal year 2001, which ran from July 2000 to June 2001 for most nonprofits. As a result, income and public support figures do not reflect the huge outpouring of dollars following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The chart also omits certain types of nonprofits, including colleges, universities, and foundations. They would have dominated the list. For example, Harvard University's income last year was $4.6 billion, the Mayo Foundation's $4.2 billion.

Another note: The main reason conservation groups devote such a small percentage of revenue to programs is that the IRS classifies money for land buys as capital additions, not program expenses.

Finally, the large salary reported by the Boy Scouts of America was the result of an official collecting salary that had been deferred in past years.