The New York City Nonprofits Project

The New York City Nonprofits Project

The results of the New York City Nonprofits Project, a joint effort of Community Studies of New York and NPCC, are now available. The two-and-a-half year research project documents how the nonprofit sector affects the economy, employment, and the makeup of cultural, health, education, and social services to residents of New York City and its neighborhoods.

The study, conducted by John Seley and Julian Wolpert, includes a report on over 9,000 of New York City’s 27,000-plus nonprofit organizations (the 9,000 nonprofits being those that are large enough to be required to file annual reports with the IRS) analyzing populations served, location, type of organization, income and revenue streams, and employment factors. It analyzes the types of services nonprofits provide for city residents and the economic input in relation to the local economy.

Among the highlights of the study of the 9,000 nonprofits, the authors find that these organizations account for $43 billion in annual expenditures, provide more than 528,000 jobs—the equivalent of 11.5% of the Gross City Product for New York and 14% of New York City’s employees, and have an annual payroll of more than $22 billion. Nonprofit employment increased by approximately 25% during the past decade and expenditures grew by 64% (in 2000 dollars). The study also finds that more than 31,000 board members and 342,000 volunteers assist nonprofit organizations, and 2.2 million people are served by these organizations each day.

One section of the study addresses the challenges and opportunities faced by the sector, including staff recruitment, retention and salary and benefit issues, office and space facilities matters, volunteer and board member issues, and nonprofits’ responses to the city’s changing demographics and shifting services needs. The study also analyzes the changes in the role of nonprofits over the past decade, showing how the sector has grown relative to the public and private sectors and how nonprofits are responding to new service needs.

The report is available for $20, plus $5 for handling and shipping from the University of Toronto Press, Customer Order Department, 2250 Military Road, Tonawanda, NY 14150, phone 800/565-9523, fax 800/221-9985, email utpbooks@utpress.utoronto.ca. For more information, go to www.utpress.utoronto.ca/distrib.htm. The ISBN number of the report is 0-9720943-1-8. Organizations that completed the survey have been sent a copy of the results. An executive summary is available online at www.nycnonprofits.org.

A CD-ROM, which will be available within the next several weeks, will include the final report, copies of the questionnaires, the technical report on how the study was done, and the data tables.

Another product of the study will be an online service atlas of nonprofits in New York City. The service atlas will include over 6,000 nonprofit organizations that provide direct services, from day care centers to museums. Users can search for organizations by neighborhood, type of service provider, and other search criteria. It is expected that the service atlas will be online in mid-July at www.nycnonprofits.org.

The service atlas will be an ongoing project, so nonprofits that did not complete the survey and are not included in the database can be added. Inclusion in the service atlas can benefit an organization’s visibility and help users find nonprofits that offer services needed, help facilitate nonprofit networks and connections, and enable funders and government officials to locate agencies.

To be included in the service atlas, email John Seley at nycnonprofits@aol.com. If your organization completed the survey, you are automatically included in the service atlas.

This article originally appeared in the July 2002 issue of New York Nonprofits, the monthly newsletter of NPCC. www.npccny.org