RubinBrown What Not-For-Profit Organizations Should Expect in 2015

TRENDS FOR 2015

Impact Impact is the new buzzword for not-for-profits. In Nonprofit Finance Fund’s “2015 State of the Nonprofit Sector” ( RubinBrown.com/2015-NFP-State ), more than 60% of respondents said 50% or more of their funders are asking for impact metrics in their reports. However, 71% said funders rarely or never fund the costs associated with impact measures, leaving organizations with challenges such as staff lacking technical expertise or having a shortage of resources needed to collect the requested data. Although this emphasis on impact measurement can be burdensome, it is fueling momentum away from evaluating organizations based on overhead ratios and starting positive dialogues among donors, grantmakers and governments regarding transparency, accomplishments and necessities to achieve missions. Fundraising Fundraising is always of key importance to not-for-profit organizations. Overall, there are positive expectations for charitable giving in 2015, with speculation that annual charitable giving could top its pre-recession peak of $350 billion. The National Council for Nonprofits published their fundraising trends for 2015 noting the following:

What’s Up Ç GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT Ç MULTI-YEAR SUPPORT Ç SUPPORT FOR CAPACITY BUILDING

What’s Down È GOVERNMENT DOLLARS È DONOR LOYALTY È CORPORATE SUPPORT

The positive trends are supported by the Grantmakers for Effective Organizations’ 2014 “National Study of Philanthropic Practice” ( RubinBrown.com/2014-Grantmakers ). This study reflected marked improvement in the proportion of grants going to general operating support (25% of the grant dollars awarded, up from 20% in 2011 and 2008), the frequency of multi-year support (which rebounded to pre-recession levels last seen in 2008 of almost 60%) and support for capacity building (27% of funders increased their support in this area). Government Funding The less positive trends include a decline in government funding. Per the Nonprofit Finance Fund’s 2014 and 2015 surveys, over 70% of responding organizations receive federal, state or local government funding; however, over the last five years, more than 45% reported a decline in federal and state funding and more than 40% reported a decline in local funding. This illustrates a trend within the industry that organizations feel the government is shifting programs and responsibilities to them.

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