The Barker Adoption Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
520642791
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Bethesda, MD, USA
Phone
3016649664
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Human Services

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,535,729
Expenses
$3,738,112
Assets
$3,122,387
Liabilities
$1,433,524

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

32 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Susan Hollar (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Susan Hollar (Executive Director): $198,061 total reported compensation
  • Beverly Clarke (Sr. Dir., Clinical & Support Services): $156,484 total reported compensation
  • Nancy Wilkinson (Dir of Finance & Administration): $135,515 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The Barker Adoption Foundation provides life-long services for all in the adoption constellation and advocates for ethical, respectful, and child-centered adoption practices.

What it reported doing in 2024

Domestic Program: Barker offers free, confidential, and unbiased counseling to individuals and couples who wish to explore making an adoption plan for their child, whether during pregnancy or while already parenting. Services are offered in both English and Spanish, in person or virtually, and include coordinating proper medical care, providing emotional support, resource referrals, and ongoing supportive services regardless of the decision made. Barker serves individuals and couples who wish to adopt infants domestically. Barker provides education, home studies, matching, placement, and post-placement supervision. Services are provided in a transparent and ethical manner, ensuring a child-centered approach.Barker has a cradle care program where its trained foster families provide nurturing temporary care for the baby while the birth parents take the time necessary to decide whether to parent or to place the child for adoption.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 73
  • Transparency & Controls: 77
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 22
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 81.4%; rating input score 81
  • Program expense ratio: 76.7%; rating input score 77
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.42 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -5.7%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.84; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.46; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 26.1%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.1% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 10.8% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 81.4% of revenue deployed · 76.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 23 of 23 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $2.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $198K · 32 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $278K reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 24/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 19/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 31/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 7/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 23/100.