Guilford County Overview
When one thinks about a “nonprofit” organization, the focus is usually on what the organization does – delivering a social service, enhancing education, promoting housing for the poor, or seeking solutions to community problems. And, in fact, the more than fifteen hundred nonprofits in Guilford County do all of those things, and more.
The nonprofit community is also a major economic factor aswell as a major employer in North Carolina – and in Guilford County. Consider these facts from the NC Center for Nonprofits:
- Nonprofits in North Carolina employ 212,814 people – 56% work in health care; 18% in education; 10% in social assistance groups; and 9% in religious and civic groups
- Nonprofits in Guilford County employ 17,393 people – ranking fourth in the state behind Durham, Forsyth, and Mecklenberg Counties but ahead of Wake and Buncombe Counties.
- Statewide, nonprofits spend more than $21.4 billion a year – with 46% of this spent by nonprofit hospitals; 14.8% by human service agencies; and, 14.7% spent by higher education.
- Guilford County has more than 500 nonprofits with annual revenues of more than $25,000 – but this is only about 1/3 of the total number of nonprofits because most are relatively small. In total, Guilford County ranks third – behind Mecklenberg and Wake Counties – in the number of nonprofits with revenues above $25,000. Forsyth ranks fourth.
While the nonprofit community provides critical social, educational, health and civic programs and services, it is dependent on the support of goodwill of volunteers, donors, and clients to succeed. While almost 2/3 of nonprofit funding is generated from fees and contracts, most of the balance – 17% comes from private donors. (The rest is from government grants and investment income.)
Over 83% of private donations are made by individuals. Foundations provide 11.6% of private support while corporations provide about 4.5%.