The Nature Conservancy contends it is the 10th largest nonprofit in
the u.s., presumably by donations received.  What are the previous 9
and the next 5?  Wht is the source of this info?   I find nothing at
IRS

Dear paladin2002,

The "Chronicle of Philanthropy", a bi-weekly publication on all
aspects of nonprofit issues, publishes the "Philantropy 400", annual
rankings of the 400 largest non-profit organizations in the United
States, based upon the donations received as private support. The
Chronicle of Philantropy compiles its list from data gathered, in most
cases, from informational tax returns and from a survey and annual
reports.

The most up-to-date "Philantropy 400" with the Nature Conservancy
ranking number 10 dates from November 7, 2001. These are the top 15:

 1. Salvation Army

 2. Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund

 3. YMCA of the USA

 4. American Cancer Society

 5. Lutheran Services in America

 6. American Red Cross

 7. Gifts In Kind International

 8. Stanford University

 9. Harvard University

10. Nature Conservancy

11. Boys & Girls Clubs of America

12. America's Second Harvest

13. Catholic Charities USA

14. Duke University

15. American Heart Association

You can view the Top 25 of the 2001 Philantropy 400 on this website,
together with detailed information on the financial rankings:

Online Fundraising Resources Center - The Philanthropy 400 for 2001:
Top 25 Charities
http://www.fund-online.com/classes/internet_0111/philanthropy400_2001.html

Sources:

The Chronicle of Philanthropy: The Newspaper of the Nonprofit World
http://philanthropy.com/

Jewish Communal Fund: Jewish federations, institutions ranked among
top philanthropies, by Julia Goldman, 1999
http://www.jewishcommunalfund.org/Content/NavigationMenu/The_Jewish_Communal_Fund/Press/1999JTA.htm

The University of New Mexico: UNM Foundation/Development Office Enter
the "Philantropy 400", by Leslie Elgood and Steve Carr, 2001
http://www.unm.edu/news/Releases/Nov13philanthropy.htm

Search terms used:
"largest nonprofit organizations" ranking:
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&q=%22largest+nonprofit+organizations%22+ranking&meta=
"Chronicle of Philanthropy" annual ranking:
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&q=%22Chronicle+of+Philanthropy%22+annual+ranking&meta=
"philanthropy 400" "Nature Conservancy " 2001:
://www.google.com/search?hl=de&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&q=%22philanthropy+400%22+%22Nature+Conservancy+%22+2001&lr=
"PHILANTHROPY 400" data:
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&q=%22PHILANTHROPY+400%22+data&meta=

Hope this is what you were looking for!
Regards,
Scriptor

Great job Scriptor!  Paladin -- he's not even in the U.S. and he found
it more quickly.

If you want more details, you can also try the World Almanac 2002 --
it has the 2000 donations and income listing.

Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA