NONPROFITS REPORT FISCAL GROWTH IN LATEST MARKS PANETH SURVEY DESPITE CHALLENGING CONDITIONS

November 1, 2019

New York, NY (November 1, 2019) – Though conditions in the nonprofit sector remain challenging, many organizations are reporting an improvement in their bottom lines, according to the latest Nonprofit Pulse survey of nonprofit leaders and executives conducted by leading accounting, tax and advisory firm Marks Paneth LLP. The results of the survey were released at Marks Paneth’s 4th Annual Nonprofit Industry Update Seminar on October 3, 2019.

Change Management for a New Era, the complete report of survey findings, contains insight into what today’s nonprofit leaders are experiencing, what they are concerned about and what they are prioritizing in the midst of an environment characterized by limited resources and heightened public scrutiny. Click here to read the full report.

Highlights include:

For the second consecutive year, a majority of leaders (55%) noted an increased demand for services, while funding reductions appear to be stabilizing (only 17% reported losses in funding).
Board leadership and staffing also appear to be stabilizing, with only 7% of leaders reporting more than 25% turnover in board leadership and 68% of leaders reporting no change in staffing.
Most participating organizations (58%) have seen at least a slight increase in revenue, even as they have built up reserves, and almost half (49%) ended their most recent fiscal year with a surplus.
While leaders are cautiously optimistic going into the new year, they are focused on planning ahead for potentially leaner times -- searching for new sources of funding, building in succession plans and seeking next-generation leaders while improving their infrastructure to handle higher service demands.

“We are pleased to see results that tell such a positive story,” said Hope Goldstein, Co-Partner-in-Charge of the Nonprofit, Healthcare & Government Group at Marks Paneth. “It seems that for those nonprofits who were able to withstand the difficulty of the last several years, things are starting to turn around—slowly. It’s a year of opportunity for many nonprofits in growing talent and in the areas of strategic planning and innovative change.”

Headquartered in New York City, with offices in major markets throughout the East Coast, Marks Paneth is ranked by Accounting Today as the 34th largest accounting firm in the nation and among the top 10 in the Mid-Atlantic Region. The firm’s specialized Nonprofit professionals serve 160 nonprofit organizations, including 20 percent of New York City’s largest charities as ranked by Crain’s New York Business. For more information, visit www.markspaneth.com.