Tough Times
Nonprofits Struggle to Deliver
By Lowman Henry Chairman/CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc. The lingering national recession continues to have a profound negative effect on Pennsylvania nonprofit organizations, causing some to doubt their ability to fulfill their mission amid a growing sense of pessimism about the future. That is the overall picture to emerge from the Lincoln Institute’s 2011 Pennsylvania Charitable Organizations Survey. Conducted in collaboration with the Pennsylvania Association of Nonprofit Organizations (PANO) the annual poll of nonprofit leaders from across the commonwealth found 89% have been negatively impacted by the recession. This has caused a third of the respondents to report they are less able to fulfill their mission than in past years. But, nonprofits are accustomed to doing more with less; as a result over half say their ability to fulfill their mission remains about the same, while 11% reported a greater ability to fulfill their core mission. “For now nonprofits ...
