Though many people are not aware of it, the nonprofit community is an enormous contributor to the American economy:  It provides 5 percent of the nation's entire GDP.¹ 

EMPLOYMENT

In 2005, the last year for which full statistics are available, nonprofits employed 12.9 million individuals, or approximately 9.7 percent of the country's workforce.² To provide a comparison, more people work in the sector than in the finance industry, including insurance and real estate, combined.³ In addition, in 2008 volunteer activity of 8 billion recorded hours produced the equivalent of an estimated 6.8 million full-time employees.

Employees of nonprofit organizations account for 8.1 percent of wages paid in the U.S. in 2006.⁴ The average annual wage for an employee of a nonprofit organization was $34,339 in 2005.⁵

FINANCES

Charitable giving totaled $307.65 billion in 2008, a 2 percent drop in current dollars over 2007, and the first decline since 1987.⁶ In 2004, nearly seven out of ten households gave to charitable causes.⁷

In 2005, the total expenses of all reporting public charities –- public charities required to file Form 990s with the IRS –- totaled nearly $1.1 trillion. Total revenues were estimated also at $1.1 trillion.⁸

Most nonprofits are small. More than 73 percent of reporting public charities reported annual expenses of less than $500,000 in 2005. Less than 4 percent of reporting public charities had expenses greater than $10 million.⁹

The total combined assets of all nonprofits are estimated at $3.4 trillion for 2005.  Reporting public charities held $2 trillion of total assets.¹⁰

Sources of independent sector revenues:¹¹

Dues, fees, and charges – 50%

Includes payments to organizations offering services, such as hospitals, health clinics, and child daycare centers.

Government – 29.4%

Includes grants and money appropriated by the government for services, such as Medicare and Medicaid.

Charitable contributions – 12.3%

• Individuals (living and bequests)
• Foundations
• Corporations

Other sources (including interest income) – 8.3%