Survey: Local nonprofits still facing ongoing challenges

PROVIDENCE – Low pay and limited benefits offered for employees due to having few resources, having few donors contributing to their causes and responding to more community needs now than what was seen during the COVID-19 pandemic are among the challenges nonprofits continue to face, according to the latest survey results from United Way of Rhode Island Inc., the organization’s Alliance for Nonprofit Impact and the Grantmakers Council of Rhode Island.

The organizations who administered the survey – in which 329 nonprofits responded – say the results paint a “concerning picture” of ongoing challenges facing the nonprofit sector, and those problems jeopardize the sector’s sustainability. According to the survey, fewer than half of the respondents said they offer retirement benefits to employees. Additionally, just 60% offer dental coverage and 62% offer medical benefits.

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About 23% of the surveyed nonprofits said they’re paying entry-level staff less than $15.50 per hour, meaning some nonprofit workers may qualify for government assistance programs despite being employed, United Way says. More than half of the survey respondents said they had job vacancies for longer than three months and 53% said compensation was a primary barrier in filling those positions.

Plus, 57% of nonprofit respondents said they have fewer than 100 individual donors contributing to their cause. All the while, close to two-thirds of survey respondents said they’re addressing a higher level of community need now than they did during the pandemic.

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“Nonprofits are Rhode Island’s human services infrastructure, and we need to invest in them in the same way we think about our bridges and roads infrastructure,” Nancy Wolanski, director of the Alliance for Nonprofit Impact, said in a statement. “We have nonprofits that have not had their state contracts adjusted in a decade, yet continue to provide essential services. For-profit businesses would have to shut their doors if they were expected to sell products at less than they cost to produce, but that is what state contracts ask nonprofits to do on a regular basis. It’s untenable.”

A majority of survey respondents expressed excitement about the new alliance, which launched in January, and its offerings, including leadership cohort trainings, professional development, and data and research assistance.

James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette