Private Action/Public Good: Maryland's Nonprofit Sector in a Time of Change

In the fall of 1997, Lester Salamon of the Johns Hopkins Center for Civil Society Studies released Private Action/Public Good: Maryland's Nonprofit Sector in a Time of Change.  The study, conducted in cooperation with the Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations, showed how important nonprofits are to the economic well being of Maryland, as well as the challenges currently facing the sector.

Nonprofits are a vital part of the economic engine that drives the state of Maryland. Maryland has nearly 13,000 nonprofit organizations employing more than 185,000 people. Volunteers provide additional labor equivalent to 80,000 persons. Of these 13,000 nonprofits, 40% have been created since 1981, making the sector relatively young. This growth in the sector has helped to make nonprofits a major employer. Between 1989 and 1996, the nonprofit sector accounted for more than half of the jobs created in the state.

Maryland's nonprofits serve a broad cross section of the community.  27% of nonprofits report a neighborhood focus, with an additional 26% focusing their efforts on a city or county wide level. They also serve a diverse clientele, with fewer than 16% of groups reporting that the majority of their clients are poor.

Despite its many strengths, Maryland's nonprofit sector is facing serious challenges, not the least of which is the fact that charitable giving appears to lag far beyond the nation. Charitable giving from individuals, corporations and foundations combined accounts for only 4% of the total operating revenue of local nonprofits, compared to 10% nationally.

In the current environment, nonprofits are experiencing substantial increases in the demand for their services. However, for most organizations, annual revenues have not kept pace with inflation. In addition, most nonprofits are also reporting problems recruiting and retaining staff, as well as volunteers.

In recognition of the importance of this major study, Maryland Nonprofits is making the executive summary of Private Action/Public Good available for download as a Adobe PDF file. In order to view and print out the study, you will need to download the free Acrobat Reader first. If you already have the Acrobat Reader installed, you may download the summary now.