The FAMCare Blog

Nonprofit America

Posted by George Ritacco on Apr 21, 2015 1:30:00 PM

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Vast but Invisible

Nonprofit America is one of the least understood segments of national life, but one of the most crucial. Encompassing multi-million dollar health complexes and far larger numbers of small operations with annual budgets of less than $25,000, nonprofit organizations are a diverse collection of private institutions that mobilize individual initiative for the common good. They deliver much of the hospital care, higher education, social services, cultural entertainment, social welfare, and emergency aid services available in our country. They also give expression to a wide variety of artistic, religious, cultural, ethnic, social, and recreational impulses that add richness to community life. 

At a recent conference, I mentioned in conversation that GVT works with a wide variety of nonprofits. Many human services agencies – as in behavioral health clinics, residential facilities, food banks and homeless shelters are using FAMCare every day to get better results. 

"Oh," one person said - "I thought most of that stuff was run by the state or the federal government." 

That's what most people think, I suddenly realized. Nothing could be further from the truth. Nonprofits play an important and independent role in our society. 

NONPROFIT PROFILE:  

  • Approximately 1.44 million nonprofits were registered with the Internal Revenue Service in 2012.
  • The nonprofit sector contributed an estimated $887 billion to the US economy in 2012.
  • In 2013, total private giving from individuals, foundations, and business totaled $335 billion.
  • 25.4% of adults in the United States volunteered with an organization in 2013. 
  • Volunteers contributed an estimated 8.1 billion hours in 2013, representing approximately $163 billion worth of work. 
Source: The Urban Institute, National Center for Charitable Statistics, Core Files 2014.

WHY INVISIBLE? 

The wide diversity and vast size of the nonprofit sector obscures its collective impact on American life. Few people notice that tiny neighborhood associations, soup kitchens on inner city corners, massive hospital complexes, and elite universities all combine to make up this single coherent sector. 

The impulse to join together for the common good is part of the fabric of America. Our country came into existence before we had a government, and early settlers had to find ways to provide needed schools, raise barns, and build public facilities. 

In the 19th century, Alexis de Tocqueville noted that, "Wherever at the head of some major undertaking, you are sure to find the state in France or a person of wealth in England, you will find an association in America." 

We at Global Vision Technologies are privileged to participate in the mission of this vast nonprofit sector. By constantly working to innovate and adapt our leading edge software solutions to a wide variety of nonprofits, both large and small, we hope to provide the most advanced technological solutions available anywhere. 

Topics: Social Services Industry News

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