April 17, 2009
Nonprofit Financial Officers Expect Recession to Last Through Year's End
By Debra E. Blum
Nine out of 10 chief financial officers at nonprofit groups believe the U.S. economy will remain in a recession through the end of the year, according to a new survey, and three-quarters of the officials expect their organization’s financial prospects to remain the same or worsen over the next six months.
Trying to adjust to the grim outlook, the survey says charities are taking steps to save money, such as by reducing business travel and holding back raises — moves that are in step with many for-profit businesses.
For-profit businesses, however, may be feeling the pinch of the country’s tightened credit markets even more profoundly than nonprofit groups, according to the survey. Only four — or about 13 percent — of the 32 charities surveyed say they are having trouble accessing credit, compared to the nearly 30 percent of the 119 manufacturing companies in the survey that reported such difficulties.
The survey, conducted by Grant Thornton, a Chicago accounting and consulting company, included 32 charities, three of which have annual revenues topping $100-million. Well over a third of the manufacturing businesses in the survey are that large.
Among the charities, reducing business travel was the most cited cost-cutting measure, at 69 percent.
More than half the groups also said they were not giving raises this year and that they were “refining processes and streamlining” to save money. Just fewer than half said there would be no bonuses this year, and about four out of 10 said they were cutting back on recruiting and hiring.
Twelve groups said they were cutting staff size, and 10 said they were reducing retirement-fund contributions.
Nine out of 10 of the charities’ top financial officers cited employee benefits, including health care and pensions, as the top source of “pricing pressure” on their organization.
More than a third said they were also worried about energy costs. A quarter of the officials cited the cost of insurance as a source of worry.
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