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North Texas keeps pace with nonprofit growth: Number of organizations increases by 8,000 in two years
By Chris Beattie, cbeattie@starlocalnews.com
North Texas’ nonprofits are significantly spreading their presence in the region’s philanthropic and economic sectors, the Center for Nonprofit Management (CNM) and Conference of Southwest Foundations (CSF) reported this week.
As shown in the latest edition of “Surprising Power: The State of the Nonprofit Sector in North Texas,” the number of registered 501(c)(3) organizations in the region was 28,105 in 2011, up from 19,336 two years prior.
Cynthia B. Nunn, CNM president, and Lucille DiDomenico, CSF executive director, discussed the report’s findings at a recent meeting held by Communities Foundation of Texas.
The CNM released a similar report in 2009. Through a partnership with CSF, the 2012 report added information about grant-making and giving trends in North Texas. The report says its data stem from research from “a variety of local and national sources,” and focuses on the region’s 16 counties: Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Erath, Hood, Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman, Navarro, Palo Pinto, Parker, Rockwall, Somervell, Tarrant and Wise.
The report differentiates between registered 501(c)(3) organizations and 501(c)(3) public charities, which account for the largest of more than 30 types of tax-exempt organizations. The tax-exempt sector also includes advocacy organizations, labor unions, business and professional associations, cemetery companies, state-chartered credit unions and fraternal societies, among others.
The growth rate of the nonprofit sector has surpassed the rate of the business and government sectors, according to the Urban Institute, a source in the report. More than 1.5 million nonprofits are registered with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the U.S., with the total increasing by 25 percent between 2001 and 2011.
And North Texas is in step with the trend. The number of nonprofits in the region has increased by about 45 percent since 2008, the report says.
Dallas County maintains the most registered nonprofits (20,810 organizations and public charities), with Tarrant County in second (11,810), but all 16 counties have seen an increase. Collin (4,213) and Denton (3,854) rank closest behind the two largest counties, and Johnson County has the next most at 950 organizations.
Human services (28 percent), religion-related services (20 percent), and education and research (18 percent) make up the majority of the nonprofit realm, with arts, culture and humanities, health, environment and animals, and international services accounting for the rest.
Last year, North Texas nonprofits generated more than $27 billion in revenue. They had more than $178 billion in assets – a $139.4 billion hike since 2008, and more than half of nonprofit assets for the entire state, the report found.
Such numbers wouldn’t likely be assumed from operating costs for nonprofits around the nation. Three-fourths of all nonprofits operate with an income less than $100,000. While North Texas nonprofits hold to that ratio, the region is home to 244 nonprofits with $10 million-plus budgets and 160 nonprofits with budgets greater than $5 million, according to the report.
And, as shown in the report, the ratio of “have” versus “give” is tipped in nonprofits’ favor. In North Texas, 948 foundations combine for $7.3 billion in assets and a giving total of $549.2 million.
Still, last year Texas foundations made grants to 2,300 recipients in North Texas, the largest grants going to Botanical Research Institute of Texas, UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Parkland/Foundation/Parkland Health & Hospital System, and Southern Methodist University.
More than 102,000 people are employed by nonprofits in the region. Dallas County is well ahead with about 54,000 nonprofit employees, with Collin (5,000) and Denton (2,500) a distant third and fourth.
Employment with nonprofits has grown by 8 percent in seven years, compared to less than 1 percent growth in private sector employment. The report estimates that the region’s nonprofit employees account for one-fourth of the state’s total nonprofit payroll.
If it wasn’t in 2009, it seems clear nonprofits provide for more than just money, particularly in North Texas.
“The importance of philanthropy to the future of our region cannot be stressed enough,” DiDomenico said. “North Texas’ vitality and success depends on the philanthropic organizations that meet and support our community’s critical needs and issues.”
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