Charity Navigator recently completed our
third annual national study to determine and analyze any statistical
differences that may exist in the financial practices of charities
located in different metropolitan markets across America.
Methodology
We began by segmenting the charities in our database into 25 major
metropolitan markets.
50% of the 4,000 charities in the
study are located in the nation's 25 largest cities.
These metro charities account for
60% of the revenue and 61% of the expenses reported for all 4,000
charities analyzed by Charity Navigator.
The largest market included 441
charities and the smallest comprised 24.
Using the data we've obtained from the
charities' Forms 990, we calculated the median value of the following
sixteen variables to reveal possible differences in financial practices
of the various philanthropic metropolitan markets.
PERFORMANCE
SIZE
Fundraising Efficiency
Fundraising Expenses
Program Expenses
Administration Expenses
Primary Revenue Growth
Program Expenses Growth
Working Capital Ratio
Overall Score
Total Revenue
Total Expenses
Excess (or Deficit)
Total Assets
Total Contributions
CEO Compensation
Total Liabilities
Total Net Assets
Results
Our analysis, completed in May of 2005, demonstrated that the financial
behavior of America's largest charities is influenced by the
metropolitan market within which the charity operates. For example,
Charity Navigator proved that charities in New York City paid their CEOs
the most, due to the high cost of living in that area. We also learned
that older, larger charities in rust belt cities like Cleveland were
able to capitalize on their established roles in their communities to
keep their fundraising costs low, while the newer charities in Miami and
Seattle are working hard to develop name recognition. For more
differences between cities, click on the box to the right.
