Nonprofit Organizations in America

The nonprofit sector in the United States is quite large. Governing boards have a crucial part to play in their evolution and governance, especially given the size of this sector, as any particular organization--yours included--is just one of approximately 1.4 million nonprofit organizations in the United States. Consider this as well: approximately thirty thousand new nonprofits are created every year. The number of Americans employed in the nonprofit sector has more than doubled in the last twenty-five years and approaches 12.5 million workers or 9.5 percent of the workforce. This has a large impact on the economic and social fabric of our country. The U.S. Department of Commerce indicates that nonprofit organizations spend on average $236 billion a year. What economic impact is your organization making on your community?