Inflation and Labor Costs Squeeze Nonprofits as Pandemic Relief Wanes. Is a Fiscal Cliff Ahead?
Pressures spun up from Covid are cutting into revenue, as foundation and government funding dwindles and a possible recession looms.
By Drew Lindsay
Senior Editor, Special Projects
Even as Economy Shows Positive Signs, Nonprofits Aren’t Letting Their Guard Down
Nonprofits say the tight labor market continues to pose problems, and some organizations are considering merging or closing.
By Sara Herschander
Contributor
28 Foundation Leaders Urge Peers to Channel More Funds to Black-Led Nonprofits
Prompted by the police murder of Tyre Nichols in Memphis, grant makers say it’s time to stop the erratic flow of money to organizations that work to advance racial justice and ensure money goes to such organizations generously and consistently.
By Alex Daniels
Contributor
Nonprofits Enter 2023 With Inflation Cooling and Job Market Still Strong
Organizations are seeking loans and taking other steps to help keep workers, and those who are trying to build or renovate facilities are facing high borrowing costs. Meanwhile, foundation assets have been hit hard, so it might be tougher for nonprofits to obtain grants in the coming year or two.
By Sara Herschander
Contributor
Foundation Assets Plummeted Nearly 20% Last Year, Putting Grant Making at Risk
The drop comes after three years of gains, so that might mitigate the pain of the losses.
Inflation Hasn’t Increased U.S. Food Insecurity Over All, According to a New Tracker
One reason could be that government programs and nonprofits that help people get enough food are succeeding.
By Sam Polzin and Jayson Lusk
Nonprofit Employment Has Finally Recovered From Jobs Lost to Covid
Nonprofits likely first recovered from pandemic job losses in October 2022 and have added jobs since December.
By Sara Herschander
Contributor
Recovering From the Pandemic, Groups Make Use of Covid-Relief Money That Keeps On Giving
Organizations are availing themselves of a nearly three-year-old tax credit that Congress revamped to make more businesses and nonprofits eligible.
By Drew Lindsay
Senior Editor, Special Projects
Turbulence in the Economy Poses Continued Challenges for Nonprofits That Serve the Needy
Inflation is easing and the stock market is rising, which bodes well for overall fundraising in the last weeks of the year. But the situation is uneven, especially for groups like the Salvation Army that are seeing prices and demand rise while donations are behind last year’s pace.
By Sara Herschander
Contributor
Foundations, Especially Small Ones, Fared Worse Than the Overall Stock Market Last Year
The average foundation gained 16 percent last year, compared with the nearly 29 percent gain of the Standard and Poor’s index. Wealthier foundations did somewhat better but were still far below the index.
By Alex Daniels
Senior Editor, Foundations
Fundraising Expenditures Are Just One of Many Standards We Use to Evaluate a Charity’s Performance
The leaders of two charity evaluation organizations refute the idea that they judge nonprofits as superior if they spend less on fundraising.
Foundation Investment Choices Potentially Lose $20 Billion a Year for Grantees
A new analysis shows that grant makers, whose assets fell 17.3 percent last year, could achieve stronger returns by not relying so heavily on professional money managers.
By Marc Gunther
Contributor
Charities That Don’t Embrace Common Financial Norms Tend to Outperform Their Peers
Charities that get revenue from many sources, keep fundraising costs low, avoid debt, and skimp on expenses like information technology and office space generally perform worse than those embracing other approaches.
By George Mitchell
Contributor
As the Economy Contracts, Fundraisers See Another Reason to Worry
With the stock market stumbling and inflation persisting, the drop in GDP was an unwelcome new development in the ongoing saga of when and how the economy will emerge from the era of Covid-19. However, many economists say the decline in GDP was a blip that’s unlikely to be repeated.
By dan.parks
Contributor
California’s attorney general said top executives and board members knew the fund was using money in ways that ran counter to what donors wanted.
By MARC GUNTHER
Contributor
Ukraine is Benefiting From Generous Donations — and Many Other Global Causes Need Help, Too
There are many tragedies around the world today. The Ukraine crisis evokes a basic question about giving globally: What’s the best way to choose a foreign cause to support?