The American Spectator

AmSpecBlog

Non-Profit Recession?

By Robert Stacy McCain on 11.18.08 @ 6:21AM

The news of layoffs at Focus on the Family includes this:

Donations are down, and Focus relies almost entirely on the charity of others.
That problem is reverberating throughout the nonprofit sector, said Colorado Springs Economic Development Corp. president Mike Kazmierski.
"It's probably going to get worse," he said. "When people have to cut back, the only place they have to go is their discretionary income."
Glenn Williams, Focus' chief operating officer, said that more than 95 percent of the organization's income comes from donations, with book sales accounting for the remainder. Donations to Focus set a record high in fiscal 2008, he said. But donations began to decline in October, which starts Focus' new fiscal year, and after polling major donors, Focus expects this holiday season - normally the most lucrative time of the year for nonprofits - to be even more painful to the bottom line.
"Looking at October trends and talking to donors who are not in a position where they can give, we thought we'd be facing a more severe decision in January or February if we waited," Williams said.

Obviously, the current recession is likely to have more widespread impact.