1 Public ne Arundel County: Coordinators of Volunteers of Anne Arundel County– Reflections about Trends affecting Nonprofits in AA County June 5, 2009 Dan Nataf, PhD Director, Center for the Study of Local Issues Anne Arundel Community College 101 College Parkway, Careers 132 Arnold, MD (410) www2.aacc.edu/csli

2 COVAACC June 5, 2009 Areas of interest Political conditions Economic conditions Most affected groups Perceptions of some non-profits Who are the contributors Who volunteers Conclusions Analyses based mainly on survey data collected by the Center for the Study of Local Issues(CSLI) at Anne Arundel Community College CSLI is part of the Sarbanes Center for Public and Community Service See www2.aacc.edu/csli for details Political conditions Economic conditions Most affected groups Perceptions of some non-profits Who are the contributors Who volunteers Conclusions Analyses based mainly on survey data collected by the Center for the Study of Local Issues(CSLI) at Anne Arundel Community College CSLI is part of the Sarbanes Center for Public and Community Service See www2.aacc.edu/csli for details

3 COVAACC June 5, 2009 Political Conditions Political conditions Low confidence in government Public enthusiasm for specific areas of government spending is still high But overall desire is for less spending and no increased taxation Likely perception by elected officials that additional taxation is to be avoided, even with cuts to services Nonprofits struggle to retain government funding – compete for declining dollars Face new challenges in how programs are administered Political conditions Low confidence in government Public enthusiasm for specific areas of government spending is still high But overall desire is for less spending and no increased taxation Likely perception by elected officials that additional taxation is to be avoided, even with cuts to services Nonprofits struggle to retain government funding – compete for declining dollars Face new challenges in how programs are administered

COVAACC June 5, 2009 Political Conditions: Confidence in Govt.

ServiceIncreaseReduceKeep same Increase- Reduce Don’t know Public Schools Police Fire The community college Seniors’ services Roads Social Services Health Department Environmental Oversight Libraries Parks and Recreation Planning and Zoning COVAACC June 5, 2009 Political Conditions: County Budget – Increase, Reduce or Maintain Unchanged Various Services

COVAACC June 5, 2009 Political Conditions: County Budget – % Saying “Increase” 2009, 2004, 1997

COVAACC June 5, 2009 Political Conditions: County Budget – Change in % Saying “Increase” , 2004

COVAACC June 5, 2009 Political Conditions: County/State Budgets – Cut programs or raise taxes?

9 COVAACC June 5, 2009 Economic Conditions Main trends Perceptions of economic decline at all time high – although especially high for country rather than county Variety of specific impacts Certain groups more dramatically affected by economic decline Economic distress creates increases needs in context of declining revenues…

COVAACC June 5, 2009 Perceptions of Economic Decline AA County: Right or Wrong Direction (Spring, 2009)

Findings – Most Important Problem GrowthEducation COVAACC June 5, 2009 Perceptions of Economic Decline What is the most important problem facing AAC? (Spring, 2009)

COVAACC June 5, 2009 Perceptions of Economic Decline Rate Economic Conditions – County, State and Country (Spring, 2009)

COVAACC June 5, 2009 Rate the Economy: AA County vs. USA

14 COVAACC June 5, 2009 Specific Economic Impacts –Variety of economic impacts –Inflation –Unemployment –Utilities –Transportation cost –Health care –Housing –Taxes –Stocks and retirement accounts –Economic uncertainty likely to induce more savings and less generosity

GSPC Presentation – April 14, 2009 Specific Economic Impacts, 2009, 2008

16 GSPC Presentation – April 14, 2009 Economic Conditions and Groups –Economic conditions impact groups differently –Race –Gender –Employment situation –Marital status –Age –Income

17 COVAACC June 5, 2009 Salaries not keeping up (Spring, 2009)

18 COVAACC June 5, 2009 Problems with Inadequate Health Care Insurance (Spring, 2009) Overall, 29

19 COVAACC June 5, 2009 Unable to find Affordable Housing (Spring, 2009)

20 COVAACC June 5, 2009 Facing possibility of Unemployment (Spring 2009)

21 COVAACC June 5, 2009 Perceptions of Nonprofits in Anne Arundel County –Name recognition –Favorability –Contributors

22 COVAACC June 5, 2009 Perceptions of Certain Nonprofits (Spring 2006) Name Recognition

23 COVAACC June 5, 2009 Perceptions of Certain Nonprofits Positive, Negative or Neutral Feelings

24 COVAACC June 5, 2009 Perceptions of Certain Nonprofits % Saying they have made a contribution to nonprofits

25 COVAACC June 5, 2009 Demographic Groups and Contributions

26 COVAACC June 5, 2009 Contributors YWCA, YMCA, Chrysalis House Who contributes to nonprofits

27 COVAACC June 5, 2009 Contributors: United Way, SA and Red Cross

28 COVAACC June 5, 2009 Volunteerism –How many and who volunteers –Joins boards –Contributes to civic life generally

29 COVAACC June 5, 2009 Volunteers: Part of Civic Life

30 COVAACC June 5, 2009 Who is most likely to volunteer?

31 COVAACC June 5, 2009 Who is most likely to join a board?

32 COVAACC June 5, 2009 Conclusions Political and economic conditions unlikely to change for the foreseeable future Fiscal constraints upon nonprofits likely to be durable Will require careful assessment of mission and level of service Reliance upon volunteers – challenge due to recruitment pool constraints (will BRAC help?) and vitality of civic life generally