UHY Advisors has released its 2024 Not-for-Profit Trends Report, which polled over 230 executives within not-for-profit organizations across sectors including healthcare, education, social / community services, and others with annual revenues ranging from less than $250,000 to over $10,000,000.

“The not-for-profit industry has been trying to find its feet as disruption continues and global economic conditions remain volatile,” said Brian Kearns, partner and a leader of UHY’s Not-for-Profit practice. “Providing essential support to those in need, the not-for-profit sector has continued to see sky-high demand for services but is struggling to deliver as they are met with post-COVID economic challenges and a societal shift. This year’s report looks into some of the most pressing issues facing not-for-profit organizations and how they are trying to solve them.”

Key findings in this year’s report include:

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Only a third of organizations see a boost in funding

Per the study’s findings, only 36 percent of organizations have seen an increase in funding over last year, while 24 percent have said that they have seen funding decrease. This is a slight improvement over 2023 where only 24 percent of organizations saw an increase in funding while 35 percent saw a decrease.

Due to these economic conditions, 27 percent of respondents have said that their organizations have considered merging with another organization. In addition, 41 percent of respondents said they have partnered with other organizations to deliver programs and services, with 38 percent saying they have started targeting new populations as part of broader innovation efforts to meet service demand and fundraising needs.

Nearly two-thirds of organizations consider shifting to corporate donors

Per the research’s results, nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of respondents have considered shifting their fundraising and development strategies more towards corporate donors, with 30 percent deciding to do so and 34 percent choosing to stick with existing strategies. On the other hand, 36 percent have said that the topic of switching to targeting corporate donors “has not come up” within their organization.

Organizations are also showing additional consideration in regards to the profile of the donors they target, with environmental impact (51 percent), societal impact (35 percent) and political views (21 percent) among the biggest considerations in their strategic profile targeting shifts.

Not-for-profits turn to technology to boost performance

Per the study, to boost operational performance during the current economic climate, not-for-profit organizations have continued to turn to technology. When asked what the most important technology tools to implement are mobile payments / crowdfunding tools (31 percent), compliance and regulatory technology (31 percent) and cybersecurity tools (26 percent), were the most cited by respondents.

To read the full 2024 Not-for-Profit Survey and Trends Report and learn more about the challenges and opportunities facing the not-for-profit sector, click here.

About the 2024 UHY Not-for-Profit Survey Trends Report

UHY’s Not-for-Profit Trends Survey is intended to discover the issues that not-for-profit organizations are currently facing, specific pain points, and emerging trends that leadership teams are contending with as the year progresses. UHY sampled participants holding various positions within not-for-profit organizations in a number of different sectors with annual revenues ranging from less than $250,000 to over $10,000,000 during Q4 2023.

Nonprofit