Executive Summary

This report, the third in the series, describes the characteristics of the county and the nonprofit sector in DeKalb County, as well as the impact of COVID-19. Responding organizations came from all different subsectors. Most of the responding nonprofit organizations fall under human services (33.3%); arts, culture and humanities (21.1%); and education (14.0%). Nearly half of the nonprofits reported income under $100,000. Most organizations collect income levels from the persons they serve (78.6%).

When the original study was completed in 2015, Illinois was at the very beginning of its two-year run without an official budget. Five years later, the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected our communities in every way. Over a third (36.8%) of respondents believe COVID-19 severely reduced their capacity to deliver their regular programs and services.

Prior to COVID-19, 40.9% of nonprofits indicated that state funding was very or extremely important compared to 34% for local government funding and just 16% for federal government funding.

However, the pandemic quickly changed their financial situation. Most notably, 63.6% were greatly affected by having to cancel a major fundraising event adding to the revenue losses. To continue to serve DeKalb County residents, these organizations reached out to major donors (74.6%), increased social media posting (83.6%), communicated to all donors (85.7%), and involved their board in planning (94.6%). About half of the nonprofits did not apply for funding through the Paycheck Protection Plan (PPP) but about the same amount did apply and received funding. As a result of their efforts, about half (49.1%) of the nonprofits expect to have necessary financial resources to adequately provide services for clients or members and most nonprofits (40.4%) expect to fully fund payroll through Dec. 31, 2020.

COVID-19 has significantly impacted service delivery by nonprofits. Over half (56%) of nonprofits have moderately or severely reduced their capacity to deliver their programs. Also, about a third had to reduce their volunteers to a great extent which also impacts the ability of nonprofits to deliver their services. In terms of revenue, nearly 80% of all nonprofits experienced a decrease in fundraising event revenue, followed by a decline in contributions from individuals (56%) and a decline in fee-for-services (51%).

To keep their clients and staff safe, nonprofits implemented CDC approved procedures for re-engagement (80.5%) so they could resume delivery of all programs and services (70.9%). They did, however, change their delivery of programs and services to serve clients over the phone or online (72.7%). Nonprofits also collaborated with other nonprofits (70.9%) and government unit/agencies (43.6%). They increased advocacy efforts to government agencies and officials (47.3%), received emergency grants (49.1%), and projected several budget scenarios (85.5%).

These results clearly show the significant challenges faced by nonprofits during this pandemic. The findings also demonstrate the incredible resilience, creativity and commitment of nonprofits to serve our communities in the most difficult of times.