Nonprofit numbers, jobs decline in New York, state report shows
New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. Credit: Jeff Bachner
New York State saw a decline in the number of nonprofit organizations and jobs they provided in a five-year period ending in 2022, in sharp contrast to the picture nationally, according to a new report this week from state Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.
The report said many New York nonprofits are burdened by the lack of timely reimbursement from government agencies for the services they provide New Yorkers.
"It’s a huge problem and has been a problem for decades," Megan Allen, CEO of the Albany-based New York Council of Nonprofits, Inc., said in an interview.
"It’s a huge problem now ...[because] we’re seeing far more nonprofits having to take out credit lines and being in really horrible financial positions. How do they make payroll? How to keep their doors open?" she said, adding: "We are hearing more nonprofits going out of business and just struggling financially."
DiNapoli, in a forward to the report, "The Critical Role of Nonprofits in New York," highlighted nonprofit organizations' importance to the local and the state economies, citing the vast array of services those organizations provide and the number of people they employ. According to the report, there were 33,536 nonprofits in New York in 2022, out of more than 344,000 nationwide.
"Nonprofits have a greater presence in New York than in many other states. While nonprofits in the U.S. accounted for 3.1 percent of all private sector establishments, in New York, the concentration was 5 percent," the report said. New York was second behind California, for its share of nonprofits nationally, at nearly 10%, with California's at nearly 12%.
"Nonprofits provided over 1.3 million jobs with $96.8 billion in total wages, ranking the [New York] State among the highest in the nation for these measures," DiNapoli wrote.
DiNapoli added, "However, nonprofits in New York have been shrinking since 2017, both in number of establishments and in number of jobs, while expanding in the rest of the nation. In all the State’s regions, nonprofit employment in 2022 was lower than in 2017." But the report said New York's nonprofit sector had higher average annual wages than other states.
The report said New York lost 626 nonprofit organizations between 2017 and 2019, but recovered 453 over the next three years, for a net loss of 173 organizations.
The report focused on nonprofit charitable organizations listed as 501(c) (3)s and analyzed data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics between 2017 and 2022, the most recent available, the report said.
According to the report, all of the 10 regions in the state saw employment declines among their nonprofit organizations, although the chart showed that Long Island had the smallest employment decline at 1.3%.
Nassau and Suffolk counties showed an increase in the number of nonprofit organizations between 2017 and 2022 unlike other parts of the state, though the Island still showed losses in nonprofit jobs.
Mark Johnson, DiNapoli's press secretary, wrote in an email: "There were 3,204 nonprofit establishments on Long Island in 2022, 85 more than in 2017. However, there were nearly 2,000 (1,974) fewer jobs over this time period."
The report applauded the vital work that nonprofits do, but said many were hampered by a lack of timely reimbursement from government agencies they are in contract with to provide services, concerns echoed by several Long Island nonprofit leaders.
"Nonprofits provide a wide array of services and benefits to people living in New York, including mental health, early childhood education, shelter and services for the homeless, recovery aid from storms and other weather events, public safety, and arts and cultural programs," the report said.
However, it said nonprofits are often reimbursed late for services by government entities, causing "cash flow burdens — relying on loans or lines of credit to make existing payroll or other expenses, incurring costs for which they are not reimbursed." The report said, "over 5,000 contracts — 56 percent of contracts with State agencies subject to PCL [Prompt Contracting Law] requirements — were processed late," citing a 2023 annual report.
"Organizations are working six, seven, eight months without payment on their contract. That’s a pretty difficult math arrangement. Agencies have to make payroll," Theresa Regnante, president and CEO of United Way of Long Island, based in Deer Park, said in an interview.
Regnante also said the loss of the big infusion of federal dollars during the COVID pandemic that waned in 2022 may have played a role in the loss of jobs in the nonprofit sector, as well as keeping up with competitive wages.
Jeffrey Reynolds, president and CEO of Garden City-based Family & Children's Association (FCA), wrote over email: "The Comptroller's report is exactly on point, in that it highlights, not only the vital services nonprofits provide to local families in need, but our critical roles as employers and regional economic engines."
Reynolds added, "Doing business with government at any level means borrowing money to fill payment gaps and now that interest rates have soared, those dollars could be better spent on services."
Reynolds wrote that government sources provided 88% of revenues to his nonprofit organization. He said FCA employs 320 people and has a $27 million budget for 2025.
Vanessa Baird-Streeter, president and CEO of the Health and Welfare Council of Long Island, a Huntington Station-based nonprofit that is an umbrella agency representing about 200 nonprofits in addition to providing direct services, in an interview noted the "gamut of resources and services" nonprofit organizations provide, and their role as an "economic engine ensuring the financial stability of thousands of families on Long Island."
New York State saw a decline in the number of nonprofit organizations and jobs they provided in a five-year period ending in 2022, in sharp contrast to the picture nationally, according to a new report this week from state Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.
The report said many New York nonprofits are burdened by the lack of timely reimbursement from government agencies for the services they provide New Yorkers.
"It’s a huge problem and has been a problem for decades," Megan Allen, CEO of the Albany-based New York Council of Nonprofits, Inc., said in an interview.
"It’s a huge problem now ...[because] we’re seeing far more nonprofits having to take out credit lines and being in really horrible financial positions. How do they make payroll? How to keep their doors open?" she said, adding: "We are hearing more nonprofits going out of business and just struggling financially."
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
- New York State saw a decline in the number of nonprofit organizations and jobs they provided in a five-year period ending in 2022, a new state report said.
- The report said many New York nonprofits are burdened by the lack of timely reimbursement from government agencies.
- Nassau and Suffolk counties showed an increase in the number of nonprofit organizations between 2017 and 2022, though the Island still showed losses in nonprofit jobs.
DiNapoli, in a forward to the report, "The Critical Role of Nonprofits in New York," highlighted nonprofit organizations' importance to the local and the state economies, citing the vast array of services those organizations provide and the number of people they employ. According to the report, there were 33,536 nonprofits in New York in 2022, out of more than 344,000 nationwide.
"Nonprofits have a greater presence in New York than in many other states. While nonprofits in the U.S. accounted for 3.1 percent of all private sector establishments, in New York, the concentration was 5 percent," the report said. New York was second behind California, for its share of nonprofits nationally, at nearly 10%, with California's at nearly 12%.
"Nonprofits provided over 1.3 million jobs with $96.8 billion in total wages, ranking the [New York] State among the highest in the nation for these measures," DiNapoli wrote.
DiNapoli added, "However, nonprofits in New York have been shrinking since 2017, both in number of establishments and in number of jobs, while expanding in the rest of the nation. In all the State’s regions, nonprofit employment in 2022 was lower than in 2017." But the report said New York's nonprofit sector had higher average annual wages than other states.
The report said New York lost 626 nonprofit organizations between 2017 and 2019, but recovered 453 over the next three years, for a net loss of 173 organizations.
The report focused on nonprofit charitable organizations listed as 501(c) (3)s and analyzed data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics between 2017 and 2022, the most recent available, the report said.
According to the report, all of the 10 regions in the state saw employment declines among their nonprofit organizations, although the chart showed that Long Island had the smallest employment decline at 1.3%.
Nassau and Suffolk counties showed an increase in the number of nonprofit organizations between 2017 and 2022 unlike other parts of the state, though the Island still showed losses in nonprofit jobs.
Mark Johnson, DiNapoli's press secretary, wrote in an email: "There were 3,204 nonprofit establishments on Long Island in 2022, 85 more than in 2017. However, there were nearly 2,000 (1,974) fewer jobs over this time period."
The report applauded the vital work that nonprofits do, but said many were hampered by a lack of timely reimbursement from government agencies they are in contract with to provide services, concerns echoed by several Long Island nonprofit leaders.
"Nonprofits provide a wide array of services and benefits to people living in New York, including mental health, early childhood education, shelter and services for the homeless, recovery aid from storms and other weather events, public safety, and arts and cultural programs," the report said.
However, it said nonprofits are often reimbursed late for services by government entities, causing "cash flow burdens — relying on loans or lines of credit to make existing payroll or other expenses, incurring costs for which they are not reimbursed." The report said, "over 5,000 contracts — 56 percent of contracts with State agencies subject to PCL [Prompt Contracting Law] requirements — were processed late," citing a 2023 annual report.
"Organizations are working six, seven, eight months without payment on their contract. That’s a pretty difficult math arrangement. Agencies have to make payroll," Theresa Regnante, president and CEO of United Way of Long Island, based in Deer Park, said in an interview.
Regnante also said the loss of the big infusion of federal dollars during the COVID pandemic that waned in 2022 may have played a role in the loss of jobs in the nonprofit sector, as well as keeping up with competitive wages.
Jeffrey Reynolds, president and CEO of Garden City-based Family & Children's Association (FCA), wrote over email: "The Comptroller's report is exactly on point, in that it highlights, not only the vital services nonprofits provide to local families in need, but our critical roles as employers and regional economic engines."
Reynolds added, "Doing business with government at any level means borrowing money to fill payment gaps and now that interest rates have soared, those dollars could be better spent on services."
Reynolds wrote that government sources provided 88% of revenues to his nonprofit organization. He said FCA employs 320 people and has a $27 million budget for 2025.
Vanessa Baird-Streeter, president and CEO of the Health and Welfare Council of Long Island, a Huntington Station-based nonprofit that is an umbrella agency representing about 200 nonprofits in addition to providing direct services, in an interview noted the "gamut of resources and services" nonprofit organizations provide, and their role as an "economic engine ensuring the financial stability of thousands of families on Long Island."
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