Studying Philadelphia Region Non-Profits

The Economy League will be studying the regional non-profit sector. From their press release:

The Economy League was commissioned by the Philadelphia Foundation to conduct a two-part analysis of the state of nonprofits in Greater Philadelphia. While more than 15% of jobs in the five-county region are in the nonprofit sector, the state of the financial health of the sector remains unknown.

The research will:

* benchmark the current state of economic health of the region's nonprofit sector,
* quantify measures relating to the sector's value and impact, and
* compile aggregate measures of size and employment to develop a region-wide database of nonprofits.

The intent of the research is to:

* identify challenges, risks, and opportunities relating to the effectiveness and sustainability of the region's nonprofit community,
* develop tools for analyzing trends relating to the financial health of the local nonprofit sector, and
* identify potential opportunities and risks.

The goal of the study is to help nonprofits build their capacity so they move toward becoming more self-sustaining and less vulnerable to economic swings.

The Inquirer ("Growth Sector: Nonprofits in Philadelphia," by Mike Armstrong 8/14), citing a 2005 Johns Hopkins study (Pennsylvania Nonprofit Employment by Lester M. Salamon and Stephanie Lessans Geller), says that 27% of those employed in the private sector work for a non-profit; six of the 10 top employers in the area are non-profits (think Blue Cross and the University of Pennsylvania).

There are a lot of smaller nonprofits, though, who may only employ a few people. Last weekend's Center Square column by Chris Satullo, "Their calling: re-invigorate the region's nonprofits," profiles one of these, Philly Fellows. Its purpose is to help place recent college graduates in one year fellowships with local service agencies. For a few more examples, see the job listings on the Pennsylvania Association of Nonprofit Organizations website, www.pano.org.

The Economy League's preliminary results should be out in early 2009. It will be interesting reading.