Fundraising for Nonprofits Bounces Back
Michelle Nguyen, GoLocalProv News Contributor
Fundraising for Nonprofits Bounces Back
The survey, which sampled 2,356 public charities and 163 private foundations, reported a jump in philanthropic funds across the nonprofit sector. Thirty six percent of survey participants reported an increase in the amount of contributions they received during the fiscal year of 2010. "Nonprofits have rebounded modestly, our fundraising is up from last year and we're seeing a small tick of improvement," said Neil Steinberg, President and CEO of the Rhode Island Foundation.
The survey numbers are an improvement from the 2009 survey numbers, which reported that only 23 percent experienced increases in received contributions. The reported growth reveals that more nonprofits and foundations are benefiting from increased philanthropic contributions and donations, suggesting the beginnings of an economic recovery for the national and local nonprofit sector.
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"We are seeing glimmers of hope. As the stock market continues to rebound, hopefully, there will be echoing effects as individual donors and corporations have more funds to donate," said Chris Medici, Executive Vice President and Director of Strategic Marketing & Communications at United Way RI.
United Way RI, a nonprofit that aims to improve local communities with initiatives in education, housing, and disaster relief, is currently in the midst of their annual fundraising campaign and are hoping for good results. "We're taking it one step at a time as we approach individual donors and corporations and hopefully, when we look back at this campaign year, we'll have a sigh of relief and encouragement," said Medici.
Other organizations, such as the Rhode Island Foundation, have already reported large increases in philanthropic funds. Their total assets have grown from $455 million in 2008 to $524 million in 2009. Specifically, the foundation reported increases in cash donations from $613,745 in 2008 to $805,265 in 2009.
The Need is Still Great
Even though nonprofits are witnessing a resurgence in fundraising, Rhode Island is still not in clear. "Although we have rebounded modestly, I don't think we're back at the levels we were a few years ago," said Steinberg.
Steinberg says that communities suffer from these economic slumps because nonprofit organizations are forced to reduce their services. "One of the main challenges that we face in the nonprofit sector is called the cumulative effect. When funds are down a few years that downturn is felt in a variety of impacts including an organization's ability to provide its services" said Steinberg. "Whatever sector, the need has continued to grow and its been a real challenge for resources to grow with it."
Still, some organizations are inspired by the economic rebound to raise even more funds than usual to make up for lost time. "Recovery is happening at a much slower rate than we would like. All of the organizations that we partner with and all of the individuals we work with are still in need. Lives that we touch won't feel the fundraising recovery for a while, so we're aiming to raise more funds than ever," said Medici.
More Optimism
The 2010 survey presents more optimistic figures that suggest a strong future for the nonprofit sector. For the eighth consecutive year, a majority of survey participants reported increased demand for their organization's services and nearly half of the participants expected their organizations' budgets to increase within the next year.
The Nonprofit Research Collaborative conducts annual end-of-year fundraising surveys and is the combined effort of GuideStar, The National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS), the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, Blackbaud, and the Foundation Center.