Thoughts On The Nonprofit Impacts Survey

Kathryn Firmin-Sellers & Laura Yates Clark

In Charlotte-Mecklenburg and across the nation, nonprofit organizations are in distress due to shrinking resources. At stake are the critical services and supports provided by nonprofits to the most vulnerable people in our community. 

In a recent survey conducted by the University of North Carolina Charlotte’s Urban Institute, in partnership with Foundation For The Carolinas and United Way of Greater Charlotte, nearly half of survey respondents reported the loss of federal funding. One third reported the loss of other funding sources, including from state and local governments, corporations, and individual donors. 

The declines reflect the confluence of multiple forces: declines in resources from public budgets at multiple levels, COVID era relief funds have been fully expended; and fears of an economic downturn have slowed both corporate and individual giving. 

Local nonprofits experience these financial pressures differently. Organizations serving the most vulnerable populations (those in poverty, immigrants, members of the LGBTQ+ community), as well as those providing essential basic needs such as housing, food and healthcare reported the greatest overall funding loss.  

Larger, well-established nonprofits were most likely to have reserve funds needed to weather the funding decline. Smaller, newer organizations – including community-based organizations who are often best positioned to connect with the most marginalized populations – are least likely to have financial reserves and are, therefore, more vulnerable. 

The most sobering finding?  All nonprofits – large and small – believe the worst is yet to come. 

Regardless of our own financial situation or the field in which we work, these findings should trouble us all. Nonprofits are themselves important contributors to our economy. In North Carolina, nonprofits employ 400,000 people and contribute $2.23 billion. Nonprofits fill essential gaps in services; without them, more people will be pushed into poverty or ill-health, increasing the drain on public sector resources. Nonprofits boost civic engagement, creating a platform for people to come together to volunteer, learn, or celebrate. 

The survey’s findings raise an alarm and call all of us to action, each in the way we can choose. As a donor – now is the time to give. As a volunteer, now is the time to contribute more time, talents, and skills if you can.  As a community resident, now is the time to speak up and to advocate for nonprofit support to friends, neighbors, elected officials, and employers. 

Together, we can help people in our community find the supports and services they need through our invaluable community’s nonprofit organizations. 

Kathryn Firmin-Sellers 

President & CEO 

United Way of Greater Charlotte 

Laura Yates Clark 

President 

Foundation For The Carolinas