NFF Releases 2013 State of the Sector Survey Results

Of the nearly six thousand respondents to Nonprofit Finance Fund's fifth annual survey of the nonprofit sector, nine hundred represented arts and culture organizations. The data is posted to NFF's website in the form of an online data analyzer, with arts-specific results here. Some of the highlights:

• 42% of arts organizations reported a surplus in 2012, but only 28% anticipate ending 2013 in the black.

• 64% reported an increase in program demand in 2012, with 75% predicting an increase this year.

• 40% of arts organizations reported some level of comfort talking to their funders about the need for reserves. This is 30% higher than for the entire nonprofit sector. Arts organizations, more than other sectors, also report greater comfort discussing with supporters cash flow, facilities, and working capital needs.

• Still, the sector remains split between the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’: 60% of orgs have three months of cash or less.

• Only 37% of arts groups report regularly collecting data on the impact of their programs. This compares to 53% for all nonprofits nationally.