by Lincoln Institute | January 02, 1999

Section 1

Please answer the following questions about COLLABORATION and MERGERS:

A. Has your organization collaborated with other non-profits, for-profits or governmental entities?

80% YES
20% NO
0% NO OPINION

If “YES”: What type of other entity have you collaborated with?

(Check all which apply)

49% OTHER NON-PROFIT
15% FOR-PROFIT
12% PHILANTHROPIC ORGANIZATION
24% GOVERNMENT

If “NO”: Has your organization discussed or approached another entity about entering into a collaborative project?

22% DISCUSSED
12% APPROACHED
59% NO DISCUSSION
7% NO OPINION

B. Whether or not you have collaborated with other entities, what do you see as barriers to collaboration?

OPEN ENDED
C. To reduce your overhead, would your organization consider locating offices or other facilities in a building housing another non-profit organization?

59% YES
30% NO
11% NO OPINION

D. Has your organization ever legally merged with another entity to save on costs and improve efficiency?

10% YES
90% NO

E. Has your organization ever considered, but decided not to legally merge with another entity to save on costs and improve efficiency?

19% YES
81% NO
F. Is you organization currently considering a legal merger with another entity to save on costs and improve efficiency?

8% YES
90% NO
2% NO ANSWER

G. Legislation is currently pending in the state legislature which would require non-profit organizations to receive approval from both the state Office of Attorney General and from their county Court of Common Pleas before a merger could be completed. Do you think such legislation should be approved?

18% YES
49% NO
33% NO OPINION

H. Would you be supportive of legislation requiring approval from the state Office of Attorney General and a county Court of Common Pleas if such approval were required only for mergers involving assets over $500,000?

28% YES
39% NO
33% NO OPINION

If such approval were required only for mergers involving assets over $1 million?

31% YES
33% NO
36% NO OPINION

Section 2

Please answer the following questions about TAX CREDITS and FUNDRAISING:

A. Do you favor or oppose the idea of a 5% – 25% state tax credit for contributions made to charitable organizations which provide direct assistance to the poor?

63% YES
18% NO
19% NO OPINION

If “YES”: Would you continue to support a 5% – 25% state tax credit for contributions made to charitable organizations which provide direct assistance to the poor if only a limited number of such organizations, ie: not all, were permitted to participate in a tax credit program?

28% YES
53% NO
19% NO OPINION

B. Do you think a 5% – 25% state tax credit for contributions made to charitable organizations which provide direct assistance to the poor would spur increased charitable giving?

62% YES
26% NO
12% NO OPINION

C. What factors do you think influence an individual’s decision to make a financial contribution to a charity?

25% PERSONAL INVOLVEMENT WITH THE CHARITY
15% FUNDRAISING CONTACT BY THE CHARITY

(Direct mail, door-to-door solicitation, phone call)

20% THE CHARITY OPERATES IN THE CONTRIBUTOR’S LOCAL COMMUNITY
10% THE CHARITY IS SUPPORTED BY A CONTRIBUTOR’S PLACE OF WORK
12% THE CHARITY IS SUPPORTED BY A CONTRIBUTOR’S CHURCH/SYNAGOGUE/MOSQUE
18% CONTRIBUTING TO THE CHARITY ALLOWS THE CONTRIBUTOR TO CLAIM A DEDUCTION ON HIS/HER FEDERAL INCOME TAXES

D. To what extent do you think a contributor’s ability to deduct charitable giving from his/her federal income taxes affects the amount they give?

1% NEVER
66% SOME OF THE TIME
27% MOST OF THE TIME
6% ALWAYS

E. What is the size of your operating budget?

49% Under $200,000
17% $200,000 – $499,000
14% $500,000 – $999,999
18% $1,000,000 – $10,000,000
2% Over $10,000,000

F. Have contributions to you organization this year increased, stayed about the same, or decreased from last year?

36% INCREASED
52% STAYED ABOUT THE SAME
12% DECREASED

G. Looking ahead to 1999, do you expect contributions to your organization to increase, stay about the same, or decrease from 1998 levels?

43% INCREASE
51% STAY ABOUT THE SAME
6% DECREASE

H. In 1999 is your organization planning to:

50% INCREASE ITS OPERATING BUDGET
43% MAINTAIN OPERATING BUDGET AT 1998 LEVELS
7% DECREASE ITS OPERATING BUDGET

If your organization plans to INCREASE its operating budget, how to you plan to raise the money needed to fund that budget?

13% GOVERNMENT
24% PHILANTHROPIC GRANTS
18% PROGRAM REVENUE
24% SPECIAL EVENTS
11% DUES/FEE INCREASES
17% OTHER

If your organization plans to DECREASE its operating budget, what forces are causing the cut-back?

14% GOVERNMENT
10% LOSS OF/LOWER PHILANTHROPIC GRANTS
32% LOWER PROGRAM REVENUE
27% LESS MONEY FROM SPECIAL EVENTS
17% OTHER

Section 3

Please answer the following TECHNOLOGY questions:

A. Does your staff use e-mail for business purposes?

58% YES
42% NO

If “YES”: Please check the type of e-mail your staff utilizes:

11% INTERNAL E-MAIL
56% EXTERNAL E-MAIL
33% BOTH

B. Which of the following does your organization have access to:

(Check all which apply)

52% IBM COMPATIBLE COMPUTERS
10% APPLE/MACINTOSH COMPUTERS
38% INTERNET ACCESS

C. Does your organization have a website?

43% YES
57% NO

If “NO”: Do you plan on establishing a website within the next year?

44% YES
56% NO

D. Do you use the Internet for research?

70% YES
30% NO

E. Do you use the Internet for fundraising?

20% YES
80% NO

Section 4

Please answer the following TRAINING and PERSONNEL questions:

A. Does you organization have a system in place to evaluate the effectiveness of your program services?

65% YES
35% NO

B. Does your organization have a system in place to evaluate the performance of your Board of Directors?

24% YES
76% NO

C. How large is your Board of Directors?

_______

D. In general, do you Board members serve :

33% ONLY ON YOUR BOARD
60% ON ONE OR TWO OTHER BOARDS
7% ON MORE THAN THREE BOARDS

E. In the past year, what types of training has your staff received?

15% FUNDRAISING
18% MANAGEMENT SKILLS
14% PLANNING
8% BOARD EFFECTIVENESS
14% VOLUNTEER EFFECTIVENESS
19% COMPUTER OPERATIONS
7% PUBLIC POLICY/GRASS ROOTS
9% OTHER

F. What type of training would you like to have made available to you?

23% FUNDRAISING
16% MANAGEMENT SKILLS
13% PLANNING
18% BOARD EFFECTIVENESS
14% VOLUNTEER EFFECTIVENESS
9% COMPUTER OPERATIONS
6% PUBLIC POLICY/GRASS ROOTS
1% OTHER

G. Where do you currently receive training?

18% IN-HOUSE
10% ASSOCIATION
20% WORKSHOPS PROVIDED BY OTHER NON-PROFITS
11% CONSULTANTS/VENDORS
4% NSFRE
7% UNIVERSITIES
9% CONVENTIONS
1% PANO
5% CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
8% UNITED WAY
5% GOVERNMENT
2% OTHER

H. How much formal education does your executive director have in non-profit management?

35% NONE
11% CERTIFICATE(S)
21% CONTINUING EDUCATION
12% UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE
21% GRADUATE DEGREE

Section 5

Please answer the following ORGANIZATIONAL and ADMINISTRATIVE questions:

A. Please check what type of service your organization provides:

12% MEDICAL/HEALTH-RELATED
31% HUMAN SERVICES
18% EDUCATIONAL
11% ARTS/CULTURE/HUMANITIES
4% RELIGIOUS
3% PUBLIC SAFETY
5% PHILANTHROPIC
2% ASSOCIATION
14% OTHER

B. Are you currently registered with the Bureau of Charitable Organizations in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania?

92% YES
4% NO
4% EXEMPT

C. In what year were you incorporated?

__________

(The Lincoln Intitute’s 1998 Charitable Organizations Survey was mailed to 7,000 non-profit charitable organizations in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on November 23, 1998. A total of 617 surveys were returned by the December 18, 1998 deadline.)