Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's philanthropy org was said to have been in the red this year -- but there's missing context ... including the fact it's got big-time $$$ stashed away.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... a recent report suggesting the Archewell Foundation was strapped for cash after suffering a substantial decrease in revenue between 2021-2022 is misleading, 'cause it doesn't take into account the org is not a corporation, folks.

In other words, these sorts of things can't simply be measured in mere profit and loss -- as our sources say the Archewell Foundation is still humming like it was when it first launched back in 2020 ... and actually ended the year with more than $8 million in the bank.

What the report harped on is the fact that in the org's most recent tax filing, it shows donations were down between '21 and '22 ... going from $13 million in 2021 to just about $2 million in 2022. The foundation also notes it (technically) came in at a loss at about $674k since its costs somewhat outpaced its revenue this past year ... but like we said, context.

We're told it's not uncommon for donations to decrease after a charitable org's debut year, and oftentimes the first year is often the strongest.

The Archewell Foundation smartly stored that huge influx of cash they got between 2020 and 2021 and are now divvying up the dough based on their long-term goals. So, yes ... donations are down, but AF is not out of the philanthropy game.

There was also a claim in the report in question that Archewell's CEO James Holt had received a fat pay raise between 2021 and 2022 -- jumping up in salary from $59k to about $227k. We're told that '21 figure was just a partial year of Holt's pay -- however, the source was not specific about Holt's full annual salary.