Majority of Americans Believe Nonprofit Overhead Is Unreasonable

On one hand, almost a quarter (23 percent) of respondents believe that the typical nonprofit spends less than 20 cents per dollar on overhead expenses. On the other hand, nearly as many (22 percent) believe that the average charity is spending more than 60 cents per dollar on such costs.

In contrast, 43 percent of respondents believe charities should spend less than 20 cents per dollar on overhead costs, and 74 percent say charities should spend less than 30 cents per dollar.