Welcome to Research Friday! As part of a continuing series,we invite a nonprofit scholar, student, or professional to highlight current research reports or studies and discuss how they can inform and improve day-to-day nonprofit practice.

Conducted in January and February 2013, Nonprofit Finance Fund’s 2013 State of the Sector survey assessed the financial and management challenges facing 5,983 organizations across the country. As income disparity continues to grow, many nonprofits are struggling to meet overwhelming community need amid the stark realities of funding cuts. Many are recognizing that this dynamic may be here to stay.

When NFF began this survey in 2009, many of our clients were in “triage” mode: they were dealing with mission and…

This is part two of Carolyn Owen's series on gathering and using data for grant proposals. Read part 1 here.

Data is a vital part of your grant application. It’s the link that turns a bunch of random declarations about the issue your nonprofit is addressing into a statement with weight and relevance. Data can illustrate the scope of the problem, the need for your program, and why it will be successful.

So how do you intertwine data in the proposal so that it supports and amplifies your cause rather than obfuscate it? Although I would not claim to be an expert, I’m happy to share what I’ve learned in close to 15 years of researching and compiling grant proposals.

Remember the data should be:

• Recent, within the past 2 years if possible
• As local as possible, relating to the community, city or state where your program is located
• From a recognized, reputable source - a federal agency, well respected research group such as Annie Casey Foundation, or peer journal
• Related to the need to be addressed by your program.

Begin by thinking about what you are addressing specific to this application. Start with the need and then find data to support your…

Welcome to Research Friday! As part of a continuing series,we invite a nonprofit scholar, student, or professional to highlight current research reports or studies and discuss how they can inform and improve day-to-day nonprofit practice.

Nonprofit Finance Fund’s (NFF) 2013 State of the Sector survey explored a variety of financial and management challenges facing organizations across the country. The core story, as told by nearly 6,000 respondents, is of a fragile balancing act between rising community need and shrinking or stagnant resources for social programs. Particularly in the last several years, in the wake of the financial crisis, organizations have struggled with a variety of challenges related to government support.

In the United States, we rely on government to provide key economic supports. We expect the federal, state, and local governments to play a role in educating our children, helping communities rebuild after natural disasters, and improving our collective quality of life. To…

Question: We provide our services free to our program participants, but we are feeling the strain of limited resources. Some have suggested we charge a fee for our services, but I am reluctant to go down this road. What should we consider about charging fees for our services? Will we be required to pay taxes on fees collected?

The traditional charity model is based on the expectation that organizations raise funds from institutions and individuals in order to provide services to those in need, primarily free of charge. Charitable giving continues to flourish in this country; according to the Giving USA report, charitable giving totaled $298 billion in 2011,with 73% of funds donated by individuals. Americans continue to be very generous, but unfortunately, the demand for services outstrips our ability to fund services with charitable gifts alone.

Diversify funding sources

At the ASU Lodestar Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Innovation, we…

In 2012, 25 percent of Americans had more credit card debt than they had in their emergency savings. With consumer spending fueling 70% of our nation’s economic growth, the need to consume commercial products has forever been a staple in American culture. As a society, we are constantly being bombarded with advertisements, all pulling us to spend money. With so much pressure to spend, how are we supposed to fight the debt that is overwhelming our country?

The answer lies in education. For the past six months I have worked with YWCA Maricopa County, expanding its Own It Financial Education program, which provides low-income women and families a free education teaching them how to become financially stable and independent. It has been amazing to see the impact financial literacy can have on a person, and just how crucial financial literacy is on the future of our young people.

One of the first classes I organized at the YW was for a group of young teenage mothers. These girls had found themselves alone, with no money, and now responsible for the care a young child, all by the age of 16. In other words, they were just trying to make it through the day. Throughout the class, we covered topics like budgeting, the differences between…