Did You Know?

According to The Nonprofit Almanac 2008, the total number of nonprofit organizations increased from 187,038 in 1995 to 310,683 in 2005, a 66.1 % increase, whereas the number of arts, culture, and humanities organizations increased from 21,277 to 35,840 (a 68.4% increase).

There are a number of differences that emerge when all public charities are taken into account compared to just arts, culture, and humanities¹. The table below summarizes the total % change for number of reporting agencies, total revenue, expenses and total assets as well as the breakdown of average annual percent change across the same 3 components.

	Total % Change	Average Annual % Change
	1995-2005	1995-2005	1995-2000	2000-2005
Number of Reporting Charities
All public charities	66.1	5.2	5.6	4.8
Arts, culture, and humanities	68.4	5.4	6.0	4.7
Total Revenue
All public charities	99.5	7.2	7.2	7.1
Arts, culture, and humanities	80.6	6.1	9.9	2.4
Expenses
All public charities	98.7	7.1	6.6	7.6
Arts, culture, and humanities	82.1	6.2	7.7	4.7
Total Assets
All public charities	134.3	8.9	11.2	6.6
Arts, culture, and humanities	149.4	9.6	12.8	6.5

Over a 10 year span the nonprofit sector and the nonprofit arts subsector grew at comparable rates. Revenues for all public charities increased by $570.7 billion, whereas arts nonprofits increased by $12.2 billion. Over the same time period expenses for all public charities increased by $523.2 billion and the expenses for arts nonprofits increased by $10.8 billion. It is important to note that while overall both arts increased between 1995 and 2005, the average annual percentage change reveals a slightly different story. The average annual revenue percent change increases at a significantly slower rate in the last 5 years compared to the first 5, similarly with expenses. Alarmingly, the expenses for arts nonprofits are growing at a much faster rate in the past 5 years as compared to the revenue.

Also noteworthy is that the most revenue growth for arts, culture, and humanities comes from private contributions (i.e., unearned revenue), which has increased by 118.69 percent over the past 10 years. Interestingly, the fastest increase in revenue for all public charities is investment income, with a percent change of 151.24.

A brief summary of The Nonprofit Almanac 2008 is available through the Urban Institute.

¹“Arts, culture and humanities” organizations are those classified as NTEE category A. This category includes arts and cultural organizations as well as history and science museums, humanities councils and electronic media.

For more information on nonprofits such as in depth analyses on trends seen in wage and employment, private giving and volunteering, as well as the nonprofit sector’s place in national economy, and the size, scope, and finances of public charities reference The Nonprofit Almanac 2008.