Charitable Sector Profile: Baltimore

Baltimore’s Charities Slip in National Ranking for Fiscal Health

Charity Navigator's sixth annual study examined the differences that exist in the financial practices of charities located in 30 metropolitan markets across America. The 46 largest charities in Baltimore exhibited the following:

Baltimore’s philanthropic marketplace drops in overall ranking: Baltimore’s overall ranking has dropped from 3rd in 2003 to 28th in this year’s study. Only Indianapolis and Detroit have lower median overall scores. Although charities in other cities report better fiscal health, Baltimore’s median score (51.48) does translate to a 3-star, ‘good’ rating.

Despite the decline in the overall fiscal performance of charities in Baltimore, CEOs at Baltimore’s largest charities report pay increases: The median CEO compensation reported by charities in Baltimore is $123,900 (ranked 13th), which is up from last year’s median pay of $114,214 (ranked 17th).

Baltimore charities still report lower contributions than most other cities in the study: After three years of reporting the highest level of contributions, Baltimore dropped to 16th in the 2006 study and has ranked 25th for the last two years.

In an effort to reverse the decline in contributions, charities in Baltimore devote more resources towards fundraising: In the 2003 study, Baltimore’s largest charities reported spending just 5.0% (ranked 4th) of their budgets on fundraising. This figure has increased each year to the point that these charities are now devoting 8.2% (ranked 22th) of their budget on fundraising. Not only are these charities spending more of their budgets on fundraising activities, they’re less efficient in their efforts to raise a dollar than charities in most other cities. This year, Baltimore charities spend twelve cents (29th) to bring in a dollar in contributions. Only charities in Indianapolis spend more ($0.13) to raise a dollar in contributions.

The highest concentration of large health charities can be found in Baltimore: Baltimore has the highest concentration of large health charities (25%) out of the 30 cities examined in this study. It also has more large cultural (14%), international (10%) and animal (8%) charities than most other cities in the study.

More than half of Baltimore's charities have policies that protect their donors' rights: 51% of Baltimore's charities have donor privacy policies. Only five cities - Detroit (54%), Colorado Springs (54%), Kansas City (56%), Cincinnati (63%) and Milwaukee (71%) – have more large charities with confidentiality procedures.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Sandra Miniutti, Vice President, Marketing
(201) 818-1288 x105
media@charitynavigator.org

  Median Value
Performance Metrics Baltimore National
Program Expenses 80.0% 80.7%
Administrative Expenses 9.2% 9.7%
Fundraising Expenses 8.2% 7.5%
Fundraising Efficiency $0.120 $0.100
Primary Revenue Growth 5.4% 6.6%
Program Expense Growth 4.5% 6.1%
Working Capital Ratio 0.79 0.70
Overall Score 51.47 54.26
  Median Value
Size Metrics Baltimore National
Total Revenue $4,829,426 $4,868,385
Total Expenses $4,314,334 $4,327,121
Excess (or deficit) $211,509 $255,526
Total Assets $9,620,378 $7,024,941
Total Contributions $3,154,564 $3,271,779
CEO Compensation $123,900 $114,038

Size & Wealth
Baltimore Charitable Market


Distribution of Baltimore Charities

© 2008 Charity Navigator. Note: all data is based on Charity Navigator's May 2008 Metro Market Charitable Analysis Study. These sector reports do not claim to represent median data for all charities. Charity Navigator is the largest evaluator of 501 (c) (3) charities in the U.S.