Several years after a state report showed that most Prince George's nonprofits are underfunded, an updated study shows modest increases, but the sector still lags behind the rest of the state’s $72.72 billion industry — especially in neighboring Montgomery County.
The number of nonprofits in Prince George’s grew 40 percent during the last five years, almost twice the state average of 21 percent growth, according to a new report by Maryland Nonprofits. But most of the county’s nonprofits are small: 81 percent of its 4,032 nonprofits operate on a budget of less than $25,000, versus a state average of 68 percent.
All told, Prince George’s nonprofits employ 15,085 people — 5 percent of the county’s private-sector employment — and generate $3.2 billion in combined revenues. In comparison, Montgomery nonprofits have 41,640 employees — 9 percent of the county’s private employment — and generate $24.2 billion in revenues.
"As a longtime [Prince George’s] county resident, it's troubling to see these numbers," said Glen O'Gilvie, executive director of the Center for Nonprofit Advancement in Washington, D.C., which helps Prince George’s nonprofits in their outreach efforts.
Statewide, employment in the nonprofit sector grew 9.5 percent. Leading the way was Howard County, with 20.2 percent growth, followed by Anne Arundel, 20.0 percent; Prince George’s, 12.4 percent; and Montgomery, 10.8 percent.
But the report also revealed signs that Prince George’s may be making strides, with many of the improvements attributed to support organizations such as the Human Services Coalition of Prince George's County in Landover, which offers capacity-building programs and provides networking opportunities.
For example, the number of Prince George’s nonprofits with budgets surpassing $1 million increased 19 percent, bringing the county in line with the state average.
Among these growing nonprofits is the Maryland Community Connection in Landover, which has gone from virtually no funding to $2 million within five years, said Executive Director André Coates. Her nonprofit supports people with developmental disabilities by helping with job-finding and at-home services.
Coates praised the Human Services Coalition and its incubator program as a significant force behind her agency’s growth. She especially stressed the incubator's establishing collaboration among nonprofits.
"A lot of the time when new organizations start, they're isolated and not familiar with the resource or contacts in the community. A team effort can give additional knowledge. ... If problems arise, you can just call up other nonprofit executive directors and ask their advice, even if they're not in your field," she said.
The incubator has supported 16 nonprofits with its assistance programs, with two of these growing their budgets to more than $1 million and the entire group bringing in about $3.2 million, said Jerry Adams, executive director of the coalition. Coalition support has boosted that total to $4 million with help from a $275,000, three-year federal grant.
"We've got to expand on that," Adams said. "We still have a long way to go, but we're encouraged to see some improvement."
The coalition also manages its Grant U program to help identify grant opportunities for grant-ready nonprofits and plans to work with the Freddie Mac Foundation this year to revamp homeless services in the county with a $150,000 investment from the foundation, he said.
"You can see these advocacy and capacity-building efforts paying off in this study," said Heather Iliff, director of Maryland Nonprofits Consulting Group, which prepared the report. "As we try hard to make services available to as many nonprofits as possible, you can see that the size of the challenge is enormous."
All Shades of Pink in Capitol Heights is a four-year-old nonprofit that helps families dealing with breast cancer and manages a program to make and provide blankets for cancer patients upon or after surgery. All Shades of Pink has grown from an underfunded operation to one with a budget of $150,000 with support from the coalition, said Executive Director Denice Whalen-White.
A major challenge for most small nonprofits is not having a clear business plan or core competency, she said.
"Lots of the time, people just have a passion and they jump in," she said. Whalen-White said these young organizations tend to throw all of their fundraising efforts into one event and do not understand how to diversify their fundraising initiatives. She said the incubator program helped her understand how to create relationships and what situations to expect when managing a nonprofit.
Further complicating the county’s nonprofits’ situation is the low per capita spending among them. Prince George’s nonprofits spend $21,853 per person each year, while Montgomery County’s spend $84,131 and the state average is $60,765, according to the report. Prince George's nonprofits’ per capita revenue is also the lowest in the state, $3,729, compared with $24,939 in Montgomery County and $12,596 statewide.
Many of the county's challenges with education and public safety could be the result of this underfunding, O'Gilvie said.
"A cultural shift needs to happen in Prince George's," he said, emphasizing that all sectors need to push long-term sustainability among nonprofits and speak with one clear voice. He also questioned whether the funding situation could actually be worse than the report suggests, due to some nonprofits benefiting from one-time funding injections such as the federal stimulus package.
O'Gilvie said nonprofits need to understand how to build upon the infrastructure bolstered by such one-time infusions.
Most nonprofits also look for support from new County Executive Rushern L. Baker III (D) and his experience with nonprofit management. Adams said his organization looks forward to being a liaison between nonprofits and Baker's new county contracts office.
"It's very exciting to see all this coming along," he said.
lrobbins@gazette.net
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