Vermont’s Nonprofit Sector: An Economic Driver & Vital Community Partner

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Every person in Vermont is served, in some way, by state and local nonprofit organizations--classified as public charities. We've put together an interactive visualization of Vermont's nonprofit sector so that you can make better decisions, locate organizations that share your mission and communicate the meaningful difference these organizations make in the life of Vermonters and the overall health of our economy.

Get the Fast Facts, gain an overview of the sector’s statewide financial impact, compare counties, compare sectors, and dive into the detail of Vermont’s nonprofit database.

Special thanks to the Vermont Community Foundation, the A.D. Henderson Foundation, Public Assets Institute, and the Vermont State Data Center, and Data Doozer for helping the numbers come to life.


Short Story

  • More than 4100 Vermont nonprofits serve all corners of the state. With healthcare and education driving sector revenue, public charities generate more than $9 billion.
  • Vermont nonprofits paid nearly $2 billion in wages, which translates into an estimated $34 million of personal income tax revenue for Vermont’s state and local governments and over $334 million in federal tax revenues.
  • Nonprofits employ 1 in 7 Vermont workers, making the nonprofit sector the largest industry in the state after the government.
  • Vermont nonprofits contribute $5.7 billion per year to the economy through wages paid, retail and wholesale purchases, and professional service contracts. This contribution is equivalent to nearly 20% of the State’s gross state product–greater than the manufacturing and construction industries combined.

Scope of the Sector


As of June 2015 , there are 5619 nonprofits serving Vermonters (defined as 501(c) organizations). Of these, 4386 are classified as 501(c)(3)s, the most common type of tax-exempt nonprofit organization. Of these, 4109 are Public Charities and 277 are Private Foundations. The following numbers reflect an analysis of Vermont Public Charities.

Nonprofit Revenue

Vermont’s public charities tend to be small and operate with modest revenues. Explore the interactive chart below to learn about the revenue of Vermont nonprofits.

*Please note, that "no income" means the nonprofit either had no revenue or did not meet the IRS threshold for reporting ($50,000).


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A Variety of Sectors Deliver Vital Community Services


Every person in Vermont is served, in some way, by state and local nonprofit organizations. Health and Human Services and Education nonprofits constitute the largest portion of Vermont public charity revenue. Health and Human Services, Arts and Culture, and Community/Economic Development subsectors have the largest number of nonprofits.

Value of the Sector


Taken together, Vermont’s public charities represent more than $9 billion in annual Revenue. Large organizations, especially hospitals and colleges dominate the financial activity of Vermont’s charitable sector.


(Source: IRS Nonprofit Organizations Business Master File, October 2014).


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Serving All Corners of Vermont


Vermont public charities can be found in every county. About a quarter of Vermont nonprofits are found in Chittenden County. Their distribution tracks closely to county population in most counties–with the notable exception of Franklin County.

Revenue Distribution


Approximately 40% of Vermont nonprofit revenue is centered in Chittenden County, with the balance dispersed across every county. (The organizations that serve these regions are based in adjacent counties.)


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Labor Statistics


The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics develops research data on employment, wages and establishment figures for nonprofit institutions with a specific focus on 501(c)(3)'s. They recently released comparative data on the number of Vermont nonprofit employees between 2007-2012, which provides insight into the growth of the sector and changes in compensation.


Learn more about the methodology behind these numbers.



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Explore the Data


The table contains details about all of Vermont's nonprofits, as reported in the IRS Nonprofit Organizations Business Master File as of June 2015 . You can filter the results by name, county, or sector (according to the National Taxonomy of Exempt Entity (NTEE) Major Groups). To filter, start typing in the search box appearing at the bottom of the column.

You can also download the data by clicking on the download button.


Organization Name County NTEE Major Group¹ Revenue
Organization Name County NTEE Major Group¹ Revenue

Contributor to Gross State Product


Vermont’s Gross State Product (GSP) totalled $29.05 billion in 2013. Taken as a whole, charitable organizations account for 19.96% of Vermont’s State Product (GSP). Their share of the GSP is larger than these key Vermont industries Manufacturing, or Durable Goods, Retail Trade, Finance/ Insurance, Construction, Utilities, Transportation or Agriculture. In 2013, Manufacturing accounted for $3.2 billion in revenue (11% of GSP) and Retail Trade generated $2.2 billion (8% of GSP). By comparison, in 2014, Vermont nonprofit Hospital revenue constitutes 8% and Colleges account for 3% of the GSP.

Source: Vermont Department of Labor Demographic Profile Series, 2014


See Interactive Chart: Vermont Industry as % of Gross State Product
Note: We’ve combined data across the two years to show the relative scale of contribution to Vermont’s economic output in the Chart above.


Major Employer


In 2012, Vermont nonprofits employed 44,131 people. This represents 14.8% of the State’s total workforce or 1 in 7 Vermont workers. Nationally, approximately 10% of workers are employed by a nonprofit organization. This workforce makes Vermont’s nonprofit sector the largest industry in the state, after state and local government. In fact, Vermont’s nonprofits employ more than three times as many workers as the construction industry and sixteen times as many workers as the state’s natural resources industry (which includes agriculture, forest products, fishing and hunting). Distribution of Vermont nonprofit employment is not available at this time.


Source: Vermont Department of Labor Demographic Profile Series, 2014.


See Interactive Chart: Vermont Employment by Industry


Payroll


In 2012, Vermont’s nonprofits paid their employees $1.9 Billion in wages, or more than 16% of the state’s total payroll. The average wage was $44,882 or $21.75/ hour, compared with the State average of $19.85/ hour.


Learn more on Vermont’s nonprofit wages and compensation in the 2014 Vermont Nonprofit Wage & Salary Survey.


Taxes


Despite being exempt from corporate income tax, nonprofits generated $394 Million in federal, state and local taxes.These wages translated into an estimated $33.7 million in personal income tax revenue for Vermont’s state and local governments and over $333.8 in federal tax revenue. (Source: IMPLAN Analysis, based on 2012 payroll data from the Vermont Department of Labor).


Growth Industry


The nonprofit sector is a growth industry. Between 2000 and 2010 nonprofit employment increased by 1.9% while Vermont’s for-profit sector employment decreased by 1.7%.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statisitics, Research Data on the Nonprofit Sector


See Interactive Chart: Vermont Job Growth Rate


Value of Volunteer Labor


A recent report indicates that 33.7% of Vermont residents volunteered 19.2 million hours of service, adding up to $431.6 million in value.

Source: National Corporation on Community Service, 2014


DIRECT & INDIRECT EFFECTS OF NONPROFIT ECONOMIC POWER


Like all businesses, nonprofits purchase and produce goods and services and pay taxable wages to employees. These transactions have an economic ripple effect as monies spent by nonprofits and their employees are circulated throughout the larger economy.

Using IMPLAN economic modelling software, the Vermont State Data Center used Vermont nonprofit employment and wage data to create an input-output model. The resulting model describes the economic activity associated with Vermont nonprofits and provides a baseline from which to estimate their potential economic impact.

In addition to the 44,131 jobs directly produced by the nonprofit sector, the economic model indicates that the nonprofit sector supports an additional 8,584 jobs through both induced and indirect effects. The total effect is that 57,715 jobs in Vermont result from nonprofit activity, adding up to $2.3 billion in labor income, a multiplier effect of 1.2.

The dollars spent on labor plus the sale of services generated by Vermont’s nonprofit sector equals $1.6 billion. In turn, this generates more than $515 million in additional purchase of goods and services (indirect effect) and $1 billion spent by the beneficiaries of those businesses (employees, employers) in the economy at large (induced effect). The total economic impact of Vermont’s nonprofit sector is $3.2 billion.

That multiplier effect equals 1.9, Every dollar spent by nonprofits generates additional 90 cents in economic activity.

Impact Type Employment Labor Income Value Added Output
Direct Effect 44,131.00 $1,983,673,000 $1,983,673,000 $1,651,327,000
Indirect Effect 2,242.70 $99,539,872 $261,276,603 $515,296,455
Induced Effect 6,342.10 $232,467,037 $546,812,424 $1,010,411,068
Total Effect 52,715.80 $2,315,679,909 $2,791,762,027 $3,177,034,523
Type II Multiplier* 1.2 1.2 1.4 1.9