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

The story of the nonprofit sector, told from the nonprofit perspective for the first time.
Read the report and view additional data

State Nonprofit Economic Impact Reports

• Alaska
  • Alaska's Nonprofit Sector: Generating Economic Impact  (2018)
  • 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 Study (2019)
• District of Columbia
  • Nonprofits Count (2016)
• Florida
  • Economic Impact Report (2017)
• Hawai`i
  • Hawaii's Nonprofit Sector Report (2016)
• Idaho
  • The Economic Impacts of Idaho's Nonprofit Organizations (2017)
  • 2016 Northwest Nonprofit Capacity Report (2016)
• Illinois
  • Building a Stronger Illinois
  • Giving in Illinois (2017)
• Kentucky
  • More Than Charity: Kentucky's Nonprofit Sector (2020)
• Maine
  • Adding Up Impact: Maine Nonprofits at Work (2019)
• Maryland
  • Nonprofits Count (2016)
  • Strengthening Communities: The Impact of the Nonprofit Sector on Maryland’s Lower Eastern Shore (2019)
• Massachusetts
  • 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 (2014)
  • 2015 Michigan Civic Health Index
• Minnesota
  • Minnesota Nonprofit Economy Report (2017)
• Missouri
  • Kansas City Nonprofit Impact Report (2020)
  • 2015 Landscape Report: Quantifying Missouri's Nonprofit Sector
• Montana
  • Montana Nonprofit Sector Reports (2019)
  • 2016 Northwest Nonprofit Capacity Report (2016)
• Nebraska
  • Nebraska's Nonprofit Sector (2019)
• New Hampshire
  • New Hampshire's Nonprofit Sector in Brief  (2019)
• New Jersey
  • New Jersey Non-Profits 2020: Trends and Outlook
• 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
  • Inside the Mid-South Nonprofit Sector (2014)
• Texas
  • Built for Texas: The Impact and Opportunity of the Nonprofit Sector (2019)
• Utah
  • Utah Nonprofit Fact Sheet (2019)
  • Utah Economic Report to the Governor (2019)
• Virginia
  • State of the Nonprofit Sector on the Virginia Peninsula (2019)
• Vermont
  • Vermont's Nonprofit Sector: An Economic Driver & Vital Community Partner (2019)
• Washington
  • Washington State Nonprofit Sector Report (2016)
  • Other research on the nonprofit sector in Washington State
• Wisconsin
  • Nonprofit Wisconsin in Brief (2019)
• Wyoming
  • Wyoming's Nonprofit Sector (2016)

Past Reports from the National Council of Nonprofits

• Nonprofit Impact Matters (September 2019)
• 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

• Foundation Stats (Foundation Center)
• Giving USA (Giving USA Foundation)
• The Nonprofit Almanac (Urban Institute)
• Nonprofit Impact Matters (National Council of Nonprofits - national and state-level data)
• Leading with Intent (Governance data from BoardSource)
• State of the Sector Survey (Nonprofit Finance Fund)

Sources of Research on the Nonprofit Sector

• Association for Research on Nonprofits and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA)
• Congressional Research Service
• Council on Foundations
• Foundation Center
• Government Accountability Office
• Grand Valley State University, Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy & Nonprofit Leadership
• 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
• Stanford Social Innovation Review
• Urban Institute