Survey Tracks Spending Growth by N.Y. Charities in the 1990’s

By ELIZABETH SCHWINN

Spending by nonprofit groups in New York grew by a third from 1990 to 1998, according to an analysis of Internal Revenue Service data by the New York City Nonprofits Project.

Total spending by the city´s charitable groups rose to nearly $54-billion in 1998, up 34 percent from the 1990 total of $40-billion.

The growth reflected both an increase in the number of charities and big revenue gains by nonprofit groups that have long resided in the city.

The New York City Nonprofits Project, run by Community Studies of New York/Infoshare, was created in September 1999 by the Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York, which wanted to build on a similar survey it had done in 1990.

Education and health-care spending grew most, according to the analysis. Operating expenses at education groups increased 91 percent, from $3.2-billion to $6.1-billion, while health-care spending went up 42 percent, from $16-billion to $22.6-billion.

Health care claimed the biggest slice of the nonprofit pie, accounting for 42 percent of the total dollars spent by New York nonprofit organizations in 1998.

The Nonprofits Project plans to conclude its research in September 2001 with a report that will document the influence of nonprofit groups on New York´s economy and employment, as well as how recent federal and state changes in social-welfare programs have affected charities.

The research project was financed by the Andrew Mellon Foundation, Booth Ferris Foundation, the Clark Foundation, the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, J.P. Morgan & Company, the New York Community Trust, and the Rockefeller Foundation.