I've used Charity navigator for years. They have alway been a very good source of high-quality charities to ensure the bulk of the donation goes to the actual cause. It even has audit information breaking down the distribution of funds. Givewell is another recommendation.

https://www.charitynavigator.org

https://www.givewell.org/

+1 Management vs advertising vs program spending can drastically vary from charity to charity. And there are some bad practices even by very well-known names (see: ad spend).

Another resource I’ve found super helpful is The Life You Can Save by Peter Singer. Very interesting read/listen and gets you thinking about the most impactful ways to give. Free to download or listen as well: https://www.thelifeyoucansave.org/the-book

I don't know if this is any help but it looked interesting:

https://www.charitywatch.org/top-rated-charities

I believe this is the idea of effective altruism.

I believe part of it is about measuring quantitative indicators of program quality, but they also seem to go for the more fraught project of trying to put a dollar figure on the value of the outcomes. Or a “quality-adjusted life years” figure, or whatever have you.

It feels like that frame of mind selects for a very specific sense of success.