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Perfect storm of increased need and decreased giving hits greater Milwaukee area nonprofits
9/19/2009

Milwaukee, Wisconsin…Local nonprofit organizations are cutting budgets and staff in an effort to keep up with increased demand for services and falling donations, according to a new and expanded survey of local agencies commissioned by the Greater Milwaukee Foundation and conducted by the Public Policy Forum.

Sixty-eight percent of the nonprofits surveyed for the 13th Annual Report Card on Charitable Giving  say the economic downturn has caused a drop in giving. Sixty-three percent of the agencies feel the state of philanthropy is getting worse. Of the organizations providing direct services to clients, 62 percent say demand for assistance is increasing.

“Nonprofit organizations in the metropolitan area are under a tremendous amount of stress,” said Doug Jansson, Foundation president. “They’re trying to find ways to navigate the perfect storm of declining revenues and increasing need while fulfilling the mission of their organizations. It’s tough sailing now for some nonprofit organizations.”

The Report Card on Charitable Giving  was changed this year to respond to the shifting charitable giving landscape nonprofits are experiencing because of the economy. Nearly 400 metropolitan area nonprofits were asked to weigh in on their financial health, a significant increase from the traditional 56 bellwether organizations asked in past years. Nearly half of the organizations responded, giving real-time impressions of how the economy is affecting them and the individuals and families they serve.

Other key findings of the Report Card include:

• More than 80 percent of organizations have cut costs due to budget constraints, and one in four has laid off staff.
• Only one in four organizations describe themselves as financially healthy and not currently vulnerable.
• Over half of organizations have six months or less operating reserve. Thirty-one percent say they are running an operating deficit in the current fiscal year.
• Half the nonprofits responding to the survey have considered collaborating with another nonprofit within the past year. Nearly one in three has explored merging with another nonprofit. Five organizations have considered closing.

Other sponsors of the Report Card on Charitable Giving include Donors Forum of Wisconsin, The Faye McBeath Foundation and United Way of Greater Milwaukee.

The executive summary and full Report Card on Charitable Giving  can be found on the Foundation’s website, www.greatermilwaukeefoundation.org

The Greater Milwaukee Foundation is a family of more than 1,000 individual charitable funds, each created by donors to serve the charitable causes of their choice in metropolitan Milwaukee and around the world. Started in 1915, the Foundation is one of the oldest and largest community foundations in the world.