Candid shares key nonprofit data for 2021

Candid, the information services organization formed by the merger of GuideStar and Foundation Center, has released its annual snapshot of the nonprofit sector. Among other things, Key Facts on U.S. Nonprofits and Foundations, 2021 reports that individuals still provide the majority (69%) of giving.

Community and private foundation giving accounts for a modest (17%), but growing, slice of overall giving in the United States. Nearly 128,000 foundations with $1.2 trillion in assets have donated $90 billion since 2016. Most foundation funding goes to education (26%) and health (23%) causes.

The report also examines public charities, the most common type of nonprofit (72%). More than three-quarters of these organizations have budgets under $100,000, and 53% depend on contributions for the majority of their revenue. About a third get most of their funding from program services.

Why the gender pay gap is greater with negotiations

A new study of executive compensation at nonprofit organizations reveals that women earn 8.9% less than men. The gap is even bigger when salary negotiations are allowed. These results might surprise some, considering the higher percentage of women in the nonprofit workforce compared with for-profit sectors.

The study analyzed data from IRS Form 990 filings for four years across various industries. Researchers found that executives’ external employment options and competition lead to greater gender pay gaps. Also, male executives are more likely to capitalize on a broader external labor market or other opportunities to negotiate additional compensation. However, in organizations with more female representation on their boards or that have a female CEO, the gap is smaller. Researchers theorize this may be because female leadership increases the willingness of female employees to negotiate.

Tip-toeing into the world of NFTs

Nonfungible tokens (NFTs) have made headlines for astronomical sale prices, and, like cryptocurrency before them, are prompting speculation about fundraising possibilities. NFTs are unique digital assets that represent tangible and intangible items. NFT ownership records are stored and transferred on blockchain ledgers.

The digital artist known as Beeple recently sold an NFT for $6 million — which he donated to the Open Earth Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to developing environmentally friendly digital infrastructure. Twitter’s CEO sold an NFT of his first tweet for $2.9 million, then converted the proceeds to Bitcoin and donated them to the charity GiveDirectly.

Whether gifted directly or first auctioned, NFT donations raise a variety of questions for nonprofits. Donors, for example, must determine how to properly value donated NFTs. This is uncharted waters; nonprofits that hope to auction donated NFTs must figure out how to handle bids in the form of cryptocurrency. As NFTs become more prevalent, nonprofits will need to understand their reporting requirements.

©2021