Ohio Nonprofit Report Shows Trends, Strength

The Ohio Association of Nonprofit Organizations just released its newest report on the state of Ohio’s nonprofit sector.

Chief among the data: last year, with more than 37,000 registered nonprofits, 14,010 were large enough – i.e., had gross receipts of $50,000 or more – to be required to file the federal information form 990 that details their finances, programs, donations and governance practices.

The data on these 14,000+ organizations clearly demonstrate the vitality of the sector. Here are just a few of the aggregated figures that caught my eye.
Reporting nonprofits:

• Had $70 billion in expenditures – roughly 15% of Ohio’s gross domestic product;
• Held $71 billion in assets;
• Made three-quarters of their revenue from services and contracts; and
• Employed more than 487,000 people – the 4^th largest employer type – and these employees earned about $20 million in wages – nearly 9% of the state’s total payroll.

A few other interesting data points illustrate how nonprofits are spread across the state. Monroe and Vinton Counties had only 10 each, compared to Franklin County’s 1,966; clearly, some parts of the state remain underserved.

Just as diverse are the different programmatic areas that are the focus of nonprofits: more than 9,000 are religion-related, 5,201 focus on education and only 143 focus on civil rights, social action and advocacy.

These numbers tell only part of the story. They don’t begin to tell the story of the countless people who find jobs, further their education, receive immunizations and are fed, housed and clothed because of dedicated nonprofit employees.

Take a few minutes to read the report and celebrate the strength of the sector.

Claudia Y.W. Herrold

Roundtable Offers Food for Thought – and Action – on Food Insecurity

Last week, I had the privilege of participating in a roundtable discussion with Kevin Concannon, under secretary at the U.S. Department of Agriculture for Food and Nutrition Service. The Ohio Association of Foodbanks convened the conversation, inviting 20 organizations including a few of our members (The Columbus Foundation, Nationwide Insurance Foundation and the United Way of Central Ohio). The conversation kicked off with a viewing of a short portion of Paycheck to Paycheck: the Life and Times of Katrina Gilbert, an HBO documentary on poverty. It set the stage for a discussion on poverty and food insecurity, set against the backdrop of the 50^th Anniversary of the War on Poverty.

Much of the next two hours’ conversation focused on food insecurity, one of the most visible indicators of poverty, and I learned a lot about how Ohioans access food programs:

• 1.78 million Ohioans received SNAP (food stamp) benefits in January;
• The average monthly SNAP benefit is $121 per person;
• 75% of SNAP households include a child, an elderly person or a disabled person;
• More than 50% of SNAP households with children had earned income;
• One-quarter of Ohio’s children live in food insecure households; and
• More than half of babies born in Ohio are eligible for WIC.

I also recently heard about a new report by Howard Fleeter and Associates that creates an Ohio Hunger Factors Index. It analyzes historic and current economic indicators that influence hunger to create an index: an index value of 0 would show no poverty, no unemployment, etc. The 2012 index is pegged at 13.38, compared to 7.06 in 2007.

Philanthropy in Ohio devotes millions of dollars a year to alleviating poverty, trying to both repair and maintain the safety net and to make systemic changes that address the root causes of poverty. Some of this work will be showcased at our Summer Institute on July 9, during a session devoted to digging deeply into a case study of Bridges out of Poverty as a model of collective impact led by funders.

Let’s talk, philanthropy,

Claudia Y.W. Herrold