10/15/06

International nonprofits struggling

U.S.-based international nonprofits, a small but significant division of the American charitable sector, are operating on slim cash margins and four in ten ran deficits in 2003, a new report says.

Combined revenues for the group in 2003 were $17.7 billion and expenses were $17.2 billion, says the Urban Institute report, which analyzes data from fiscal years 2001-03 from about 2,600 nonprofits.

The report, "The International Charitable Nonprofit Subsector: Scope, Size, and Revenue," divides U.S.-based international nonprofits into three main categories. And of the three-fourths involved in international development and relief assistance, almost four in 10 had negative operating margins in 2003.

More than two-thirds of the organizations' revenue comes from private contributions while 20 percent is covered by government grants, the report says, with groups with the largest budgets receiving the most government funding.

Organizations report that about 90 percent of their funds go to programs and services, with 7 percent going to administrative costs and 4 percent to fundraising.

Overall, international nonprofits make up only 2 percent of U.S. nonprofits and 2 percent of the revenue of the nonprofit sector, the report says.

[Philanthropy Journal]

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