If you’re thinking about donating to the Dallas, Texas-based Point of View Ministries or to the Defeat Diabetes Foundation of Madeira Beach, Fla. you might want to reconsider. Those groups are among the consistently lowest scoring nonprofit organizations at Charity Navigator. The charity watchdog has released a study of groups that repeatedly earn its top 4-star rating and, conversely, those that repeatedly get 0 stars.

The group’s scores are based on various factors, including how much of their money is spent on programs instead of fundraising or other purposes,

It listed nine groups that it said consistently have received 0 stars. Clicking on the names below will take you to their ratings page on Charity Navigator's web site.

Point of View Ministries, Dallas, Texas

Defeat Diabetes Foundation, Madeira Beach, Fla.

National Veterans Services Fund, Inc.,  Darien, Conn.

Youth Development Fund, Knoxville, Tenn.

Children's Charity Fund, Inc., Sarasota, Fla.

SPD Foundation,  Greenwood Village, Colo.

Wishing Well Foundation USA, Metairie, La.

Deputy Sheriffs' Fraternal Organization,  Indianapolis, Ind.

Firefighters Charitable Foundation, Farmingdale, NY.

Many of the organization’s top scorers were colleges and universities, although there were other top-rated groups as well. Among the consistent 4-star recipients are:

Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn.

Northeastern University,  Boston, Mass.

Stanford University, Stanford Calif.

Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington, DC

The Children's Aid Society, New York, N.Y.

Christian Foundation for Children and Aging, Kansas City, Kan.

Breast Cancer Research Foundation, New York, N.Y.

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Mass.

Food For The Poor, Coconut Creek, Fla.

–Anthony Giorgianni