STATE OF THE NONPROFIT SECTOR IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY

Annual State of the Sector Report, 2002 – 2012

Examines the role of nonprofit sector in Los Angeles County

Focus on civic engagement

Things the sector must do in order to build social capital

Data on 6108 nonprofit organizations in 1,766 Census Tracts in Los Angeles County

Defining Social CapitalPierre Bourdieu (1930 – 2002) 'Social capital is the 'the aggregate of the actual or potential resources which are linked to possession of a durable network of more or less institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintance and recognition' (Bourdieu 1983)Robert Putnam (born 1941) 'Whereas physical capital refers to physical objects and human capital refers to the properties of individuals, social capital refers to connections among individuals – social networks and the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from them. In that sense social capital is closely related to what some have called “civic virtue.” The difference is that “social capital” calls attention to the fact that civic virtue is most powerful when embedded in a sense network of reciprocal social relations. A society of many virtuous but isolated individuals is not necessarily rich in social capital' (Putnam 2000)

Point Density of Nonprofit Organizations

Poverty Rate in Last Decade

NHSO Revenue Stream

Declining Expenditures across all Counties

UCLA Center for Civil Society interested in studying NHSO by count of people living belowpoverty line by 100,000 peoplein population in order to assess which tracts require attentionfor further study

Area in Westchester outlier (due to small population numbersFrom Census Data)

Organizations servicing African Americans hardest hit

White Board Members seems crucial

Surviving organizations on average 7 years older

Median revenue stream4 times larger

Program evaluation and Strategicplan seemed crucial

Findings from Study The data show that in all five counties, small

organizations occupy a greater share of the nonprofit sector.

Ten to 20 percent of the surviving nonprofits were so understaffed and stressed that they had trouble finding the time and data to complete the survey.

Sixty percent of the human services nonprofits reported that their revenue had decreased or stayed the same in the previous three years.

Forty-one percent had cut programs. Eighty-one percent reported staff turnover in the last

three years.

Recommendations Increase data gathering and sharing, collaboration and strategic

planning across the nonprofit, philanthropic, government and academic sectors that may combat the geographic and limited resource challenges.

Focus on poverty first. This report provides further evidence that the Great Recession, like all economic downturns, has been devastating for low and no income populations.

Promote, cultivate, encourage and inspire increased private and personal giving in Los Angeles.

Strengthen advocacy. Participation in advocacy activities, like collaboration, has increased over the last decade. This may be the only means for survival for many groups.

Consider and re-consider opportunities for collaboration, partnership, and mergers that would lead to stronger safety nets for the most vulnerable.

Engage in capacity-building activities that will lead to stronger dialogues and opportunities for advocacy and collaboration.