Health of the U.S. Nonprofit Sector

Our report provides data, analysis, and recommendations about key areas powering 1.8 million nonprofits, including finances, human capital, governance, trust, public policy, and advocacy.

Health of the U.S. Nonprofit Sector

Our report provides data, analysis, and recommendations about key areas powering 1.8 million nonprofits, including finances, human capital, governance, trust, public policy, and advocacy.

Overview

Independent Sector regularly releases Health of the U.S. Nonprofit Sector reports – an evolving and growing resource of data, analysis, and recommendations about key areas powering more than 1.8 million U.S. nonprofits. Since 2020, when Independent Sector launched these reports, the focal points have included: Financial Resources, Human Capital, Governance and Trust, and Public Policy Advocacy. The reports make a broad set of measures easily accessible and present them side-by-side, so stakeholders and key decisionmakers can quickly see the most accurate snapshot of the state of civil society.

The January 2024 Health of the U.S. Nonprofit Sector: Quarterly Review covers sector health data from from 2022 through the third quarter of 2023. The report includes data from a range of sector research as well as Independent Sector’s analysis of nonprofits’ economic contributions and workforce demographics.

Key Insights

Value of Sector

Nonprofits comprised 5.6% of GDP and contributed $1.4 trillion to the economy in 2022.

Financial Resources

The number of donors decreased 10% in 2022.

Human Capital

20% of nonprofit workers struggled to afford basic necessities in 2021.

Human Capital

59% of people did not volunteer in 2022.

Public Policy and Advocacy

Only 31% of nonprofits reported advocating or lobbying in 2022, a significantly smaller percentage than 20 years ago.

Governance and Trust

52% of the U.S. public trusted nonprofits in 2023, down 7 percentage points from 2020.

Related Resources

Sign Up For Our Emails

Receive the latest news, research, resources, events, and inspiration from Independent Sector and our national summit.