This morning I attended a very interesting presentation by the Center for Nonprofit Management and the Council on Southwest Foundations on the State of the Nonprofit Sector 2012.  Here are some things I learned:

• The number of nonprofits in North Texas has increased by 47% since 2009–just three years
• In Texas, 75% of nonprofits have a budget of less than $100,000 a year and 44% have less than one month of operating reserves
• Nationally, individuals provide 73% of donations to nonprofits, foundations only 14%
• 44% of North Texas nonprofit boards don’t enjoy financial support from all of their board members–critical to a successful organization

What does this mean for those of us who work in the nonprofit sector?

It means we need to do a better job in all of this:

1. Training board members to understand their responsibilities and ensuring their involvement in fundraising
2. Telling our story effectively to our constituents and the public at large, which means highlighting the uniqueness and the benefit of our efforts
3. Focusing our fund development attention on people rather than foundations

The good news is that charitable giving is increasing, even in a difficult economy. The other good news is that donors are becoming increasingly sophisticated. They still give primarily because of relationships, but they are looking for well-run organizations to support.

The complete study can be found here. Lots of good information–thanks to CNM and CSW for making it available.