In previous posts, Donors Forum has discussed how the state’s ongoing fiscal crisis has created a backlog of payments to nonprofits, leading many organizations to trim critical programs and lay off staff. According to statements made by State Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka in July, the payment backlog is estimated to reach $9 billion by the end of 2013. This delay in payment is detrimental not only to the nonprofit sector, but to the state as a whole.

It goes without saying that nonprofits provide critical services to the people of Illinois every day. But, did you know that nonprofits employ more than 523,000 people in Illinois, which equals nearly nine percent of the state’s total workforce? Collectively, Illinois nonprofits have a combined payroll of $19.7 billion. These statistics show that in addition to being community assets, nonprofits are significant employers and economic development engines in their own right. These facts reflect just some of the data that Donors Forum has compiled and is making available to the nonprofit sector this month.

Donors Forum recently commissioned research firm Rob Paral & Associates to conduct comprehensive data analysis for measuring the economic and workforce impacts of nonprofits in Illinois. The findings offer a unique, in-depth look at the size and impact of the nonprofit sector in each of the state’s legislative districts and census tracts, as well as 77 Chicago community areas. Within each geographic area, the data shows the total number of nonprofits, the number of people they employ, their assets, revenues and total payroll or the amount of payroll taxes they pay. The analysis used existing public data, but most of it has not previously been comprehensively published.

Now, Donors Forum is unveiling the complete data in a user-friendly web portal, BuildingStrongerIL.com, which features interactive maps, graphs and charts, so organizations, policymakers and citizens can easily explore the data and see the major impact nonprofits are having in their communities. The site also provides a summary of outstanding State payments to nonprofits, including the number of unpaid invoices and the total amount owed.

The web portal also features a toolkit you can use to help spread the word about the impact of the nonprofits in your community. The toolkit contains sample letters that you can customize and send to your elected officials and local newspaper, as well as messaging that you can post on your organization’s social media channels and share with your networks.

This economic impact analysis was conducted and the web portal was created as part of Donors Forum’s Building a Stronger Illinois: the Public Nonprofit Partnership Initiative with generous support from the Wallace Foundation. Building a Stronger Illinois aims to strengthen the relationship between nonprofits and the government, so policymakers truly understand the value of the sector and the challenges it faces, and nonprofits and foundations can contribute new approaches and solutions that benefit the people of Illinois. Read more about Building A Stronger Illinois here.

We invite you to explore the website and help us Build a Stronger Illinois by spreading the word about this valuable resource. Keep in touch and let us know how you use the data, so we can share best practices with others. Email us at advocacy@donorsforum.org, or visit us on Twitter or Facebook. 

~ Delia Coleman, Director of Public Policy, Donors Forum