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:
- Training board members to understand their responsibilities and ensuring their involvement in fundraising
- Telling our story effectively to our constituents and the public at large, which means highlighting the uniqueness and the benefit of our efforts
- 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.