The Tool Desk
Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Catholic Relief Services (CRS) ranked first among nongovernmental organizations in the Congressional Research Service’s table of U.S. nonmilitary foreign-assistance obligations for fiscal years 2013–2022, with $4,637,395,555. The table is broader than a current-year or USAID-only ranking: it covers a decade of obligations recorded in foreignassistance.gov. Chemonics International, FHI 360, Development Alternatives and Abt Associates followed, combining nonprofit and for-profit implementers.
What the ranking actually measures
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) report Foreign Assistance: Where Does the Money Go? labels its measure “Total Obligations, FY2013-FY2022.” An obligation is a legally committed amount, not necessarily money already paid out, a current annual award, or an organization’s total revenue.
Although headlines often call CRS the top “USAID recipient,” the cited table covers U.S. nonmilitary foreign assistance as reported through foreignassistance.gov. It does not establish a standalone current USAID ranking. The period ends in fiscal year 2022, so the figures do not show CRS’s funding position in 2026.
Top organizations in the FY2013–FY2022 table
| Rank | Organization | Organization type reported by CRS | Total obligations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Catholic Relief Services | U.S. nonprofit | $4,637,395,555 |
| 2 | Chemonics International, Inc. | U.S. for-profit enterprise | $4,536,397,348 |
| 3 | FHI 360 | International nonprofit | $3,788,300,843 |
| 4 | Development Alternatives, Inc. | U.S. for-profit enterprise | $3,071,449,561 |
| 5 | Abt Associates, Inc. | U.S. for-profit enterprise | $2,629,027,445 |
CRS’s table includes organizations with more than $1 billion in obligations during the period. The figures are not a list of “consulting companies” alone: the group includes a religious nonprofit, an international nonprofit and several U.S. for-profit enterprises. Their common feature is their role as large foreign-assistance recipients or implementers.
#1 Best Overall
Why Catholic Relief Services appears first
CRS’s $4.637 billion total is the largest amount attributed to a named nongovernmental organization in the table. It reflects obligations accumulated over ten fiscal years, rather than one grant or a single USAID account. A decade-long total can include multiple countries, programs and awards whose payment schedules extend beyond the year in which they were obligated.
The name can also cause confusion with the Congressional Research Service, which produced the report. In this context, CRS in the organization column means Catholic Relief Services, the international humanitarian agency.
Rank #2
How the consulting-group comparisons should be read
Chemonics International
Chemonics ranked second with $4,536,397,348 in obligations and is classified by the report as a U.S. for-profit enterprise. Its near-$4.6 billion total is a historical obligation figure, not a statement that all of its business comes from USAID or that the amount was paid as profit.
FHI 360
FHI 360 ranked third at $3,788,300,843. CRS classifies it as an international nonprofit, illustrating why a “top consulting firms” label does not describe every organization in the ranking.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesDevelopment Alternatives and Abt Associates
Development Alternatives, Inc. ranked fourth with $3,071,449,561, while Abt Associates, Inc. ranked fifth with $2,629,027,445. CRS classifies both as U.S. for-profit enterprises. The table does not provide a separate breakdown of fees, subcontracting, overhead or net income.
Important limits in the underlying data
- Obligations are not outlays: the totals represent commitments recorded for FY2013–FY2022, not necessarily cash disbursed during those years.
- Not a current award list: the report does not establish 2026 funding, active contracts or continued program operations.
- Not exclusively USAID: the primary table concerns U.S. nonmilitary foreign assistance, even though USAID is a major agency in that system.
- Unspecified recipients: more than $50 billion over the period was obligated to “redacted” or otherwise unspecified recipients. The report says some or much of that amount may include the named organizations, so the named totals are not a complete accounting of every possible obligation associated with them.
- Organization categories have limits: foreignassistance.gov did not supply the U.S./international nonprofit distinction; CRS added classifications to align the presentation with government reporting.
What the USAID Food for Peace records show
A separate USAID FY 2019 International Food Assistance Report lists country-level CRS awards under Food for Peace. It records a $6,604,538 Title II total cost for CRS in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and a $9,177,531 total cost for CRS in Madagascar.
Rank #4
Those are program-level figures for a specific historical report. They should not be added to the $4.637 billion decade-wide total or treated as evidence of a current award. “Total cost” in that report is also a different measure from the obligations column in the Congressional Research Service table.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What can—and cannot—be concluded today
The evidence supports a precise historical conclusion: Catholic Relief Services was the top named NGO in U.S. nonmilitary foreign-assistance obligations for FY2013–FY2022, followed closely by Chemonics and then FHI 360, Development Alternatives and Abt Associates. It does not identify the current top USAID recipient, the present status of any contract, or how much each organization has received since FY2022.
Quick Recap
Best Value
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
