Top 10 largest NGOs in the world

By Ion Ilasco

Top 10 largest NGOs in the world

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are nonprofit entities created around specific purposes or issue(s) with local or international reach that operate independently from governments. Modern NGOs take various juridical forms and can be differentiated based on a number of factors such as their size, budgets, level of representation, scope, focus, and operational orientation. International NGOs (INGO), for example, operate at a global level while community-based organizations (CBOs) represent grassroots initiatives formed at the community level. Based on the operational focus, some NGOs work on environmental preservation and rehabilitation measures while others aim to advance human rights through the use of legal systems or facilitate the efficient distribution of humanitarian aid towards those people in need.

See also: Non-governmental organizations – everything you need to know

Top 10 most influential NGOs in the world

The NGO ADVISOR, a Geneva-based independent media organization, compiles yearly rankings that feature the top 200 largest and most impactful NGOs. It undertakes the evaluation and further ranking by focusing on NGOs as the unit of analysis, rather than examining specific programs or interventions. The scoring process uses a fair and independent review of information gathered through entity website(s) and questionnaires. These are the top 10 nonprofit organizations highlighted in the 2024 ranking:

Source: thedotgood

BRAC International is the largest non-governmental development organization in the world that was established in 1972 and is headquartered in Dhaka, Bangladesh. This nonprofit offers a wide range of services that create opportunities for social empowerment, education, health, livelihood, environmental, and disaster preparedness. BRAC employs over 107,000 people (the largest workforce overall) and its last known annual income was around US$1.08 billion.

Case study:

In 2019, BRAC Myanmar launched a project dubbed “The Financial and Social Inclusion Project” in partnership with the Livelihoods and Food Security Fund (LIFT) – a multi-donor fund – and AAR Japan. The goal of this initiative was to meet the diverse needs of women in dangerous circumstances, individuals with disabilities, ethnic minorities, and those displaced by violence in several regions in Myanmar.

Open Society Foundations is a network of international and national nonprofit organizations working for justice, democratic governance, and human rights. It was founded in 1993 in the United States. The network employs between 1,001 – 5,000 people while the last known operational income was over US$500 million.

Case study:

In 2024, the Open Society Foundations announced a US$20 million contribution to assist Haitian civil society to meet the country’s pressing needs amid a prolonged political, economic, and security emergency. The funding will assist a number of initiatives in four key areas: human rights; smallholder farmers and agricultural sustainability; arts and culture; and cooperation between universities and institutions.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) or Doctors without Borders is an international non-profit medical humanitarian organization that offers emergency medical assistance and guidance to people affected by armed conflicts, violence, epidemics, or natural disasters. It was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Switzerland. The entity employs over 45,000 people and has reported an annual income of almost €2 billion.

Case study:

MSF assisted victims of extreme weather events in 2022, including cyclones in Madagascar and the Philippines, drought in Somalia, and floods in South Sudan. At the beginning of 2022, MSF teams treated malnourished children on the outskirts of N’Djamena in Chad where people experienced the driest rainy season they had ever faced.

In June of the same year, heavy floods that hit Pakistan forced over 30 million people to flee their homes. In response, MSF personnel extensively supported the medical, nutritional, water, and sanitation needs in the regions of Sindh and Balochistan.

The Danish Refugee Council is one of the leading international nonprofits that offers humanitarian support to refugees and internally displaced persons affected by violence, war, political crises, and natural disasters. The entity operates in 40 countries, employs 9,000 people, and has an operating income of about €430 million. It was established in 1956 in Denmark.

Case study:

With the goal of increasing people’s resilience in the Kigoma region of Tanzania, in 2022 DRC launched a three-year Energy and Environment Program. The funding for this program came from the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Basically, it addresses two aspects of a single issue – the demand for energy sources and forest conservation and improving the standard of living for host communities.

JA Worldwide is one of the world’s largest youth-centered NGOs that was established in 1919. The organization works in over 100 countries by assisting young people to gain the professional and entrepreneurial skillsets necessary to succeed. JA Worldwide employs about 4,000 people and had an annual operating income of about US$370 million.

Case study:

Aiming to provide financial education to the country’s youth, JA Moldova and the Ministry of Finance of Moldova signed a cooperation agreement in 2024. This long-term alliance will raise awareness of public finance and encourage responsible financial practices.

Mercy Corps is an international humanitarian nonprofit working in more than 40 countries around the world with a mission to alleviate suffering and poverty and assist those in need to build secure, productive, and just communities. The organization currently employs over 5,300 team members and shows an operating yearly income of US$500 million. Mercy Corps was established in 1979 in Portland in the United States.

Case study:

Caribbean islands are extremely vulnerable to various severe weather conditions such as hurricanes and floods. So far in 2024, Mercy Corps has converted neighborhood community centers in Puerto Rico into Resilience Hubs that feature solar power, drinking water storage, communications equipment, emergency supplies, medical services, and more. Mercy Corps continues to expand its Resilience Hubs around the region.

Ashoka is an international nonprofit entity that focuses on empowering social leadership, entrepreneurship, and innovation. Ashoka is currently running projects in more than 90 countries, employs a little over 500 people, and had an operating income in 2019 close to US$65 million. This NGO was founded in 1980 in the United States.

Case study:

Dream A Dream, an organization founded by Indian Ashoka Fellow Vishal Talreja, aims to provide nurturing conditions where children and youth from disadvantaged families can overcome hardship to acquire skills to succeed. Thus creating secure, creative, respectful, and trustworthy learning settings is the cornerstone of its work with young people.

Acumen is an international NGO that aims to drive impact across the globe by investing in businesses that tackle poverty. Acumen was founded in 2001, currently employs about 300 people and its last known operational income was a little over US$33 million.

Case study:

Amal Academy was established by an Acumen Fellow and offers a three-month program that transforms the lives of marginalized youth by equipping them with critical soft business skills and boosting their self-confidence for fulfillment in the workplace. The initiative targets the education-employment gap in Pakistan.

Cure Violence Global was first established in 1995 in the United States and its program was launched in Chicago in 2000. This nonprofit aims to reduce violence globally using disease control and behavior change methods. The organization currently employs about 700 people, has programs running in more than 50 cities worldwide, and has a yearly income of about US$55 million.

Case study:

In 2017, Cure Violence was launched in two communities in Cali – a 2.4-million-person metropolis that is considered to be one of the world’s most violent cities. According to an assessment of the first two years, the program reduced homicides in Comuneros and Charco Azul by 47% and 30%, respectively.
The citywide strategy also involves assistance from the Mayor’s office which has provided opportunities for Cure Violence participants including summer jobs and education.

Landesa is a nonprofit organization established in 1981 in the United States. It forms partnerships with governments and other stakeholders to create opportunities for the world’s poorest to lift themselves out of poverty. Landesa currently employs about 120 people and showed an operating yearly income of little over US$13 million.

Case study:

Landesa is involved in a law and policy program entitled the “Coastal Livelihoods and Mangroves Project” which is intended to reinforce the coastal land rights of local communities and safeguard the mangrove forests in six countries that make up the connected stretch of bioregion throughout the Bay of Bengal and Southeast Asia.

As well as offering advice to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Landessa works with local stakeholders to advance policies related to land use organization, forest tenure, prevention, and response to climate change in several nations including Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, and Thailand

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