About This Profile

Across the United States, the charitable sector generates incredible impact on both communities and economies. This profile is a snapshot of major statistics about Michigan’s charitable community. It’s designed to give you a broad sense of the scale and diversity of nonprofits, foundations, and charities across the state. A downloadable PDF version is available above.

Employment by Nonprofit Service Area

Michigan’s charitable community employs individuals committed to the common good across a diverse range of organization types.

Number of Michigan Nonprofit Organizations

• All nonprofit organizations: 42,886
• 501(c)(3) Public Charities (includes some religious organizations): 28,270
• 501(c)(3) Private and Public Foundations: 2,556
• Other 501(c) Nonprofit Organizations*: 12,050
  * includes civic leagues, chamber of commerce, veterans organizations, etc.

Economic Impact of the Michigan Nonprofit Sector

• Employs more than 397,128 people – almost 11% of the state’s workforce
• Pays almost $20 billion in wages annually
• Generates more than $81.3 billion in annual revenues
• Holds assets of $232.7 billion
• Michigan foundations annually give over $1.6 billion
• Michiganders give almost $5 billion to charity each year, representing 3 percent of household income

Public Charities and Foundations Benefit Michigan Communities

Advance solutions for challenges facing society
Our urban centers are on the front lines of advancing solutions that increase socioeconomic mobility. These include access to quality, affordable housing; vibrant, connected neighborhoods; good jobs; meaningful workforce preparation; and reliable transit. The Kresge Foundation is committed to advancing this reality. In 2018, The Kresge Foundation committed 98 grants totaling $23,070,740 to organizations in Detroit.

Give voice to the people they serve
Kids’ Food Basket has conducted its anti-hunger campaign for over 15 years. Now serving communities in Grand Rapids and Muskegon, the organization provides nearly 8,200 school-aged children with sack suppers every day. As part of their mission, KFB encourages the community’s youth to understand hunger challenges: a full third of their donated hours come from volunteers under age 18.

Contribute to vibrant communities
The Detroit Zoological Society is a leader in wildlife conservation and animal welfare that inspires the community. With 261 employees and more than 1,000 volunteers, the Detroit Zoo accommodates more than 1.3 million visitors annually as the largest paid family attraction in the state.

Advance solutions for challenges facing society
Based in Traverse City, Conflict Resolution Services provides high-quality professional dispute resolution services. In one year alone, CRS served over 800 individuals and volunteer mediators donated more than 500 hours of their time facilitating over 300 cases.

Sources

Note: The “nonprofit sector” encompasses organizations that are defined as tax-exempt under section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code. This includes both public charities and private foundations [501(c)(3)] and other nonprofits such as civic league organizations [501(c)(4)]. Exceptions are noted when relevant. Wages, Number of nonprofit employees, and Employment by Nonprofit Service
Area

The 2019 nonprofit employment report, Lester M. Salamon and Chelsea L. Newhouse, S. Wojciech Sokolowski, Nonprofit Employment Bulletin #47, Johns Hopkins Center for Civil Society Studies, 2019 {Data is 2016, page 3} http://ccss.jhu.edu/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2019/01/2019-NP-EmploymentReport_FINAL_1.8.2019.pdf
Michigan Nonprofit Association, Economic Benefits of Michigan’s Nonprofit Sector, 2014. https://www.mnaonline.org/docman/uncategorized/281-economic-impact-of-nonprofitsector-2014/file {Data are 2013}

Number of Nonprofits
Urban Institute, National Center for Charitable Statistics, State Summary reports http://www.nccs.urban.org/statistics/profiles.cfm {Data are 2013}
Asset and Revenues Urban Institute, National Center for Charitable Statistics, “Registered Nonprofit Organizations by State (BMF 12/2015)” http://nccsweb.urban.org/tablewiz/bmf.php {Data are 2015}

Foundation Giving
The Foundation Center, FC Stats: “Foundation Stats: Total Grantmaking Foundations” {Data are 2015} http://data.foundationcenter.org/#/foundations/all/state:MI/total/list/2015

Individual Giving
How America Gives, 2014. The Chronicle of Philanthropy https://philanthropy.com/interactives/how-america-gives#state/26 {Data are 2012}.

Nonprofit Examples:
The Kresge Foundation: https://kresge.org/sites/default/files/library/kresge_ar_18_0.pdf Kids’ Food Basket: http://www.kidsfoodbasket.org/our-purpose/what-we-do and https://www.kidsfoodbasket.org/volunteers/ Detroit Zoological Society: http://detroitzoo.org/about/your-detroit-zoo/

Conflict Resolution Services: https://crsmediationtc.org/ and https://crsmediationtc.org/about/history/

Updated: September 2019