Largest Nonprofits by Assets in 2019

Universities and foundations account for about half of the top 100 largest nonprofits by assets, but hospitals and credit unions are represented as well
Picture of a money plant, by Micheile Henderson / Unsplash

The largest nonprofits with the most assets represent the diversity of tax-exempt organizations in the United States. Universities and foundations account for about half of the top 100 largest nonprofits by assets, but hospitals, credit unions, pension / retirement funds, and fraternal societies are present as well. Each of these nonprofits has between $7.5 billion and $91 billion in assets, with a combined total of $1.8 trillion in assets (23% of the total combined nonprofit sector assets of $6.9 trillion).

Of these $1.8 trillion combined assets, $1.3 trillion are investable assets (e.g., cash, cash equivalents, stocks, bonds), $187.4 billion are ownership of land, buildings, or equipement (post-depreciation), $76.3 billion are outstanding pledges, loans, and other payments owed to organizations, and $143.8 billion are miscellaneous other assets. So while endowments comprise the majority of nonprofit sector assets, other types of assets are still important.

Trends among the top 100 charities by assets

Most common metro area for top 100 nonprofits by assets

Metro areaNumber of nonprofits
New York City
 
9
 
San Francisco
 
6
 
Chicago
 
6
 
Boston
 
6
 
San Jose
 
4
 
Washington DC
 
3
 
Seattle
 
3
 
Philadelphia
 
3
 
Los Angeles
 
3
 
Houston
 
3
 
Detroit
 
3
 

List of the top 100 charities by assets

  1. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans
    Assets
    $107 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(8)
    EIN
    39-0123480
    Year founded
    1902
  2. Uaw Retiree Medical Benefits Trust
    Assets
    $62 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(9)
    EIN
    90-0424876
    Location
    Year founded
    2008
  3. Harvard University
    Assets
    $70 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    04-2103580
    Year founded
    1650
  4. Kaiser Permanente
    Assets
    $70 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    94-1105628
    Location
    Year founded
    1948
  5. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
    Assets
    $68 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    56-2618866
    Location
    Year founded
    2007
  6. Stanford University / The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University
    Assets
    $60 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    94-1156365
    Year founded
    1885
  7. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Trust
    Assets
    $67 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    91-1663695
    Location
    Year founded
    1995
  8. State Employees' Credit Union
    Assets
    $53 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(14)
    EIN
    56-0475645
    Website
    Location
    Year founded
    1937
  9. Yale University
    Assets
    $54 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    06-0646973
    Website
    Year founded
    1701
  10. Wellcome Trust
    Assets
    $46 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    98-6038021
    Location
    United Kingdom
    Year founded
    1987
  11. Harvard Management Private Equity Corporation
    Assets
    $47 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    04-3070522
    Location
    Year founded
    1989
  12. Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund
    Assets
    $48 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    11-0303001
    Location
    Year founded
    1990
  13. The Trustees of Princeton University
    Assets
    $43 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    21-0634501
    Year founded
    1746
  14. Mastercard Foundation
    Assets
    $29 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(4)
    EIN
    98-0543843
    Location
    Canada
    Year founded
    2005
  15. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Assets
    $39 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    04-2103594
    Year founded
    1861
  16. Ascension Health Alliance
    Assets
    $28 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    45-3358926
    Location
    Year founded
    2011
  17. Cooperative Finance Corporation
    Assets
    $33 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(4)
    EIN
    52-0891669
    Location
    Year founded
    1969
  18. Knights of Columbus - Supreme Council
    Assets
    $29 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(8)
    EIN
    06-0416470
    Year founded
    1882
  19. University of Pennsylvania
    Assets
    $32 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    23-1352685
    Website
    Year founded
    1740
  20. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan
    Assets
    $29 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    94-1340523
    Location
    Year founded
    1955
  21. Howard Hughes Medical Institute
    Assets
    $25 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    59-0735717
    Website
    Year founded
    1953
  22. Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association
    Assets
    $21 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(6)
    EIN
    38-2227794
    Location
    Year founded
    1978
  23. Lilly Endowment
    Assets
    $40 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    35-0868122
    Year founded
    1938
  24. Columbia University
    Assets
    $23 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    13-5598093
    Location
    Year founded
    1754
  25. Cleveland Clinic
    Assets
    $23 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    91-2153073
    Year founded
    1928
  26. University of Notre Dame
    Assets
    $24 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    35-0868188
    Website
    Year founded
    1844
  27. Milton Hershey School
    Assets
    $23 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    23-1353340
    Location
    Year founded
    1909
  28. Modern Woodmen of America
    Assets
    $17 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(8)
    EIN
    36-1493430
    Year founded
    1883
  29. New York University
    Assets
    $18 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    13-5562308
    Website
    Location
    Year founded
    1831
  30. Schwab Charitable Fund
    Assets
    $26 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    31-1640316
    Year founded
    1999
  31. Emory University
    Assets
    $20 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    58-0566256
    Website
    Location
    Year founded
    1915
  32. Dignity Health
    Assets
    $16 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    94-1196203
    Year founded
    1954
  33. Northwestern University
    Assets
    $18 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    36-2167817
    Location
    Year founded
    1851
  34. Duke University
    Assets
    $20 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    56-0532129
    Website
    Location
    Year founded
    1841
  35. Washington University in St. Louis
    Assets
    $20 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    43-0653611
    Website
    Year founded
    1853
  36. Johns Hopkins University
    Assets
    $17 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    52-0595110
    Website
    Year founded
    1867
  37. Cornell University
    Assets
    $17 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    15-0532082
    Location
    Year founded
    1865
  38. Advocate Health and Hospitals Corporation
    Assets
    $16 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    36-2169147
    Year founded
    1906
  39. The Ford Foundation
    Assets
    $16 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    13-1684331
    Location
    Year founded
    1960
  40. NewYork Presbyterian Hospital
    Assets
    $18 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    13-3957095
    Website
    Location
    Year founded
    1998
  41. MGB Pooled Holdings LLC
    Assets
    $13 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    82-1715859
    Year founded
    2017
  42. University of Southern California
    Assets
    $13 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    95-1642394
    Website
    Year founded
    1895
  43. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
    Assets
    $13 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    91-2154267
    Website
    Location
    Year founded
    1962
  44. Mayo Clinic
    Assets
    $22 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    41-6011702
    Year founded
    1919
  45. Ihc Health Services
    Assets
    $15 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    94-2854057
    Year founded
    1982
  46. The Golden 1 Credit Union
    Assets
    $18 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(14)
    EIN
    94-0362025
    Year founded
    1933
  47. The University of Chicago
    Assets
    $14 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    36-2177139
    Location
    Year founded
    1890
  48. Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development
    Assets
    $13 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(4)
    EIN
    98-0211642
    Location
    Kuwait
    Year founded
    1968
  49. Banner Health
    Assets
    $13 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    45-0233470
    Location
    Year founded
    1938
  50. The Cleveland Clinic Foundation
    Assets
    $15 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    34-0714585
    Year founded
    1921
  51. Alliant Credit Union
    Assets
    $18 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(14)
    EIN
    36-6066772
    Location
    Year founded
    1935
  52. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
    Assets
    $13 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    22-6029397
    Website
    Year founded
    1949
  53. Trinity Health Corporation
    Assets
    $11 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    35-1443425
    Location
    Year founded
    1978
  54. Upmc
    Assets
    $9.6 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    25-1423657
    Website
    Year founded
    1982
  55. William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
    Assets
    $12 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    94-1655673
    Year founded
    1968
  56. WoodmenLife
    Assets
    $11 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(8)
    EIN
    47-0339250
    Location
    Year founded
    1890
  57. National Philanthropic Trust
    Assets
    $21 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    23-7825575
    Year founded
    1996
  58. Shriners Hospitals for Children
    Assets
    $10 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    36-2193608
    Location
    Year founded
    1925
  59. J Paul Getty Trust
    Assets
    $12 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    95-1790021
    Website
    Year founded
    1954
  60. Open Society Foundations
    Assets
    $10 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    26-3753801
    Location
    Year founded
    2009
  61. Providence Health and Services
    Assets
    $8.8 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    51-0216586
    Location
    Year founded
    1859
  62. CHI Health
    Assets
    $17 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    36-3233121
    Location
    Year founded
    1982
  63. Suncoast Credit Union
    Assets
    $16 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(14)
    EIN
    59-0291451
    Location
    Year founded
    1934
  64. University of Cambridge
    Assets
    $12 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    13-1599108
    Website
    Location
    United Kingdom
    Year founded
    1208
  65. Northwestern Memorial HealthCare
    Assets
    $12 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    36-3152959
    Website
    Location
    Year founded
    1982
  66. Memorial Hermann Health System
    Assets
    $11 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    74-1152597
    Location
    Year founded
    1910
  67. University of Virginia Investment Management Company
    Assets
    $13 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    56-2462804
    Website
    Year founded
    2004
  68. Indiana University Health
    Assets
    $9.9 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    35-1955872
    Year founded
    1995
  69. Vanderbilt University
    Assets
    $13 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    62-0476822
    Year founded
    1873
  70. Central States Southeast and Southwest Areas Health and Welfare Fund
    Assets
    $12 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(9)
    EIN
    36-2154936
    Location
    Year founded
    1950
  71. Kamehameha Schools
    Assets
    $11 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    99-0073480
    Website
    Location
    Year founded
    1885
  72. Silicon Valley Community Foundation
    Assets
    $10 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    20-5205488
    Year founded
    2006
  73. Oxford University
    Assets
    $10 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    98-6001062
    Website
    Location
    United Kingdom
    Year founded
    1096
  74. Vystar Credit Union
    Assets
    $13 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(14)
    EIN
    59-0690965
    Year founded
    1952
  75. Dartmouth College
    Assets
    $11 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    02-0222111
    Location
    Year founded
    1769
  76. Star One Credit Union
    Assets
    $10 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(14)
    EIN
    94-6069237
    Year founded
    1956
  77. The Global Fund
    Assets
    $8.2 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    98-0380092
    Location
    Switzerland
    Year founded
    2002
  78. Adventist Health SystemSunbelt
    Assets
    $11 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    59-1479658
    Year founded
    1973
  79. Stanford Health Care
    Assets
    $9.9 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    94-6174066
    Location
    Year founded
    1957
  80. Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program
    Assets
    $15 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    23-2888152
    Year founded
    1997
  81. San Diego County Credit Union
    Assets
    $11 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(14)
    EIN
    95-1184903
    Website
    Year founded
    1938
  82. William Marsh Rice University
    Assets
    $9.5 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    74-1109620
    Website
    Location
    Year founded
    1908
  83. Adventist Health System Sunbelt Healthcare Corporation
    Assets
    $10 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    59-2170012
    Year founded
    1981
  84. Poudre Valley Health Care
    Assets
    $9.3 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    84-1262971
    Year founded
    1994
  85. Goldman Sachs Philanthropy Fund
    Assets
    $7.5 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    31-1774905
    Location
    Year founded
    2001
  86. Houston Methodist
    Assets
    $9.8 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    74-1180155
    Location
    Year founded
    1946
  87. Governing Council of the University of Toronto
    Assets
    $10 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    98-6001141
    Location
    Canada
    Year founded
    1827
  88. University of Pittsburgh
    Assets
    $9.7 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    25-0965591
    Website
    Year founded
    1787
  89. The Nature Conservancy
    Assets
    $9.0 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    53-0242652
    Website
    Year founded
    1951
  90. David and Lucile Packard Foundation
    Assets
    $8.2 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    94-2278431
    Year founded
    1964
  91. W. K. Kellogg Foundation Trust
    Assets
    $8.2 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    36-6030614
    Website
    Year founded
    1941
  92. OnPoint Community Credit Union
    Assets
    $8.9 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(14)
    EIN
    93-0257765
    Location
    Year founded
    1932
  93. Mass General Brigham Incorporated
    Assets
    $8.6 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    04-3230035
    Year founded
    1993
  94. Bloomberg Philanthropies
    Assets
    $11 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    20-5602483
    Location
    Year founded
    2008
  95. BayCare
    Assets
    $7.8 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    59-2796965
    Year founded
    1987
  96. Nyu Langone Hospitals
    Assets
    $10 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    13-3971298
    Location
    Year founded
    1998
  97. Texas Mutual Insurance Company
    Assets
    $8.2 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(27)
    EIN
    74-2615873
    Location
    Year founded
    1991
  98. Gothic Corporation
    Assets
    $8.3 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    56-1776668
    Location
    Year founded
    1992
  99. Cedars Sinai
    Assets
    $9.8 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    95-1644600
    Year founded
    1902
  100. OhioHealth
    Assets
    $8.7 billion
    IRS type
    501(c)(3)
    EIN
    31-4394942
    Location
    Year founded
    1891

Methodology

Cause IQ digitizes and cleans electronic and paper / scanned Form 990s for over 400,000 IRS-registered tax-exempt organizations. For this article, we define "nonprofit" as any tax-exempt organization registered with the IRS. This includes 501(c)(3), 501(c)(6), 501(c)(8), and all other types of nonprofits. Note that churches are not required to submit Form 990s to the IRS, therefor they are not represented in this article.

Article originally published on January 2, 2020.

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