Summary

Of the 1.6 million tax-exempt organizations registered with the IRS in August 2016, about one fourth are human service nonprofits, including about 290,000 charities with about $230 billion in total combined revenues. In 2016, human service public charities (excluding private foundations) received an estimated $47 billion in charitable contributions. This represents 12% of all charitable contributions, according to the Giving USA Foundation, and is about 21% of the combined revenues reported by the more than a quarter million registered human service public charities. While government funding is a major driving force for human service charities, philanthropic funding clearly is important as well. Securing such funding requires solid understanding of the fundraising process and dedicated time and effort, however. Moreover, competition for donations (and fundraising expertise) appear to be growing across the board, with donations from individuals, United Way, and corporate contributions most at risk for human service charities.