Utah has more than 7,800 registered nonprofit corporations. Some 5,900 are tax-exempt under Internal Revenue Service guidelines.
And like their national counterparts, these "nonprofits are in a state of flux, with high anxiety," according to Ann Mitchell Sackey, National Council of Nonprofit Associations.Part of that anxiety comes from the government-promoted assumption that nonprofit agencies and churches will be able to "pick up the slack" as the government withdraws more and more funding to agencies, she said.
Mitchell Sackey was at the University of Utah Friday to address the 1996 Utah Nonprofits Association Conference, which brought representatives from dozens of Utah agencies together to discuss how to "reweave the safety net." The two-day conference concludes Saturday.
Certain words are beginning to buzz. Alliance. Merger. Partnership. Collaboration. "In a sense, it's a redefining of what nonprofits should do," Mitchell Sackey said in an interview before her speech. With talk of tax reform that would extend the charity tax break only to those who provide for the poor, the nonprofit sector is "fragmenting."
Charles Johnson, Gov. Mike Leavitt's chief of staff, emphasized that how nonprofits face challenges will spell whether they survive. He told the groups they need to "help us work together as partners to break down the turfs, to break down protectionism and to really collaborate as partners."
He cautioned nonprofits that much of their future will be determined by whether they "sustain what you say you will do."
In the middle of all the changes hitting nonprofit agencies, the public is confused, Mitchell Sackey said. They have trouble telling the difference between a nonprofit and for-profit hospital. They don't understand how much money some nonprofit agencies get from the federal government - and how dependent on the government those programs are. They don't realize that private foundations provide only a small portion of the funding that keep nonprofit agencies alive: about $9 billion nationally, divided up among all the nonprofit groups. Private donations make up more than 80 percent of nonprofit funding.
"There are hidden, interdependent relationships that people don't get," she said. "We have consensus we don't know how we'll get to the next millennium if the public is not on the same plane. But how do you educate or increase understanding of the nonprofit sector if you can't lobby or educate formally?"
An umbrella agency like the national association, active in 35 states, and local associations help community-based groups find a "safe place" where they can talk about the issues that effect their communities - and how they can work together to resolve them.
In the meantime, the public can expect to see more competition among agencies for charitable donations. They'll also be forced to compete for dynamic board members, volunteer time and other resources.
But Johnson said that nonprofits are in an excellent position to raise social capital. They can make their case to the executive branch of government and possess enough flexibility to "marry that with the accountability needed" to survive.