Where do your donations go?
 

A good article about various charities with a breakdown about how much money they keep for themselves and how much gets to the target.

Americare sends 99% onwards, whereas Oxfam sends 77%. Most charities send on 90% or more.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/01/04/charity.dollars/index.html

Saw an interview with the director of USAID, he recommended charities with overhead between 10-25%. His reasoning was that it takes some overhead to make certain the money is spent correctly, implying the lower number isn't necessarily better. Either way his biggest recommendation was to use well known and established charities in order to avoid scams.