Things are looking up at the county’s largest nonprofits.
After tough going during the economic downturn, the 34 largest nonprofits here posted a 9% gain in revenue for the 12 months ended June 30. They counted a combined $196 million in revenue for the period.
The increase reflects increased giving amid the better economy as well as stepped-up fund raising by the groups.
“We’re doing a better job at getting our message out,” said Shelley Hoss, president of Orange County Community Foundation in Irvine, which came in at No. 4 with $18.4 million in revenue for the period, a 48% increase from a year earlier.
At the same time, the foundation, which matches givers with charitable groups, cut expenses by 18% to $1 million during the period.
The 34 nonprofits saw a 4% increase in expenses to $149 million.
Two-thirds of the nonprofits on the list increased revenue. Two stayed the same. Nine saw decreases.
This year marks the first time the Business Journal has ranked nonprofits by revenue. Last year we ran a directory that listed them alphabetically.
Seven nonprofits from last year’s directory declined to provide numbers for this year’s list, including the American Lung Association of Orange County, YMCA of Orange County and Girls Inc. of Orange County.
We look forward to getting numbers or estimates for them next year, as well as input on any groups we may have missed.
The list is a cross section of OC nonprofits. It is made up of mostly groups serving people as opposed to art or culture nonprofits.
Nonprofits added paid workers with a 4% gain to 2,183 people. For those groups that reported numbers, local volunteers were up 2% to 1.6 million.
Goodwill Industries of Orange County in Santa Ana topped the list with $46 million in revenue, up 12% from a year earlier.
Goodwill’s operations include thrift stores, donation centers and contract services for janitorial and other workers. The group also has seen added sales from its Web site, shopgoodwill.com, which is modeled after eBay.
Since the online store’s launch five years ago, it has pulled in $15 million for the charity, according to spokeswoman Denise Higuchi.
As of 2003, Goodwill had 16 retail stores and 32 donation centers in OC. It opened an additional store this year.
Goodwill reported a huge drop in the number of OC volunteers because of a revision in the way the group counts them. It had 455 volunteers for the period, down from 5,556 a year earlier. Last year’s numbers included people who were required to volunteer because of a court order, Higuchi said.
“This year we wanted to include only people who truly volunteer,” she said.
Goodwill’s expenses increased 9% to $45 million, in part with hiring of people to work its programs. The group’s local employment rose 7% to 605 people.
Along with Goodwill and Orange County Community Foundation, the rest of the top five are: No. 2 Orange County United Way with $26 million in revenue, up slightly from a year ago; No. 3 Salvation Army Orange County with $18.4 million in revenue, up 5%; and No. 5 Olive Crest Homes & Services for Children with $18 million in revenue, up 3%.
After the top five, the nonprofits get much smaller. No. 6 Canyon Acres Children and Family Services in Anaheim had $6.5 million in revenue, up 8% from a year earlier.
Among the smaller nonprofits is No. 27 Court Appointed Special Advocates in Santa Ana, which helps kids living in group or foster homes.
Judges direct seriously abused children to the nonprofit, which trains volunteers to be mentors to the kids. Volunteers also advise the court on the needs of the children. Volunteers have 30 hours of training and make a two-year minimum commitment.
The group boosted revenue by 11% to $1.1 million. The nonprofit’s expenses were up 8% to $1 million. Its biggest expense is offering ongoing support to volunteers, said Lynda Sloan, a spokeswoman for Court Appointed Special Advocates.
The group has about 230 kids on its waiting list, said Greg Bradbard, director of development. Volunteers spend time each week mostly just hanging out with the kids, he said. Volunteers take them out to eat, to the park or to events such as the children’s open house at school.
By 2007, the group is hoping to double the number of volunteers. One way officials get the word out is with the group’s “lunch and learns” program, where representatives stop by at corporate lunchrooms to explain the operation.
No. 19 Make-A-Wish Foundation of Orange County saw a 69% gain in revenue to $1.8 million. In September, the Orange County chapter took on the smaller Inland Empire office, which had been run by the national headquarters, according to Michelle Wells, director of marketing and public relations.
Make-A-Wish grants wishes to children who are fatally sick. One of its most recent wishes granted was for a child to meet actor Jim Carrey, Wells said.
A typical wish is in one of four categories: kids that want to go somewhere, have something, meet someone or be someone for a day, she said.
The OC office also does “wish assists” for the many children from other chapters who want to go to the Disneyland Resort.
The number of wishes granted was down 22% to 108 this year. That largely was due to a form of leukemia previously deemed incurable becoming curable, Wells said. Children with that illness weren’t eligible for the program anymore.
The past few years during the down economy were rough, Wells said. But Make-A-Wish learned lessons and came up with ways to get through another rough stretch, she said.
This year Make-A-Wish plans to step up recruitment of bilingual volunteers through its newly formed Hispanic Outreach Council. About 45% of the kids served last year were Hispanic, Wells said.
The “clients served” category on the list didn’t apply to some nonprofits. Orange County Community Foundation, for one, grants money to other nonprofits, which in turn grant money to their clients.
