A Little Exploration of Local Nonprofits & The Economy

Is it true that more citizens than ever are employed by nonprofits, serving on boards or volunteering for charitable organizations?

This could be so. It feels that way, but perhaps it is because I am a forever dweller in this space.  Last weekend, I felt that we, as nonprofits, were part and parcel of Small Business Saturday and the excitement of “local.”

Those of us who live and breathe somewhere in the nonprofit landscape have a pretty good idea of our significance outside of the important services we provide—we are an economic force.

Many believe we have a keener sense of the economic importance of 501(c)(3) organizations in our community than in most—in part due to the large influence of philanthropy.  I often wonder how those who live on “the outskirts” of the philanthropic world view our contributions to the economy.

Last night I ran a few numbers from the 248 nonprofits serving Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte and DeSoto Counties with published profiles in The Giving Partner. Organizations in this list have multi-million dollar budgets with more than 100 staff and have $10,000 budgets with no staff. Endless combinations of budget/staffing/impact/mission focus are there.  Still, these nonprofits are only a portion of the charitable organizations in our 4-county area.

For the current fiscal years of these 248 agencies, income of $805,931,746 and expenses of $780,690,677 are projected. When you consider us as small businesses, I’d say we’re players–we represent!

Here is the income projection breakdown by organization type in increasing order:

Animal Welfare
$9,324,670   (1%)

Youth Development
$16,979,989   (2%)

Environment
$22,507,541   (3%)

Other
$23,279,207   (3%)

Arts & Culture
$68,748,801   (9%)

Health
$205,544,256 (24%)

Education
$205,230,607 (26%)

Human Services
$254,316,676 (32%)

 

Pretty impressive, isn’t it?

In the next post, we’ll talk more about the number of people employed in each of these sectors.

Are these numbers surprising to you? Do they reinforce what you felt was true? We would love your thoughts.

-Susie Bowie
Director, Nonprofit Strategy
Community Foundation of Sarasota County

The 36-Hour Giving Challenge: Leveraging Community Generosity

Just a couple of weeks away from our region’s first 36-hour giving challenge, I’m reminded that philanthropy is something that is embedded in our cultural DNA as Americans. It can be traced to generosity during the first Thanksgiving.

The United States is one of the most philanthropic nations in the world, with its citizens donating more than $300 billion a year. The vast majority of donations do not come from corporations or foundations but from individual donors. This means each of us has the ability to make an impact and help create a New Realities for our local communities.

In our region, there is an opportunity to continue to be a model for others. To help leverage the generosity of those who want to make contributions within our four-county region, The Patterson Foundation is proud to support The Giving Partner. To celebrate and inspire philanthropy, we will be matching donations made during The Giving Partner’s 36-hour Giving Challenge, which kicks off on March 27

The Patterson Foundation is matching the contributions made by collaborating funders of The Giving Partner two-to-one to create the pool of dollars that will be available for donor matches and prizes for nonprofits in a variety of categories.

The Patterson Foundation dollars will be used to match dollar-for-dollar individual contributions up to $1,000 per donor per organization listed on The Giving Partner – with The Patterson Foundation investing up to $334,000 in this community-giving event.

Join your friends, neighbors and community members as we all give on March 27 and 28 and build a stronger community vision of philanthropy.

-Debra Jacobs, President and CEO
The Patterson Foundation

Supporting a Community Vision of Philanthropy

Thanks to Debra Jacobs, President & CEO of The Patterson Foundation, for this insightful contribution about the vision behind The Giving Partner:

 

Today each and every one of us has instant access to information and knowledge that 20 to 30 years ago would have been next to impossible to find. This certainly applies to philanthropy in communities. Now more than ever, donors demand more information and transparency from the nonprofits they care about. This is part of a growing demographic that asks questions and makes informed decisions.

This brings me to our support of the community collaboration around The Giving Partner, the online knowledge tool connecting donors and funders with local nonprofits in our community. Our region’s community foundations — The Community Foundation of Sarasota County, Gulf Coast Community Foundation and the Manatee Community Foundation – and others are collaborating to rollout this platform in our community.

Our region is so blessed that they have committed to support and uplift our community’s long-term vision of philanthropy, one that is informed, transparent and connected for the greater good.

Inspired by this, we are providing strategic communications, financial thrivability and technology expertise in support of the collaboration for a more effective and efficient nonprofit sector.

What are the benefits of this community collaboration?

• A trusted online resource for donors to connect with nonprofits and make informed decisions
• Transparent, in-depth information on nonprofits that make a difference in our community
• A third-party credibility element, as each nonprofit profile is reviewed to verify key documents and fields
• A better understanding of the social sector assets and needs in the community

An interesting fact to note, our region — comprised of Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte and DeSoto counties — is the 12th to embrace this platform, and the only region with funding support from more than one community foundation.

This speaks volumes of the philanthropic support and vision in our vibrant community, and setting the standard for others to follow!

To join the conversation as The Giving Partner moves toward its launch this spring, follow The Giving Partner on Facebook or continue to join the conversation on this blog.

How do you think you’ll make a difference in your community with such a resource at your fingertips?