Vital Signs

The nonpartisan Urban Institute publishes studies, reports, and books on timely topics worthy of public consideration. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders.

Note: This report is available in its entirety in the Portable Document Format (PDF).

Community-based nonprofits spent $1.3 billion in 2000 on children in the District of Columbia and its 10 surrounding Maryland and Virginia jurisdictions. From child care and early childhood education programs for preschoolers to afterschool and computer literacy programs for teenagers, these organizations are vital. A snapshot of the region's thousand-plus child-serving nonprofits can be framed in many different ways. Our ranking shows the ratio of nonprofits to the number of children in the jurisdiction. The concentration ranges from six groups for every 1,000 kids in Falls Church to less than one group for every 2,000 kids in Prince William County. These rankings help us understand how each jurisdiction compares with others in the region. Taken together, these ratios form a baseline to measure local nonprofit resources for children.

The following pages explore the fiscal health of the social safety net for children in the Washington, D.C., area. Nonprofits' financial strengths and vulnerabilities can belie the concentration ranking. In fact, Manassas, at number 7, and Fairfax, at number 8, had the financially strongest nonprofit child and youth sectors in 2000. Yet, three of the four jurisdictions showing fiscal stress also ranked low on resource concentration—Loudoun, Prince George's, and Prince William counties.

Prognosis: The vital signs are not good. Nearly one-third of child and youth nonprofits lost money in 2000, one year before the 9/11 attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center. The attacks exacerbated the decline in the D.C. regional economy and likely increased the fiscal stress on nonprofits. One organization for every 1,000 kids might slip as a baseline.

Note: This report is available in its entirety in the Portable Document Format (PDF).

The nonpartisan Urban Institute publishes studies, reports, and books on timely topics worthy of public consideration. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders.

Usage, posting and reprint of materials on the UI web site:

Most publications may be downloaded free of charge from the web site in PDF format. This information may be used and copies made for research, academic, policy or other non-commercial purposes. Proper attribution is required.

Copyright of the written materials contained within the Urban Institute website is owned or controlled by the Urban Institute. Posting UI research papers on other websites is permitted subject to prior approval from the Urban Institute—contact paffairs@urban.org.

If you are unable to access or print the PDF document please contact us or call the Publications Office at (202) 261-5687.