Nonprofit Finance Fund State Of The Sector 2012: A System Under Pressure

Apr 3, 2012 1:00 PM ET

Alice Korngold's blog

The Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) 2012 State of the Sector Survey fourth annual survey of nonprofits nationwide was released today, showing responses from 4,607 nonprofits. Nonprofits have been reporting a steady rise in demand for services over the course of the survey’s four years, with 85% reporting an increase in 2011, compared to 67% of nonprofits in 2009. Financially, however, the picture continues to decline. Only 43% of nonprofits have more than three months of cash reserves, and only 56% broke even at year end.

“The data show that this is a system that is increasingly under pressure, and it will crack,” said Antony Bugg-Levine, who was named President and CEO of the Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) last fall. “Short term complacency masks structural problems heading towards a longer-term crisis.” NFF is a highly innovative nonprofit organization that has pioneered new funding models to strengthen nonprofits and the sector since NFF was founded by Clara Miller in 1980. 

Nonprofit funders and boards have the power to transform nonprofit organizations to become more financially and strategically effective and sustainable.

See continuation here at Fast Company...http://bit.ly/HEDsd1