For Immediate Release:        Contact: 
December 17, 2008             Linda Davis:ldavis@cvnl.org 
                              Shobha Hiatt: shobhah@cvnl.org 
                              (415) 479-5710 

MARIN NONPROFITS OPTIMISTIC IN THE FACE
OF DIFFICULT ECONOMIC TIMES

San Rafael, CA – In spite of a rocky economy and a record deficit budget in California, nonprofit leaders in Marin County remain optimistic about the prospects for their organization in 2009. An online economic impact survey conducted by Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership (Center) in late November, showed that despite being faced with increased demand for services, decrease in funding and cutting costs, 58% of respondents felt ‘optimistic’ for the future of their organizations versus only 26% who said they were ‘pessimistic.’

“While its good news that many agencies have an optimistic outlook, this survey reports only on the first quarter of the fiscal year, July through September ’08 – a period in which the full impact of a deteriorating economy has not yet been fully felt,” cautions Linda Davis, CEO of the Center.

The economic impact survey was undertaken by the Center to gather data and study the impact of the current economic downturn on the Marin nonprofit community. It was modeled on the Bay-Area-wide nonprofit pulse survey done by the United Way of the Bay Area in November 2008. Highlights include:

• Funding: Approximately 59% of nonprofits reported a decrease in revenue in the last quarter (July 1-September 30) ranging from 1% to over 10%. Many experienced funding changes with 46% reporting a decrease in individual donations and 36% saying that corporate and foundation giving was down. Delay in receiving committed state grants due to delay in the approval of the California budget was cited by 11% of the respondents.
  
  A little over 90% of the organizations surveyed said they are planning to dedicate more staff and board time to fundraising. 63% will look for new streams of revenue or use their reserve (31%) to cover expenditures.

• Cost Reduction: Many nonprofits (34%) aimed to cut costs by reducing staff hours while others (16%) said they would eliminate entire programs or cut services (18%) to remain economically viable.

• Increase in Demand for Services: Overall, Marin nonprofits saw a modest increase in demand for services. Over half the respondents said that the demand remained the same while 29% saw a significant increase in demand.  Only 45% of the organizations said they would be able to meet rising demand for their services.

The survey got its strongest response from the human services segment of the nonprofit community (23%) followed by art and culture (16%) and education (13%). In spite of the grim economic forecast, Marin nonprofits largely remained optimistic of what the future holds for them.

This online survey is the first of four quarterly surveys that the Center proposes to conduct in order to collect ongoing data on the Marin nonprofit sector and its response to the economic downturn. To read the full survey report visit http://cvnl.org/community/news_issues.html.