The issue of rising homelessness was one of the keys to a 7.2% boost in revenue among nonprofit organizations in Orange County.
“The awareness of homelessness has grown tremendously in the past year,” Orange County Rescue Mission Inc. Chief Executive Jim Palmer said when explaining why his Tustin-based charity reported a 26% rise in revenue to $26.7 million.
“We saw an outpouring of interest to make an impact, specifically for homeless children and veterans,” he said.
Nonprofit organizations in OC boosted revenue to $1.61 billion in the fiscal year ended in June as their expenses climbed by a smaller amount, 4.7% to $1.45 billion.
This week’s Business Journal list ranked the 91 largest nonprofits based in OC or with significant operations here and with at least $3 million in annual revenue. The list also includes data on paid staff, volunteer numbers and clients served, though those figures don’t affect the rankings.
The organizations combined to employ 13,480, up 4.9%. The number of volunteers fell 6.5% to 240,520 as 23 organizations reported decreases. However, many of the organizations reported serving more clients, which were up 12% to 9.3 million.
Sixty-seven of the nonprofits saw revenue rise, compared with 53 a year ago. Twenty reported decreases, compared with 30 a year ago.
The biggest jump by dollar amount was $24.2 million, a 30% climb to $106 million at the Orange County Community Foundation.
“That increase is because of a combination of contributions and investment results,” said Shelley Hoss, the organization’s president.
The organization’s endowment rose 12.6%, and it now has $302 million in assets, more than double the amount from 2012. Its expenditures actually decreased 1% to $64.4 million because grant-making fluctuates from year to year, Hoss said.
The entity is still the eighth most active grantmaker in the country, with $59 million in grants for the year ended June 30.
“We have made grants of almost half a billion dollars since 2000,” she said.
Notables
• Goodwill of Orange County, led by Chief Executive Frank Talarico Jr., remained the largest nonprofit on the list. The Santa Ana-based organization, which operates several businesses, including a chain of retail stores, had $122.6 million in revenue, up 1.2% from a year earlier, with 1,629 workers and 584 volunteers.
• Radiant Health Centers, formerly known as AIDS Services Foundation Orange County, reported the biggest revenue jump by percentage, 102% to $9.6 million. The Irvine-based group rose from No. 68 to No. 47. It also boosted employee count 23% to 65.
• Garden Grove-based Orange Catholic Foundation, the charity arm of the OC Diocese, had the second biggest revenue jump, 57% to $23.8 million. It climbed from No. 29 to No. 20. Its expenditures declined 17% to $22.9 million. The charity is renovating the Christ Cathedral Campus, including the Hazel Wright Organ, the largest European-built organ in America.
• No. 24, Orangewood Foundation, which provides services for foster and community youth, reported a 37% increase in revenue to $20.5 million and a 15% rise in costs to $15.2 million.
Revenue at the Santa Ana-based charity increased because of a capital campaign, another grade to serve more students in its charter school, and a new state grant to serve more homeless people, Chief Executive Chris Simonsen said.
“Donations are up slightly because of the strong economy. Our events have done better than the last few years. For us, we’re seeing a higher need to serve youth that are ages 18 to 24. There are more of them that need greater assistance.”
• No. 17, Orange County Rescue Mission, reported a 26% increase in expenditures to $25.9 million.
Homelessness has increased because California’s Proposition 47, which passed in 2014, released thousands of people from prison and they have nowhere to go, Palmer said. The proposition also increased criminal activity because crimes like forgery and shoplifting of up to $950 are treated as citations and not felony offenses that can lead to jail time, he said.
Efforts to increase housing are missing the point because many of the homeless have substance abuse or mental issues, he said.
“It’s been a challenging year because of poor government policies.” Palmer said.
• OneOC in Santa Ana climbed 13 spots to No. 34 by boosting revenue 45% to $12.9 million. Its expenditures kept pace, increasing 52% to $12.6 million.
OneOC is targeting midsize companies, those with 100 to 1,000 employees, that want to donate more to the community but don’t want to establish their own charities with the requisite paperwork that includes IRS filings and a board of directors. Instead, OneOC handles the paperwork, sets up programs like employee matches, and directs donations to specified charities. It now handles charity donations for about 200 companies, up from 150 a year ago.
“We’re offering them a smart, easy and impactful way to make donations,” Chief Executive Daniel McQuaid said.
• Irvine-based Illumination Foundation, which focuses on homelessness, climbed nine spots to No. 46 by increasing revenue 46% to $10.1 million. Its paid staff also climbed 52% to 125.
• The biggest decline was 39% to $8.5 million at Habitat for Humanity of Orange County in Santa Ana. Its expenditures fell 26% to $9.9 million. A representative didn’t respond by press time.
• Costa Mesa’s Segerstrom Center for the Arts reported a 10% decline in revenue to $58.7 million and a 9.1% reduction in costs to $58.6 million.
The drop was because the prior year had more popular shows that ran more often, such as the “Book of Mormon” and the “Lion King,” President Terrence Dwyer said.
“There’s a cyclical nature to the business,” Dwyer said. “Next year will spike back up because of ‘Hamilton.’”
