Microfinance Focus, April 4, 2012: Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) has released the result of its 2012 State of the Nonprofit Sector Survey. The survey reveals that while 2011 was a year of significant organizational and programmatic changes, many nonprofits are still facing fundamental challenges that threaten the stability of the sector and the well-being of the people they serve. More than 4,500 respondents at nonprofits across USA shared the details of how they are adapting their organizations and finances to current economic conditions.  This survey has been supported by the Bank of America Charitable Foundation.

Some facts of the survey are as follows:

• 85% of nonprofits experienced an increase in the demand for services in 2011.

• This is on top of years of increased demand: previous NFF surveys found that 77% of nonprofits experienced an increase in demand in 2010; 71% experienced an increase in 2009; and 73% experienced an increase in 2008.

• 88% expect an increase in demand for services in 2012.

• 57% have 3 months or less cash-on-hand.

• 87% said their financial outlook won’t get any better in 2012.

Antony Bugg-Levine, CEO of NFF opines, “Nonprofits are adapting to continued economic pressure in all sorts of creative and substantive ways, but for many, these are stopgap measures that won’t make up for the bigger forces at play: decreasing government support, the unwillingness of some private foundations to evolve funding practices, and a lack of necessary support from some boards.”  He added that we must rethink the way we fund solutions to our most pressing social problems.

Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) is nonprofit, philanthropic and social enterprise finance. Founded in 1980, NFF provides loan financing, access to capital and direct advisory services that build the capacity and the financial health of nonprofits.