Following a few years of investment in their technology, infrastructure and internal resources, many nonprofits now have the revenue, organizational culture, and donor networks to execute plans to deepen, and perhaps transform, long-term impacts on the communities they serve.
This is according to authors of BDO’s 2024 Nonprofit Standards, a Benchmarking Survey. The survey team interviewed 250 nonprofit leaders, including financial health and performance, spending priorities, future outlooks, and the factors driving them to reevaluate their missions. It was fielded this past May by Rabin Roberts Research. Those interviewed were from health and human services organizations, public charities, colleges and universities, grantmakers, and international nongovernmental organizations.
When it comes to technology, 82% of the nonprofit leaders reported using artificial intelligence (AI) in some capacity, including for financial tasks (53%), program optimization and/or impact assessment (43%) and organizational strategy (40%).
“Nonprofits are experiencing a foundational shift. They’ve overcome the challenges that defined recent years and are now looking to proactively plan the futures of their organizations, Andrea Espinola Wilson, managing principal and co-leader of BDO’s Nonprofit & Education practice, said via a statement.
Key findings from the report include:
* Nonprofits experience growth: 52% of nonprofit leaders reported an increase in revenue during their most recent fiscal year and 59% anticipate their revenue will increase further during the next 12 months. Additionally, 62% of nonprofits have more than seven months of operating reserves on hand.
* Evolution ahead: 73% of nonprofit managers said they plan to meaningfully expand or shift the scopes of their missions during the next 12 months. This reevaluation of scope is in response to board member pressure, evolving geopolitical, environmental, and social factors, and pressure from funders.
* Spending plans reveal organizational priorities: As they consider what comes next, 52% of nonprofit managers said they are increasing investments in new programs. Other areas where spending increased include technology (52%) and risk management and compliance (45%).
* Nonprofits stand apart from election results: Nonprofit leaders did not think that the outcome of the 2024 U.S. presidential election will radically impact their operations and fundraising with 51% anticipating a Democrat party presidential victory will have a neutral impact on donations, and 64% believing a Republican presidential victory would have a neutral impact on donations.