Nonprofits see glimmers of hope

Most of the nonprofit organizations in southeastern Wisconsin are bouncing back from the Great Recession and believe the worst days are behind them, according to the Public Policy Forum’s annual Report Card on Charitable Giving.

In each of the past 15 years, the Public Policy Forum has surveyed local nonprofit leaders to gauge the financial health of their organizations and their success in generating support from philanthropic and government entities.

This year’s Report Card is based on the November survey responses of 95 nonprofit leaders.

In a change from the previous two years, survey respondents this year report greater fiscal stability and more optimism about the future. It appears the nonprofit sector may have seen the bottom of the recession’s impacts, with a greater number of nonprofit leaders reporting they are financially healthy – and fewer reporting chronic financial problems – than in 2009 or 2010.

It is also clear, however, that nonprofit organizations have yet to bounce back to their pre-recession status, and that most continue to be challenged to meet increasing demands for their services within the context of their budget constraints.