Caroline Preston

The YMCA of the USA has the strongest brand among charities, according to a new report by the marketing firms Cone and Intangible Business.

The Salvation Army took second on the list of the 100 most-valued nonprofit groups, followed by the United Way of America, the American Red Cross, and Goodwill Industries International.

Perhaps not surprisingly, charities that work in the United States to meet basic needs dominated the list, which was calculated in part based on a phone survey of 1,000 people that took place in July of last year.

The size of nonprofit groups’ budgets, their potential for future growth, how many volunteers they have, and the amount of news-media coverage they receive were among other factors that determined charities’ rank.

Alison DaSilva, executive vice president of Cone, said U.S. human-services groups would probably become even better known as a result of the recession.

“More people are going to touch their services or know someone who has been helped by them,” she said. “I would imagine this strong sector is going to get even stronger.”

Reaching People

Charities that performed well on the list often found ways to reach people directly — through store fronts, for example, or fee-for-service programs, said Ms. DaSilva. Many were also working with companies, governments, and others that could help broaden their message, as well as experimenting with new online tools to draw attention to their work.

While the size of a charity’s budget was one factor in determining its overall “power-brand rank,” not all wealthy organizations performed at the top of the list.

Many international charities, for example, received significant sums from private and government donors but “haven’t necessarily cracked the code in how to build a more relevant brand for a broader constituency,” according to Ms. DaSilva.

By contrast, some charities that were widely recognized among people in the phone survey — Special Olympics and the Humane Society, for example — did not receive as much money as some other groups.

“That really represents a great opportunity for these nonprofit organizations to say, Let’s capitalize on our brand and ask how we can be innovative and turn that into dollars,” said Ms. DaSilva.

Older charities that have had decades and decades to build their reputations and establish trust among donors also typically performed better on the list.

But Ms. DaSilva said there have been some newer charities that have broken into the top ranks. She cited Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Children’s Miracle Network, and the Lance Armstrong Foundation as examples.

— Caroline Preston