UCLA School of Public Affairs study shows LA volunteers increase despite funding decrease

The economic recession and the state budget crisis have not affected nonprofit organizations in Los Angeles County as severely as was expected.

While both private and public funding has decreased dramatically, most organizations have managed to keep their operations running and have seen an increase in the number of volunteers, according to a new report from the UCLA School of Public Affairs.

The report, “Resilience and Vulnerability: The State of the Nonprofit Sector in Los Angeles 2009,” surveyed 252 groups and discussed how they have been affected over the past year.

More than a quarter of the surveyed L.A. organizations experienced an increase in volunteers, said David Howard, coauthor of the report and a doctoral student in the Department of Social Welfare. The loss of resources and funding has driven many groups to rely on volunteers instead of maintaining staffed positions, Howard said.

“We haven’t seen a dip in the amount of people willing to volunteer, but donors are more apprehensive to donate,” said Daniel Rotman, campaign director for the Los Angeles Youth Network.

The increasing volunteer rate is a positive for Los Angeles, which is currently among the lowest in the country ““ 45 out of 51 cities ““ according to the Corporation for National and Community Service Web site.

The increased public interest in nonprofits can also be seen at L.A. Works, a Los Angeles-based organization that provides support for other nonprofit organizations within the county.

“We have seen a dramatic increase in volunteers each year, and despite the recession, the trend has continued this year,” said Deborah Brutchey, senior director of development and operations at L.A. Works.

L.A. Works falls under the umbrella of CaliforniaVolunteers, a state office in charge of managing service-oriented programs. CaliforniaVolunteers, in turn, receives grants from the governor-appointed Board of Commissioners.

“While L.A. Works continues to rely on our strong corporate relationships for operational support, we have recently diversified our revenue stream with a grant-funding as well,” Brutchey said.

While most nonprofits have successfully survived the economic downturn, there were some that fared worse.

“Organizations that relied heavily on government funding … experienced larger decreases in revenue,” Howard said.

Human services organizations ““ nonprofits that generally provide low-income family assistance ““ rely heavily on government grants and have suffered some of the biggest funding losses, according to the report’s results.

The state budget crisis has also increased government oversight on the spending reports of nonprofits, said Becky Capehart, a former administrative director at the Los Angeles Homeless Services Coalition.

The group’s office in Westwood was forced into a hiatus following a drawn-out audit that prevented it from continuing daily functions. In the meantime, Capehart started working with the Los Angeles Youth Network. In the past few months, the organization has seen the amount per donation decrease but the actual number of donations increase.

“The Los Angeles Youth Network initially had to reduce the size of its campaign, but there are signs of growth now,” Capehart said.

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