Research, Reports, and Data on the Nonprofit Sector

Nonprofits depend upon quality research to, among other things, increase their understanding, improve their operations and programs, and advance their public policy and public awareness initiatives.

Nonprofit Impact Matters: How America’s Charitable Nonprofits Strengthen Communities and Improve Lives

In addition to telling the story of the nonprofit sector from the nonprofit perspective, the Nonprofit Impact Matters site houses extensive data, up-to-date research, and key facts on the sector, including state-by-state nonprofit data and reports. View additional nonprofit sector research and data

Recent Reports from the National Council of Nonprofits

• 2023 Nonprofit Workforce Survey Results: Communities Suffer as Nonprofit Workforce Shortage Crisis Continues (August 2023)
• The Scope and Impact of Nonprofit Workforce Shortages (December 2021) 
• Strengthening State and Local Economies in Partnership with Nonprofits: Principles, Recommendations, and Models for Investing Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (October 2021, updated April 2022)
• See the data pages on our Nonprofit Impact Matters site for state-level data and reports.

State Nonprofit Economic Impact Reports

Alabama

• State of the Sector (2024)

Alaska

• Alaska’s Nonprofit Sector: Generating Economic Impact (2021)

Previous Reports

• Alaska's Nonprofit Sector: Generating Economic Impact 
• Alaska Nonprofit Capacity Report (2016) 

Arizona

• Beyond the Bottom Line: The Economic and Social Impact of Arizona Nonprofits (2018)
• Arizona Nonprofits: Economic Power, Positive Impact (2016)

California

• Causes Count: The Economic Power of California's Nonprofit Sector (2019)

Colorado

• Colorado Nonprofit Economic Impact Report (2024)

Previous Reports

• Colorado Nonprofit Salaries & Benefits Survey (2023)

• Colorado Nonprofit Economic Impact Study (2019)

Connecticut

• State of the Connecticut Nonprofit Sector (2022)

District of Columbia

• Nonprofits Count (2016)

Florida

• Florida Nonprofits Survey 2023 (2024)

Previous Reports

• Economic Benefits of Florida's Nonprofit Sector (2023)
• Florida Nonprofits Survey 2022 (2023)
• Giving in Florida (2022)
• COVID-19 Effects on Florida Nonprofits (2021)

Hawai`i

• Hawaii's Nonprofit Sector Report (2016)

Idaho

• State of the Sector Report (2022)

Illinois

• Giving in Illinois (2019)

Indiana

• Nonprofit Salary Survey (2023)

Kentucky

• More Than Charity: Kentucky's Nonprofit Sector (2024)
• More Than Charity: Kentucky's Nonprofit Sector (2020)

Louisiana

• ​State of the Nonprofit Sector Economic Report (2022)

Maine

• Adding Up Impact: Maine Nonprofits at Work (2021)

Maryland

• Maryland Nonprofits by the Numbers (2021)

Previous Reports

• COVID-19 Pandemic and Racial Equity Survey
• Strengthening Communities: The Impact of the Nonprofit Sector on Maryland’s Lower Eastern Shore (2019)
• Nonprofits Count (2016)

Massachusetts

• Essential or Not? The Critical Need for Human Services Workers (2023)

Previous Reports

 

• The Nonprofit Sector Jobs Engine and Strategies for Strengthening It (2019)
• Beyond Social Value: The Economic Impact of the Human Services Sector (2015)
• Poverty in Massachusetts: Lower Than Average But Far Too High, Especially for Children

Michigan

• Economic Benefits of Michigan's Nonprofit Sector (2019)
• 2015 Michigan Civic Health Index

Minnesota

• Minnesota Nonprofit Economy Report

Missouri

• Kansas City Nonprofit Impact Report (2020)
• 2015 Landscape Report: Quantifying Missouri's Nonprofit Sector

Montana

• Montana Nonprofit Economic Impact Report (2023)

Nebraska

• Nebraska's Nonprofit Sector (2019)

New Hampshire

• New Hampshire's Nonprofit Sector in Brief  (2019)

New Jersey

• New Jersey Nonprofit Trends and Outlook 2024

Previous Reports

• New Jersey Nonprofits 2023: Trends and Outlook
• New Jersey Nonprofits 2022: Trends and Outlook

New York

• State of the Nonprofit Sector in New York State (2024)

Previous Reports

• In Every County, Across All Budget Sizes: White Overrepresentation in the New York City Area’s Nonprofit Leadership (2023)
• State of the Nonprofit Sector in New York State (2023)
• The Economic Power of the Hudson Valley's Charitable Nonprofit Sector (2022)
• The Economic Impact of NYC Nonprofit Organizations (2020)

North Carolina 

• Nonprofits' Impact on North Carolina (2016)
• Essential: Our State's Nonprofit Sector is a Vital Economic Engine (2015)

North Dakota

• North Dakota Nonprofit Sector Impact (2019)

Oregon

• Oregon State of the Sector Report (2020)  

South Carolina

• South Carolina's Nonprofit Sector Impact (2018)

Tennessee

• 2023 State of the Mid-South Nonprofit Sector Report (2023)
• 2020 State of the Mid-South Nonprofit Sector Report (2021)

Texas

• Built for Texas: Creating a More Connected & Resourced Future for our Nonprofit Sector (2023)
• Built for Texas: The Impact and Opportunity of the Nonprofit Sector (2019)

Utah

• Utah Nonprofit Sector Report (2021)
• Utah Economic Report to the Governor (2021)

Vermont

• Vermont's Nonprofit Sector: An Economic Driver & Vital Community Partner (2019)

Virginia

• Virginia Nonprofit Sector Report (2023)
• State of the Nonprofit Sector on the Virginia Peninsula (2019)

Washington

• 2022 Nonprofit Economic Impact Report

Wisconsin

• Nonprofit Wisconsin in Brief (2019)

Wyoming

• Power and Possibility: the Impact of Wyoming's Nonprofit Sector (2022)

More Reports from the National Council of Nonprofits

• The Nonprofit Overtime Implementation Conundrum (July 2016)
• Toward Common Sense Contracting: What Taxpayers Deserve (May 2014)
• A Dozen Common Sense Solutions to Government-Nonprofit Contracting Problems (December 2013)
• Investing for Impact: Indirect Costs Are Essential for Success (September 2013)
• Partnering for Impact: Government-Nonprofit Contracting Reform Task Forces Produce Results for Taxpayers (April 2013)
• Three Simple Things Statewide and Local Elected Officials Can Do to Strengthen Communities, Improve Government, and Save Taxpayers Money (October 2012)
• Three Simple Things State Legislators Can Do to Strengthen Communities, Improve Government, and Save Taxpayers Money (October 2012)
• Costs, Complexification, and Crisis: Government’s Human Services Contracting “System” Hurts Everyone (October 2010)
• State Budget Crises: Ripping the Safety Net Held by Nonprofits (March 2010)

Notable Regularly Updated Reports on Philanthropy and the Nonprofit Sector

• Building Movement Project
• Fundraising Effectiveness Project
• Giving USA 
• Leading with Intent 
• Nonprofit Impact Matters
• State of the Sector Survey

Sources of Research on the Nonprofit Sector

• Association for Research on Nonprofits and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA)
• Candid's U.S. Social Sector Dashboard
• Congressional Research Service
• Council on Foundations
• Foundation Center
• George Mason University Center on Nonprofits, Philanthropy, and Social Enterprise
• Government Accountability Office
• Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy at Grand Valley State University
• International Society for Third-Sector Research
• Johns Hopkins University, Nonprofit Economic Data Project
• The Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University
• National Center for Charitable Statistics
• National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy
• Nonprofit Quarterly

• Regulatory breadth index (RBI)  

• Stanford Social Innovation Review
• Urban Institute