There are more than 6,000 nonprofit organizations in Utah, ranging from the 40th National Square Dance Convention Inc. to Utah Friends of Paleontology.
There are eight United Ways, more than 400 PTA groups and nonprofits for gang investigators, the Utah Symphony, tai-chi and geneology.Nonprofits are big business.
Their leaders say they are also misunderstood and unappreciated. So Thursday, the Utah Nonprofits Association released an economic impact study the group said it hopes will educate the state and lawmakers about the important role of nonprofits.
John T. Nielsen, vice president of Intermountain Health Care, one of the state's largest nonprofits, said people don't understand the "vital" role of the nonprofit sector.
People don't understand nonprofits are not guided by their bottom line and can make money, which goes back into the organization and not to investors, Nielsen said.
The impact study is the first of its kind in Utah and gives financial information for the 2,117 nonprofits left after taking out hard-to-track churches, PTA groups and inactive organizations.
A more detailed report will be given to Gov. Mike Leavitt in January.
It's hard to paint the whole picture of Utah's nonprofits because churches are not held to the same federal tax reporting standards as others nonprofits. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a large player in the state's social service sector, and other churches are not included in most of the study's data. The worth of volunteers' in-kind donation of hours is also not calculated.
But nonprofits deal in the billions of dollars in Utah and probably make up between 5 percent and 10 percent of the state's economy, said Steve Klass, a coordinator for the project.
And their number is growing.
From 7-year-olds kicking a ball in Utah Youth Soccer to the building of shelters for battered women and children, nonprofit organizations are becoming more abundant.
Between 1989 and 1994, Utah nonprofits grew at almost three times the percentage rate of the state's population, according to the State Nonprofit Almanac 1997: Profiles of Charitable Organizations.
In that same time period, Utah was second only to New Mexico in the number of new public charities.
But few nonprofits or foundations evaluate their effectiveness. And to become as productive as possible, nonprofits both locally and nationally need to evaluate and collaborate, said Julie Kilgrow, executive director of the United Way of the Greater Salt Lake Area.
"Unfortunately, there is a world full of need," Kilgrow said. "We need to spend the limited money as wisely as possible." More than one million nonprofits exist in the United States, and they spend nearly $500 billion in services each year.
Instead of one group trying to accomplish 20 different missions, nonprofits should focus on what they do best and collaborate with other groups who do other things well, Kilgrow said.
To help that collaboration, the Utah Nonprofits Association has released the first-ever directory of the state's nonprofit organizations. The directory lists an address, date incorporated in Utah, number of paid staff and income of many of the state's nonprofits.
Also at Thursday's annual meeting, the association gave its lifetime achievement award to Mary Jane Catlin, who has volunteered at the Ogden Nature Center for 20 years.
Catlin was given the Norma Matheson Award for the impact her volunteering has had on the quality of life in her community.