Nonprofit Power: Building an Inclusive Democracy
Nonprofit Power: Building an Inclusive Democracy is a 2024 report by Nonprofit VOTE (NV), an organization focused on providing resources to nonprofits to conduct nonpartisan voter engagement. It argues that nonprofits can and should do more to engage with voters—and that doing so has a measurable, and not-so-subtle positive effect on voter turnout. The report is based on a study conducted by NV concerned with measuring the impact of nonprofit voter engagement on voter turnout. Its outcome was a positive 10-point shift in voters who had been engaged by nonprofits in the 2022 midterm election, increasing their likelihood of voting from 46 percent to 56 percent—a figure that rivals and, in many cases, exceeds the turnout produced by conventional political campaigns.
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Should We Put Out a Statement?
Should We Put Out a Statement? is a 2024 thought paper by Seth Chalmer, examining approaches for thinking strategically about how nonprofits should respond to potentially polarizing world events. Since the October 7 massacres in Israel and subsequent war in Gaza, many nonprofits have struggled to decide whether and how to respond publicly. That decision is more difficult if there are passionate disagreements about the issue among professional teams, boards, funders, and community partners. It’s often impossible to talk about public advocacy without inflaming internal disagreements.
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2022 Survey - A Closer Look at LA-Area Nonprofits
The Committee for Greater LA launched the Strengthening LA’s Nonprofit Organizations project in Fall 2022 to encourage the next Mayor of Los Angeles to reset how the City partners with nonprofits that deliver critical health, housing, employment and other services for millions of Angelenos. As part of the project, the Nonprofit Finance Fund interviewed over a dozen nonprofits with direct City contracts, former and current city administrators, and other subject matter experts in addition to analyzing 2022 State of the Nonprofit Sector data for LA City nonprofits to inform recommendations for the Mayor of LA.
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2023 Not-for-Profit Trends Report
2023 Not-for-Profit Trends Report includes polling data collected from 225 executives from across the nonprofit sector. The report, prepared by accounting firm UHY LLP, states that 41.3 percent of nonprofits reported no change in their total contributions over the last 12 months, while 34.9 percent saw declines and 23.8 percent saw increases. Fear of recession was the top reported cause for declining donations.
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How Nonprofits Can Change Unfair Laws
It can seem like nonprofits have the deck stacked against them and that bringing about meaningful change is next to impossible. Even when changing government policies is the only way forward, the task may appear daunting. Nonprofits are subject to many laws and regulations with unintended consequences that adversely affect the sector’s ability to make a bigger impact. Bringing about change is always an uphill road, but when communities work together, there’s no telling how much they may achieve. The authors use a real example of a successful effort to change policy at the state level to present a roadmap for how nonprofits and their communities can face and win against the Goliath of government policies.
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Parenting in America Today
Concerns about their children’s mental health top the list of parental worries in the United States, a report from the Pew Research Center finds. Based on survey responses from 3,757 U.S. adults who are parents of at least one child under the age of 18, the report (44 pages, PDF), found that 40 percent of respondents were extremely or very worried that their children might struggle with anxiety or depression and 35 percent were extremely or very worried about their children being bullied. These findings can have direct impact on nonprofits serving children and youth.
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Building a Trust-Based Philanthropy to Shift Power Back to Communities
To realize the deep systemic change that America is demanding, philanthropy must reorganize to build and demonstrate a trust-based culture, invest in community leadership capacity-building, and open up decision-making and information-sharing structures. This shift has important implications for nonprofits and community groups, as well as for foundations and donors.
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How Nonprofits Can Truly Advance Change
Stepping into a nonprofit’s potential to create more visionary change in the world will require significant changes in every aspect of work in the nonprofit arena. And because change happens via collective action by real people, perhaps the most important question to ask is this: If it winds up that what must change is us, are we willing to make that change?
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Measuring Is an Act of Power: A Call for Pro-Black Measurement and Evaluation
This article discusses learning, hopes, and opportunities related to how evaluation professionals in the nonprofit sector can interact best with themes of equity, diversity, inclusion, and antiracism (EDIAR) in their evaluation work.
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America’s Nonprofits Get Out the Vote
This publication presents findings from a new survey on the prevalence of nonprofit voter engagement and its intersection with race, leadership, and community served. For instance, seven in 10 voters say they think it is a good idea for nonprofits to offer voter support services, like voter registration, election reminders, and election day transportation. Additionally, nonprofits can effectively reach communities underrepresented at the polls, including low-income, young, and voters of color. Finally, nonprofit voter engagement significantly boosts voter turnout, especially among those otherwise underrepresented in America. The evidence is clear – nonprofit voter engagement is broadly supported, reaches underrepresented communities, and boosts voter turnout to foster a more inclusive democracy.
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