Minnesota nonprofits slashing staff, budgets

Updated: December 16, 2008 - 5:34 PM

Donations are down. Government funds are evaporating. Minnesota's big nonprofit sector is being squeezed by economic downturn, a new survey reports.

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One in four Minnesota nonprofit agencies have cut staffing this year, and nearly half have slashed their budgets in response to the growing economic crisis, according to a survey released today by the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits.

The survey of more than 600 agencies, with programs ranging from health and human services to arts and the environment, showed the economic downturn has made a surprisingly swift impact on the state's large nonprofit sector, said Jon Pratt, executive director of the council.

Funding from both government and individual donors appears to be spiralling down, said Pratt. For example, 47 percent of those surveyed report fewer individual donations.

And expenses are rising: 49 percent report the costs of running their agency has increased over the year.

Minnesota has one of the largest nonprofit sectors in the country. At a forum today in St. Paul, several hundred nonprofit leaders gathered to consider options for keeping their agencies afloat, ranging from mergers to increased volunteer staffing.

JEAN HOPFENSPERGER