October 18, 2010; Source: NCJustice.org | A new report from the North Carolina Budget and Tax Center provides a stark picture of the steep reduction in government funds flowing into nonprofits in that state and it warns that the scene is only likely to get worse. Here are some of the key findings:

  • State-funded grants to nonprofit organizations for services such as community and economic development, post-secondary financial aid, assistance with food and shelter, and environmental preservation plummeted more than 25 percent from fiscal year 2008- 09 to fiscal year 2009-10.
  • Total grants to nonprofits from state and federal sources grew in fiscal year 2008-09 due to supplementary funds from the federal Recovery Act, but total grants from state and federal sources declined by 20 percent in fiscal year 2009-10 and are expected to drop further as Recovery Act assistance tapers off in 2011.
  • The decline in state grants to nonprofits coincides with decreasing financial support from private donors and an increase in the need for nonprofits’ services driven by job losses and cutbacks in government-provided services.

In all it appears that nonprofits in the state will have lost a total of $200 million in service money from state and federal sources between last fiscal year and this. Again . . . just in case you thought the recession was over.—Ruth McCambridge