Baltimore Believe has inspired thousands to seek drug treatment, but more than two-thirds are still awaiting help, according to a report to be released today on the first five months of the anti-drug campaign.

That mix of good news and bad can be found throughout the 39-page progress report -- an indication, Believe officials say, that the $2.1 million campaign has made a dent in the city's drug problem but still has a long way to go.

"I think it's good information. I don't think it's anything to declare victory over," said Walter D. "Wally" Pinkard, co-chairman of the campaign.

Launched in April with a series of stark billboards and television ads, the campaign is intended to raise awareness about the drug addiction that afflicts about 55,000 city residents.

Believe aims to convince Baltimoreans that their city could overcome the problem if everyone -- rich and poor, addicted and clean -- did at least one thing to fight drugs. Addicts are urged seek help. Everyone else is asked to lend a hand in some way: mentoring a child, reporting a crime, hiring a recovering addict.

The report gives signs of concrete progress for the campaign, which continues in the form of community events and banners.

The report says that:

From April through September, the Maryland Mentoring Partnership and Big Brothers-Big Sisters recorded a 3.6 percent increase in calls from people offering to volunteer as mentors. One-third have been matched with youths, and others are undergoing background checks and training.

More than 570 people called the Believe hot line during that period to inquire about becoming city police officers. So far, 66 have passed the civil service exam.

The impact on drug treatment was more mixed. Nearly 10,000 people sought treatment during that period, up from about 4,000 during the same time last year. But treatment slots have been found for just 28 percent.

The results also were uneven -- mostly along racial lines -- on the communication of the campaign's central themes.

Seventy-eight percent of city adults were aware of Baltimore Believe, but blacks got the message better than whites, according to a survey of 800 residents. Many whites remain convinced that drugs are mainly a black problem, one they can do nothing about, the survey found.

"Only 47 percent of Caucasians polled said they were likely to take some action as a result of Believe appeals compared with 76 percent of African-Americans," the report said.

Twenty-seven percent of whites who were aware of the campaign disagreed with its main idea -- that the drug problem could be fixed if everyone in the city did at least one thing about it, the survey found. Eighteen percent of blacks also disagreed with that idea.

Last summer, Mayor Martin O'Malley expressed frustration with the business community's response -- or lack thereof -- to the campaign. He called business and civic leaders to City Hall for a pep talk, and many left vowing to adopt schools or otherwise get on board.

Their efforts stalled because classes were not in session, and schools have not been adopted en masse since then, said Michael Cryor, the campaign's other co-chairman. But he and Pinkard said they are more interested in getting businesses to make strategic, long-term commitments to the city and its schools -- an effort they say has begun with earnest plans and a series of meetings.

The Believe campaign was financed by the Baltimore Police Foundation, which was created two years ago to raise money for police equipment, training and recruitment. The foundation raised most of its money from corporations and foundations.

The donations were disclosed only in broad ranges: The France-Merrick Foundation and an anonymous donor topped the list by giving $200,000 or more; the Abell Foundation and the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation each gave $100,000 to $200,000. Other big donors include AEGON Transamerica Foundation, Allfirst, Legg Mason Inc., Macht Philanthropic Fund, Mercantile-Safe Deposit & Trust Co., T. Rowe Price Associates Inc., Bank of America, Constellation Energy Group, the Henry and Ruth B. Rosenberg Foundation and Whiting-Turner Contracting Co.

The police foundation raised $3.1 million and gave $2.1 million of that to Baltimore Believe, which was seen as "a new way to support law enforcement in Baltimore," said Gigi Wirtz, spokeswoman for the Baltimore Community Foundation, which administers the police foundation.

Linder & Associates, a New York City consulting firm, developed and implemented the campaign under a $825,000 contract. In a statement of expenses, the company said all but $175,000 of the money paid for "pass-through expenses" on which there was no markup. Those expenses cover television, radio and print media production costs, focus groups and surveys.

Two Baltimore firms, Green & Associates and Sahara Communications, had contracts worth $1.1 million and $96,700 respectively to place ads.