(MONEY Magazine) – These charities give you the broadest range of choices among our five categories -- the 44 organizations listed below do everything from helping the homeless to raising money for the Olympics. In addition, largely because of , this diversity, social service charities reported the widest variations among the categories in the percentage of 1991 income that went for good works. At the top, Gifts in Kind America of Alexandria, Va. spent more than its income, while at the other end of the spectrum, Cal Farley's Boys Ranch of Amarillo, Texas barely exceeded 35%. The category's overall average is 79%. (Figures are not available for the last five charities on the list because the groups don't consolidate expenses for their affiliates.) Don't be misled by such extreme figures. Gifts in Kind America, which distributes equipment and clothing donated by corporations to other nonprofit agencies, had some items left over from 1990 and handed them out in 1991. That propelled its efficiency to 100.9%. There's a similarly legitimate explanation of why Cal Farley's spent only 35.4% of its income on programs. The organization runs a southwestern version of Boys Town and an affiliate, Girlstown, U.S.A. A spokesman says the figure was low because Cal Farley's is in the midst of a six-year construction program and spent $6.4 million in 1991 to enlarge and renovate homes for boys at its 10,000-acre Amarillo ranch. The lesson: If a favorite charity's figures don't make sense, call the organization for an explanation. You may find the reason acceptable. ''The group might be putting aside money to create an investment fund, for example, so they won't have to do so much fund raising in future years,'' says Bennett Weiner, vice president of the CBBB. Or the organization may have no choice but to spend a lot to attract contributions. A case in point: According to a spokesman, Disabled American Veterans, of Cincinnati, had to shell out a striking 29.3% of income to raise money in 1991 because its individual donations average only $6.25. Similarly, if a group that interests you doesn't meet all the standards of the CBBB and NCIB -- 14% of the social service charities at left don't -- ask the charity why.

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