View Research by Author - Amy Blackwood

Publications

During the Great Recession, decreases in funding and increases in service request strained public charities to do more with less. While the increase in need might encourage new public charities, the scarcity of resources could have inhibited organizations from entering the sector. According to the IRS Data Book, the IRS received nearly 30 percent fewer applications for 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status since the start of the recession in 2007. In 2008, however, the IRS eliminated the advanced ruling process for 501(c)(3) organizations. This brief investigates whether or not this drop in rulings is attributable to the recession or the rule change.

The New Orleans metropolitan area has faced several challenges in the past decade: Hurricane Katrina, the BP oil spill, and the Great Recession. Analysis of IRS Form 990 data and a survey of nonprofit human service providers find that local nonprofits employ 14,300 people and had 2010 expenditures of $558 million. While most have recovered from Katrina, one in four still uses disaster recovery funds. The lingering recession is placing financial pressure on human service providers, who operate on razor-thin margins: in 2010, revenues exceeded expenses by 0.4 percent. An appendix provides a fact sheet on each parish’s nonprofit sector.

The Nonprofit Sector in Brief summarizes and expands on The Nonprofit Almanac 2012, prepared by the National Center for Charitable Statistics and published by the Urban Institute Press. Both publications highlight the growth in the number and finances of 501(c)(3) public charities, as well as key findings on private charitable contributions and volunteering. It presents trends from 2000 to 2010 but special attention is paid to 2008 through 2010 to see the impact the recession had on the nonprofit sector. See the back cover for details on how to order a copy of The Nonprofit Almanac 2012.

This brief highlights trends from the eighth edition of The Nonprofit Almanac 2011, prepared by the National Center for Charitable Statistics at the Urban Institute. We highlight the growth in the number and finances of 501(c)(3) public charities, as well as key findings on private charitable contributions and volunteering.

More than 275,000 organizations have lost their tax-exempt status for failing to file a return with the IRS for three consecutive years. The Pension Protection Act of 2006 required most tax-exempt organizations to file a return with the IRS and called for automatic revocation for nonprofits that failed to file a return for three consecutive years. The majority of organizations are believed to be defunct, but the IRS announced special steps to help existing nonprofits reapply for tax-exemption. This brief provides a snapshot of the nonprofits that have lost their tax exempt status and examines these organizations by type, age and location.

In an effort to keep better track of nonprofit organizations, the Pension Protection Act of 2006 mandated that the more than 714,000 organizations with gross receipts less than $25,000 needed to file the new Form 990-N, also known as the e-Postcard. Any organization that fails to file for three consecutive years will have their tax-exempt status revoked. The three year window closed for most organizations on May 17, 2010 and over 292,000 organizations have not yet complied with the new mandate. This brief highlights the type, size, age, and location of organizations that have not yet filed Form 990-N.

This report, funded by the Meyer Foundation, looks at the operating reserves—the cash and other liquid assets—of public charities in the Washington Metropolitan area. Using IRS Form 990 data, the report found that 57 percent had reserves insufficient to cover three months of expenses, a level that many experts consider the minimum necessary for financial stability. This leaves them especially vulnerable to the rapid declines in revenue or increases in expenses that occur in economic downturns like the present. A substantial perecentage of all types and sizes of organizations lacked adequate reserves.

This brief highlights trends from the seventh edition of "The Nonprofit Almanac 2008", prepared by the National Center for Charitable Statistics at the Urban Institute. The Almanac is the latest in the Urban Institute's series of statistical profiles of the nonprofit sector and focuses primarily on 501(c)(3) public charities. We also highlight key findings on private charitable contributions and volunteering, two vital components of the nonprofit sector. This brief includes the most recent available data (2005 and 2006).

America's nonprofit sector continues to grow faster than its business sector or its government. The Nonprofit Almanac 2008 presents data on nonprofits' place in the national economy and trends in wages, employment, private giving, volunteering and finances. The tables and graphics will give scholars, practitioners, and policymakers the data they need at a glance, while the textual analysis will help them plan for the future.

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